Rafa's 'crushing machine': The proven way to win arguments and titles

"Valencia were an implacable steamroller. They were like boxers who pinned their opponents to the rope and wouldn't stop until they had annihilated them. The tremendous intensity of their play earned them the nickname 'The Crushing Machine'." Sound familiar...?

Taken from the book 'Rafa Benitez' by Paco Llloret, this quote will resonate with any Liverpool fans who remember the sense of optimism buzzing around the club when it was announced that Rafa was to leave Valencia and become Liverpool's manager.

Senor Benitez had taken on Real Madrid's Galácticos and Barcelona's free-flowing style of football, and lead Valencia to their first league title in thirty one years. Now he was about to take on the task of guiding our club’s future and the hope was that he could do the same for Liverpool.

The key difference is that Valencia had been in two Champions League finals and had a squad already filled with quality. They just needed to apply themselves better, and under Rafa's astute guidance, they did so.

I've done a great deal of homework about Rafa, none more so then when we won the Champions League. I wanted to learn about things such as his childhood and his career as a semi-professional in Spain's second tier.

Cascarino: Forget United Stars, Gerrard Should Win PFA Award ‘Hands Down’

The PFA nominees were announced this week with some surprising names picked in my opinion. Edwin van der Sar may have broken clean-sheet records with Manchester United this season but if I was going to pick a keeper amongst the final 6 choices then it wouldn’t have been the Dutchman. Liverpool’s Jose Reina or Aston Villa’s Brad Friedel would have been ahead of him as they’ve performed far better than Van der Sar in my opinion.

It’s been a strange old season really in terms of big players not really performing as usual over the course of the campaign. There are no Chelsea players amongst the nominees and to be fair it’s hard to pick out anyone who has excelled consistently at the Bridge. Then there’s Arsenal, their usual candidates such as Emmanuel Adebayor and Cesc Fabregas have both struggled with injury. Therefore, it’s no surprise the final 6 are dominated by mainly Manchester United players.

Baby animals

Torres ready to commit to Liverpool

Fernando Torres has hinted he is ready to commit his long-term future to Liverpool after revealing how much he loves life at Anfield.

Torres has been touched by the affection shown to him by Liverpool fans since moving to Merseyside from Atletico Madrid in 2007. The 25-year-old, who has scored 47 times in almost two seasons with the Reds, is idolised just as much as local heroes Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher and is keen to repay their faith.

It is believed Torres is in the early stages of negotiations over a contract extension and a new deal could be concluded in the close-season. "I would love to remain at Liverpool for many seasons to come. I feel at home here. I still have this season plus another four years left to run on my contract," Torres said on his website F9T

What a bad day!

Strange statues around the world

1.The Shark

The Shark became the most famous resident of Headington when it landed in the roof of 2 New High Street on 9 August 1986. This ordinary home (built as a semi-detached house in about 1860 but now attached by a link to a second house to the north) suddenly became the centre of world attention, and the headless shark still excites interest today. Location: 2 New High Street, Headington, Oxford

2. The Magic tap

Magic tap, which appears to float in the sky with an endless supply of water. In actuality, there is a pipe hidden in the stream of water. Location: Aqualand, Cadiz

3. La Trobe

A contemporary representation of Charles La Trobe in central Melbourne (This temporary installation was removed at the end of June 2006 and has been acquired by La Trobe University). Location: Melbourne

4. Potsdam

Location: Potsdam



5. Santa Fe, New Mexico

Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico



6. Man at work in Bratislava

This bronze statue is located in the pedestrian zone of Bratislava. Rub its nose, and you will have fortune. I am sure many people believe in that as have a look at the nose, it looks badly rubbed. Location: Bratislava

7. The Fremont troll

The Fremont troll has been lurking under the north end of the Aurora bridge since 1990. He was sculpted by four Seattle area artists (Steve Badanes, Will Martin, Donna Walter and Ross Whitehead) for the Fremont Arts Council. The head-and-shoulders sculpture is 18-ft. tall. Location: Aurora bridge, Seattle, Washington

8. Melting cow

Found in a square in Budapest.


9. Eating a Biscuit together

Located in Seoul, Korea, in front of the Bukcheon Museum. Sculptor is Ku BomJu.

10. Los Angeles

I am sure we all feel like this on a Monday morning. This is what I call true to life art. Location: In front of the Ernst & Young building.

Cars made in Russia

South African Company Leaves Obama In Stitches

Adding to the relentless flurry of products emblazoned with Barack Obama’s image, a merchant in South Africa is selling brightly colored pillows, pouches, and rugs depicting the 44th President of the United States. Even his limo made its way onto the pattern with the words: “Hooray for the President.”

The most Bizarre and Unique Roofs

Tongkonan are the traditional Torajan ancestral houses. They stand high on wooden piles, topped with a layered split-bamboo roof shaped in a sweeping curved arc, and they are incised with red, black, and yellow detailed wood carvings on the exterior walls. The word "tongkonan" comes from the Torajan tongkon ("to sit"). Tongkonan are the center of Torajan social life.

Casa Batlló Gaudi in Barcelona, Spain

Roof of the Core at the Eden Project, in Cornwall.

Up sided roof, at Seixal, Madeira

La Pedrera's roof

Meet Gaudi’s Casa Mila, more affectionately known as la Pedrera in Barcelona. The roofs of most buildings are stale and industrial, flat and square, dotted with aluminium vents and plain brick chimneys. Gaudi turned his vents and chimneys into sentinels who, through the narrow slits in their helmets, would keep permanent watch over the building’s residents. The undulating roof is tiled and dotted not only by the helmeted warriors, but also by several bulbous sculptures covered in a mosaic of white tiles.

Rocky roof, at San Clemente Piers

This proposed village for Heden, a sleepy cityblock in Sweden’s Gothenburg, has more than a touch of Hobbiton about it.

From the top of the Florian tower in Dortmund, Germany.

California’s Academy of Sciences (SF) is covered in rolling hills - the perfect place for students to grab their lunch in the sun.

Roof of Water Reservoir, Mina

One of the earliest strange but beautiful objects to be seen in Google Earth is the roof of Water Reservoir at Mina near holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The water reservoir caters to about 2 millions pilgrims who gather every year at Mina, during Hajj and it is covered by this huge reinforced concrete shell roof which has a diameter of 365 metres. It is one the largest cable-stayed concrete shell roofs in the world.

Brazilian Leaf Roof

Outside of Rio de Janeiro, on a beautiful little beach with amazing blue water, sits a little house with a flowering roof that shades and protects like a big tropical banana leaf. Designed by Mareines + Patalano, the open air abode is meant to encourage interaction and connection between man and nature. With verandas and open spaces in between rooms and no corridors, the tropical beach house is an ideal place for social gatherings and parties. The open layout also takes advantage of trade winds that blow in from the sea, providing natural ventilation and passive cooling.