Sam Allardyce is at it again.
The man who claims his managerial style is more suited to Real Madrid than the string of mid-table strugglers he has actually taken charge of has taken another shot at the man currently in charge at the Bernabeu, Rafael Benitez.
Allardyce was a frequent antagonist of the Spaniard during his time at Liverpool, and the former Bolton, West Ham, Blackburn and Newcastle boss and in his recently released autobiography, the new Sunderland manager has claimed that Liverpool’s Champions League victory was down to luck.
In an excerpt published in The Sun newspaper, Allardyce attacked Benitez’s ‘superior’ attitude.
He writes: “When we beat his Liverpool team he would complain ‘They don’t play my type of football.’
“What was that, then? Winning football? He didn’t like me and he thought he was superior.
“Here was a trendy foreign manager with all his smart ideas getting beat by some oik from the Midlands.
“Benitez wouldn’t talk to me at all and that just made it all the better when we won.
“Of course he can say he won the Champions League with Liverpool, which is something I never did. But it was nowt to do with him.
Sam Allardyce's reductive take on Rafa Benitez's 2005 Champions League final triumph with Liverpool in The Sun today pic.twitter.com/6epiwfMJXw
— Sam Wallace (@SamWallaceTel) October 13, 2015
“Steven Gerrard took that final by the scruff of the neck and dragged Liverpool back from 3-0 down against AC Milan to eventually win on penalties.
“I don’t blame Benitez for claiming credit — but as managers we know the truth. It’s like when you make a substitution in desperation and it comes off.
“You get all the credit for your tactical brilliance when it’s often just luck.”
