Steve Hunter 25 September 2005 Rafael Benitez believes Steven Gerrard will be a key player for Liverpool against Chelsea and called his captain a Liverpool legend who will win a lot more trophies for the Reds in the years to come. Benitez said Gerrard is a special player for Liverpool and a pivotal part of his team and says he can inspire the Reds when Chelsea come to Anfield on Wednesday for the Champions League clash.
Benitez said: "The most important thing is that Steven is happy here. He's happy and it's not a problem to win trophies here over the next 10 years. To play at Anfield with that amazing atmosphere and to know that you are really, really important is special.
"Steve is not just one more player, he is the key player for this club. I think for him that is the most important thing. He must try to improve and not think about what other people say.
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"He has to think about himself. They have a lot of good players and some key players at Chelsea but here he is the captain, a legend after lifting the European Cup in Istanbul.
"There are a lot of trophies to be won and a lot of possibilities. We will try to win the Champions League each year but I'm thinking about winning every trophy. People might say it's impossible but we will see.
"Maybe it will be more difficult to beat Chelsea this time, because they have spent a lot of money on players. But we have some new players and my team is better now. We have more confidence and we are improving. And remember in football there are no teams that are unbeatable."
The Liverpool manager says Liverpool have nothing to fear against Chelsea and said Liverpool deserved to beat them in last season's semi-final despite comments from Jose Mourinho questioning the legality of Luis Garcia's goal.
Benitez brushed aside those comments and said: "They say the same thing in Barcelona after the lose. It's football. I thought we played really well in both games against Chelsea in the Champions League.
"We controlled them and they didn't create a lot. But I don't talk aloud about other teams and their managers. I prefer to talk about my team.
"If one week you say 'I'm the best, you can lose the next game and then what happens? People remind you about what you said.
"I don't know if I'm different to Mourinho but I need to do my job and give confidence to my players. The victory against Chelsea in the Champions League didn't surprise me a lot - and although it will be difficult for us again we have a very, very good team.
"We also have 12 players because of the crowd. The players can feel the pbuttion of the crowd willing them on."
Jay -- LIVERPOOL FC - KINGS OF EUROPE MANCHE$TER BUCCANEERS & BLUEpooE - KINGS OF COMEDY
