I'll always be pro Rafa, but here's one of the moments of complete frustration for me too. AC Milan there for the taking and we show "caution". Crouch apparently not a big fan of the Rafa...
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Crouch, who famously took four months and 19 games to score his first goal for Liverpool, sat on the bench for 78 minutes of Liverpool's 2007 Champions League final defeat to AC Milan in Athens and it is still something that rankles the big striker.
"It was one of the most frustrating points of my career," Crouch told The Telegraph. "I'd scored a few goals in the run-up and went into that final thinking I'd play. But we played with Dirk Kuyt up front on his own.
"I remember warming up with Craig Bellamy and he's not shy about coming forward. Bellers was screaming 'we've got to get one of us on'. Milan weren't as good as before. If we'd gone for Milan we'd have got a result."
Crouch also revelaed that it was often confusing working under Benitez at Liverpool and found it difficult to figure out where he stood with the manager.
"When I was playing under Rafa I'd sometimes not know what he was thinking," Crouch said. "Rafa goes about his business differently to Harry Redknapp. Harry's honest in his assessment.
"If you've had a bad game, he'll tell you in no uncertain terms. If you've done really well for him, he'll put an arm round the shoulder and tell you how fantastic you are. I'd feel on top of the world. It was a guessing game with Rafa. Towards the end it was frustrating. I was doing well and not getting the chances I deserved. It would be nice to score in the San Siro."
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Crouch, who famously took four months and 19 games to score his first goal for Liverpool, sat on the bench for 78 minutes of Liverpool's 2007 Champions League final defeat to AC Milan in Athens and it is still something that rankles the big striker.
"It was one of the most frustrating points of my career," Crouch told The Telegraph. "I'd scored a few goals in the run-up and went into that final thinking I'd play. But we played with Dirk Kuyt up front on his own.
"I remember warming up with Craig Bellamy and he's not shy about coming forward. Bellers was screaming 'we've got to get one of us on'. Milan weren't as good as before. If we'd gone for Milan we'd have got a result."
Crouch also revelaed that it was often confusing working under Benitez at Liverpool and found it difficult to figure out where he stood with the manager.
"When I was playing under Rafa I'd sometimes not know what he was thinking," Crouch said. "Rafa goes about his business differently to Harry Redknapp. Harry's honest in his assessment.
"If you've had a bad game, he'll tell you in no uncertain terms. If you've done really well for him, he'll put an arm round the shoulder and tell you how fantastic you are. I'd feel on top of the world. It was a guessing game with Rafa. Towards the end it was frustrating. I was doing well and not getting the chances I deserved. It would be nice to score in the San Siro."
