Rafa: Shankly was amazing

Throughout the week players and figures from the past will be paying tribute to the great Bill Shankly on the 50th anniversary of his Anfield arrival. Here boss Rafa Benitez offers his view on an Anfield icon.

He was a man that had such a close bond with the fans. He changed everything about the club and his relationship with the supporters was simply amazing.

I have to admit that when I was in Spain I didn't know too much about him. People spoke about Ian Rush, 'Kenny Dalglish, John Aldridge and Alan Hansen. You knew about past players but you didn't hear too much about the managers and the history.

But since the day I arrived here people have been telling me about Bill Shankly. I decided to read some books about him and came across a lot of his quotes.

I actually listened to an interview he did with a journalist at his house and you could hear them having a cup of tea. I was listening to it in my car and it was very difficult to understand with his Scottish accent.

I was surprised but hugely impressed by what he was saying. He was talking about things we are doing now. That's 50 years ago, so you can see that he was a visionary.

There is a lot said about how they played 5-A-sides after training sessions and people have often spoken about his motivation skills, but the coaching ideas were there and they were good.

I think he was ahead of his time for a coach. He was talking about eating the right food and making sure the players were warm after a game. These are things that I don't think you would have heard from other managers at the time.

He did a fantastic job. It is very difficult to turn around the fortunes of a second division side. He had a great personality and when you speak to people about him they are all full of praise for Bill Shankly the manager, but also Bill Shankly the man. He was very clever and a good motivator.

If you talk to people here at Melwood, everyone has a lot of respect for him because of what he achieved and how he transformed the club.

After Sammy Lee arrived we decided to change Melwood's decor by putting up mosaics with quotes from our history. I am really pleased because it gives the place a warmer feel and I think we are more like the club he built now, with pictures from our past reminding us all of Liverpool's history.

I am miles away from him in terms of what he did for this club. He was someone who changed everything. Of course, he had a huge advantage in that he could talk better English than I can! But in all seriousness, he knew everything about the club and I am still learning.

Bill Shankly was the man who put this club at the top of English football and set us on the road towards being one of the best in both Europe and across the world. Everyone associated with this great club is really proud of what has been achieved and it is no exaggeration to say that it is all thanks to him.