“Rafael Benitez’s twin boyhood passions were football and a Spanish military board game called “Stratego” – both appealing to his calculating mind and analytical approach. So when faced with a simple calculation on the coach journey to Anfield to face Manchester United, Benitez weighed up the odds and took a gamble that could shape Liverpool’s season. Liverpool’s figures of influence, from Kenny Dalglish and managing director Christian Purslow to co-owner George Gillett, had formed an orderly queue to insist the club’s worst run in 22 years had not shaken belief in Benitez.” (BBC)
