Shut-out manager didn't plan for

May 21 2007 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

HAVING negotiated his way past Carlo Ancelotti’s AC Milan, Rafael Benitez was finding security at the Istanbul Crowne Plaza somewhat more tricky.

The celebrations were already deep into the night following Liverpool’s dramatic Champions League final victory when the Spaniard received a phone call from a group of friends eager to join the party.

With the European Cup gleaming inside the foyer of the hotel, a proud Benitez was keen for his associates to witness the fruits of his and the team’s hard labour.

However, as on the pitch that night two years ago, matters weren’t exactly straightforward for the Liverpool manager.

“In the hotel, we were in a party and the cup was there and everyone was really happy and it was maybe three or four o’clock in the morning,” recalls Benitez.

“I went out and there was a steward on the door. He locked the door. I went out and talked with some friends and said to one of them ‘hey, do you want to see the cup? Come with me’.

“But we couldn’t go in because the person on the door said ‘no, no you can’t’. And the person with me said ‘listen, he is the manager!’ And we couldn’t go to see the cup again. It was funny.”