People talk about managers having certain styles and philosophies... well, Benitez manages by conflict. Look right through his career and you will see it everywhere.
The pressure from within used to have an impact on my behaviour. If games had gone badly, I would take things home with me. I'd be snappy at my kids and felt constantly wound up.
My wife never went to many Liverpool games but if she was out on a Saturday, she would always ask someone for the score. If we had won, she'd simply be relieved that I would be coming home in a good mood.
I was born on January 28, 1978, the same day as Buffon.
There were players who could leave the result at Anfield, but me? No chance. I got involved in the running of two restaurants in Liverpool to take my mind off football but, before the opening night of each one, I'd played badly. It meant I couldn't enjoy the party. It felt like I had to punish myself.
Buffon has been a star from the moment he began his senior career with Parma.
There is so much I admire about Buffon. His longevity is remarkable, his loyalty to Juventus impeccable.
We sometimes undervalue the importance of goalkeepers.
I've been in the position where Liverpool needed to win on the last day to reach the Champions League. In May 2000, we needed to beat Bradford, who were fighting to avoid relegation, at Valley Parade but lost an awful game 1-0.
Why does it get assumed that Zidane is a figurehead and everything Real achieve is down to the talent of the squad?
Del Bosque was axed by Madrid for failing to retain the Champions League in 2003 but his sacking triggered the start of a spell when they won nothing for four years and failed to get beyond the Champions League's last 16.
Real Madrid is such an extraordinary club in terms of size and the constant politics that, perhaps, the best results are achieved by those with an ability to remove themselves from the spotlight to concentrate on their work.
Rafa Benitez - man with huge experience who knew how the club operated - could not get the results Real wanted and couldn't walk away from the fights that erupted in the dressing room and the boardroom.
There are times when I watch Jurgen Klopp leaping around after Liverpool have scored and I think to myself: 'I wish that was me.'
A chance to manage at the highest level? What could be better?
My family regarded the end of my career as a sign they could really enjoy life a bit rather than cancelling plans on the back of a poor result - it happened many times!
Many in top positions around Europe have devoted their lives to coaching.
Coaching for tackles? That's something you do with seven-year-olds, when you show them how to stand and when to make a block. It is one of the basics of the game. No Premier League manager needs to coach it.
It is a sad day for football when a player about to enter his prime moves for financial reasons and nothing else.
It is embarrassing that a player would give up his career and the chance to compete for the biggest prizes in the game just for money.
