article_snippet.sent: Rafa Benitez's guided Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2005, Rafa Benitez's first season at the club .
article_snippet.sent: Rafa Benitez's got Liverpool back to the final of the competition in 2007, where they were beaten 2-1 by AC Milan .
article_snippet.sent: That achievement, alongside the two La Liga titles he won during he three-year spell at the Mestalla, caught the eye of Liverpool, who swooped to bring the Spaniard in as Gerard Houllier's replacement.
article_snippet.sent: he recorded he most stunning glory to date, masterminding what on paper was a woefully uninspiring Liverpool team to Champions League glory, overcoming a star-studded AC Milan side that boasted the likes of Cafu, Paolo Maldini, Kaka and Andriy Shevchenko in the final.
article_snippet.sent: Rafa Benitez's maneuvered Liverpool back to Champions League Champions League final in 2007, eliminating Barcelona on the way with a win at the Nou Camp, only for Milan to avenge their defeat two years prior with a 2-1 victory.
article_snippet.sent: the Spaniardmanipulated another assault on Europe's elite trophy the following year
article_snippet.sent: but Liverpool were knocked out in the semi-final by Chelsea.
article_snippet.sent: Off-field ownership turmoil derailed Rafa Benitez's's team and Liverpool have not even threatened to emerge as a challenger for club football's most prestigious competition since.
article_snippet.sent: Benitez's team and Liverpool were eliminated in the group stage of the tournament in 2010, where a third-placed finish resulted in demotion to Champions League.
article_snippet.sent: But Rafa Benitez's guided Liverpool to the semi-finals of Europe's secondary competition, where a Diego Forlan strike in extra-time at Anfield sent Atletico Madrid to the final, where where a Diego Forlan strike in extra-time at Anfield beat Roy Hodgson's Fulham.
article_snippet.sent: Rafa Benitez's first won the trophy with Valencia in 2004 shortly before moving to Liverpool .