Cisse singing Rafa's praises

Djibril Cisse believes Rafael Benitez deserves to be ranked in the same high company as Jose Mourinho after guiding Liverpool to the Champions League final.

On a number of levels, Cisse even feels Benitez has the edge over the manager who helped Porto to UEFA Cup and Champions League success before moving to Chelsea last summer.

It was Mourinho’s Chelsea who Liverpool expunged in the semi-finals to earn their place in tomorrow’s Istanbul final, and the Blues boss was less than complimentary of his side’s conquerors in the immediate aftermath of the second leg.

Cisse said of the comparison: “Rafa is one of the best coaches I have had.

“He is very clever and knows how to adapt to different systems. With Guy Roux, my boss at Auxerre, he is the best coach I have worked under.

“And I think he is maybe even better than Mourinho, he is certainly more humble.

“Sometimes it is good to be confident – but not too much.

“Sometimes a coach needs to shout, but Rafa knows when to be nice and when to be strong. He gives players just what they need.”

Cisse believes tomorrow’s opponents AC Milan could be another side to suffer from over-confidence against Liverpool.

“Milan think it will be easy, but maybe that is a mistake for them,” added the Frenchman.

“I say it will not be easy, it will be a hard game for them.

“The fact they found it hard to beat PSV Eindhoven in the semi-finals has given us more confidence.

“From that game I have learned that everything is possible.

“They have two legs and two arms like us, so we won’t be overwhelmed by the names.

“We can’t afford to be afraid of their stars and we must concentrate on what we can do.”

For Cisse, just being in the final reckoning is a great relief after his injury-ruined season.

The striker has only just returned to full fitness after breaking his leg, at which stage doctors predicted he would not play again until pre-season.

“I was sure I would play again and score goals, and I believed it could be in a Champions League final,” he added.

“When you have a bad injury like that you have to be strong in your head.

“You have to keep working and believe you will come back.

“I am born like that. I have a strong personality and I can be strong when it is difficult, there were no doubts I would come back.

“Some people said my career was finished and it was hard to hear that because I knew I could play again.

“When you have a big injury there is nothing to do, just have patience and work to get back to fitness.

“My leg was so sore that sometimes I couldn’t stand up. It was frustrating and it was the worst period of my career. So it was a great moment when I played again.”

He added: “As for the final, I don’t know if I will start, it is up to the boss.

“If it is me or Milan (Baros) we will do the maximum for the team, but I am ready.

“It’s a big challenge for me to play against (Paolo) Maldini and (Jaap) Stam. I will try to do my best and try and score.”