Rafa Benitez: I miss my Mus!
RAFA Benitez has admitted the biggest drawback of living in England is not being able to play his favourite card game.
Since moving to the city from his native Spain in 2004, the Liverpool manager revealed he has been unable to find enough partners to play Mus.
He said: "Here in England, no-one knows how to play Mus, a very famous game in Spain which I think is the best in the world."
In a revealing radio interview yesterday, Benitez's wife Montse also explained how the Reds boss likes nothing more than slipping into an old T-shirt, shorts and flip flops when he gets home from work, before playing football with his two daughters in the house.
She said: "If things get out of hand, he then goes and hides behind the girls."
Montse also revealed Rafa is not much of a handyman around the house.
She said: "If he tries to hang a picture, then maybe you will end up with a big hole in the wall.
"He is a great dad though - he loves spending time with his family. He is always really patient with me and the girls."
Anfield boss Benitez said his two daughters Claudia and Agata have caught the infectious Merseyside bug for football - as well as the Scouse accent.
He said: "They are both big Liverpool fans, especially the little one.She is always coming home from school with stories about the Evertonians in her class. One time Montse was out and I was looking after the girls, when she came to me going: 'Daddy, I want a butty'.
"I did not know what she meant and started looking for her shoes, so she had to open the fridge while her sister explained: 'No Daddy, a sandwich, not a booty!"
Montse also spoke of the family's attachment to Merseyside and how difficult times last season drove her to tears when she thought they might have to leave.
She said: "We will never forget how over 50,000 people signed a petition in support of Rafa in 24 hours.
"People have been so warm to us and we really feel we have found the right place to bring our children up and enjoy life."
TO hear the interview, go to www.citytalk.fm/therealrafa
The origins and rules of Spain's Mus cards
MUS originates from the Navarre and Basque regions in Spain.
It is the most played card game in Spain, spawning countless Mus clubs or peñas.
It is played normally in two pairs with a Spanish deck of 40 cards, without eights or nines, and has a variety of different rules in different regions of Spain.
It has a distinctive feature in that signals between players are an accepted part of the game.
news@liverpoolecho.co.uk
Older/Newer
« A gold will be for Rafa Benitez - Javier Mascherano | Far post: Liverpool v Middlesbrough in bits »
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Rafa Benitez: I miss my Mus!. TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.liverpoolbanter.co.uk/cgi-bin/mt421/mt-tb.cgi/21936
Rafa we love you...Rafa we do...your'e the greatest manager.. at a club called Liverpool,
When you won the Champions League...and in a way so cool..coming back from 3 goals down to win for Liverpool,
The next one on the list we know... will be the Premier league...bringing that one home will be... your best result indeed,
So please stay here with Liverpool...a team that's made for you....the fans and players all believe...in all that you can do.
i think if liverpool plays against Arsenal, United and Chealsea, you will loose all the way. Against Middlebrough, you had a fluke. you passed the ball very badly and you left Torres alone up front. The problem is with Midfield. Benayoun is a bad player. He simply wants to impress Rafa and fans but could not keep the ball. Worse, he passed the ball off the target all the time. Torress, Caragher, Mascherano, Gerrard and Kyut are among the best players. The rest are so so. Alonso too is very slow and passed the ball badly. Sell him and Benayoun!