NO HANDSHAKES

The Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez has claimed that his Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson avoided the pre-match handshake. The two have a history of clashing together even when the Spaniard was at Liverpool. The tension has now surfaced once again after the arrival of Benitez at Chelsea. This is the first time Benitez has been in England since leaving Liverpool several years ago. It was also the first time he was up against Manchester United as a Chelsea manager. Even though Ferguson avoided a handshake with him, Benitez had the last laugh after his team managed a 2-2 draw.

Benitez has revealed that even though there was tension between the pair, he was ready to shake the hands. He has taken a dig at Ferguson by saying that he is educated. Even though there was animosity previously as the managers of two rival clubs, the relationship between Benitez and Ferguson broke down when Liverpool were involved in a title race with Manchester United. Benitez and Ferguson made several comments over the course of the 2009 campaign that increased the rift between the two. Benitez and Ferguson did not shake hands with each other even after the end of the match.

This is not the first incident when a manager has refused to shake the hands of his counterpart. I was waiting for him at the beginning, so you should ask him. I have education. I was ready. I know a lot of people were watching and I knew what to do. It’s up to him. I was in the way waiting. If you are brave enough, ask him. I was with my players, celebrating,” said Benitez. The Spaniard helped Chelsea get a 2-2 draw from the match, which looked unlikely after 11 min. Chelsea were two goals down after just 11 min on the clock.