Almost the first move of the father, as the session began, was to cup his ear toward an interlocutor, and, with that tiny gesture, he broke the spell the wicked charms that he had wreathed around the United Kingdom for decades.
And Benitez's preparation for the Anfield clash included suspending Albert Riera after the Spaniard, desperate to play in the World Cup, accused his boss of having something "personal" against him and "turning a deaf ear" to players.