As much as Liverpool have been blessed with some legendary managers over the years, the quality of the staff behind the scenes at Anfield is often said to have been also highly influential in the club’s successes.
The arrival of Bill Shankly in December 1959 is widely seen as the most pivotal moment in LFC history with the iconic Scot galvanising a club which had gone stale and become mired in the doldrums of the Second Division.
Yet as much Shankly faced a huge job to revitalise the Reds on and off the field, he later acknowledged one of his most crucial decisions was identifying the calibre of people like Bob Paisley and Joe Fagan already on the books and keeping them on.
They along with fitness guru Reuben Bennett and odd-job man Albert Shelley feared the worst when they were summoned to meet the Liverpool manager shortly he took over from Phil Taylor but were immediately reassured their jobs were safe, with Shankly telling them, “Some managers bring their own people with them. Not me. I have my own system and it will work in co-operation with you.”
It proved a masterstroke as over the coming decades they gathered in and became the heart and soul of Liverpool’s mythical Boot Room where the club’s future domination of English and European football was plotted.
The modern era has seen clubs’ backroom teams expand in size and range beyond all recognition with dedicated staff in bespoke areas like tactics, nutrition and even throw-ins but the importance of a good assistant to the manager still remains with Jurgen Klopp’s current number two Pep Lijnders being highly regarded and often talked about as a potential successor when the German’s time in the Anfield hot-seat comes to an end.
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The Dutchman’s advancement following his return from a short spell managing NEC in his homeland saw him become Klopp’s second assistant manager during his time at Liverpool following the sudden departure of Zeljko Buvac in May 2018 in the middle of the Reds’ Champions League semi-final clashes with AS Roma.
Having worked together since 2001, there was shock and - given the timing, no little concern - at the abrupt exit of a trusted associate the German had famously and affectionately dubbed 'The Brain' but it came a little over a decade after another LFC assistant manager reputed to be a highly significant figure behind the scenes at Anfield suddenly left in mysterious circumstances.
Very few Liverpudlians will have known much about Pako Ayestarán when he arrived as part of Rafa Benitez’s backroom team in the summer of 2004.
After a short stint as a youth player with Real Sociedad, he hung up his boots at 21 and after beginning his career as a fitness coach, the 41-year-old had been appointed as Benitez’s assistant at Osasuna in 1996 and followed the Madrid-born coach to Extremadura, Tenerife and Valencia before his arrival on Merseyside alongside fellow compatriots Paco Herrera, whose expertise was mainly in the area of scouting, and goalkeeping coach José Ochotorena.
For Ayestarán, his appointment was the culmination of a 29-year-love affair having already fallen for the Reds after watching them in Spain during his youth.
“Arriving to Liverpool was a dream come true because I fell in love already with Liverpool in 1975”, he recalled.
“It was a UEFA Cup tie, Liverpool played [against Real Sociedad] in San Sebastian, and I remember I attended that game with my mum.
“Real Sociedad lost 3-1 against that team with Ray Clemence, Phil Thompson, Kevin Keegan, Steve Heighway.
“Real Sociedad started players like Jesus Maria Zamora, Santiago Idigoras, Jesus Maria Satrustegui, these players that were so important after when we won the league in 1981.
“So yes, I fell in love at that time, despite us being smashed here at Anfield 6-0 in [the second leg] game!”
With Alex Miller, a survivor from the previous managerial regime promoted to first-team coach from director of scouting, they set about instilling the principles and working practices Benitez wanted into the squad and, despite inconsistent Premier League form which would result only in a fifth place finish, helped engineer Liverpool to two cup finals in their first season at the club, the second of which miraculously saw the Reds win the Champions League in Istanbul.
Ayestarán was credited with being instrumental in the improved fitness and sports science methods introduced, producing charts detailing the exact number of minutes a player had produced over the course of a season which helped inform Benitez’s rotation policy while also being an invaluable sounding board for tactical and technical advice.
He told CoachesVoice years later what made him and Benitez such an effective partnership.
“From minute one of meeting, we realised that we shared a football philosophy. We shared values. Straight away, there was a connection.
“We were both believers in the method. In the way of doing things. Our first priority at any new club was to convince the players of the importance of being professional full-time. On and off the pitch, during training sessions, before, after and during competition.
“We wanted to make them realise that yes, for all of us the most important part of our life is our family. But once you know that your family is well, there cannot be anything – anything - that can take any minute of your life over football. Always, the priority has to be football. This was what we tried to make the players feel.
“Rafa’s methodical approach was deep-rooted in me, also. It was normal. I wouldn’t understand training in any other way. I think the analysis is one of the most important parts of the training because, whatever you do, it has an effect – positive or negative, better or worse. You have to analyse what happened, why it happened, and try to find the solutions if the result is not the one you are looking for.
“In England, I think you become more a manager than only a coach, because you have to manage so many people. Rafa used to delegate, of course, but he was never very long away from the pitch because he loves coaching. In Spain, we have not had this management culture for long – we are mainly coaches. So Rafa could not totally delegate the coaching part to the staff. Coaching is in his soul, you know?”
Ahead of the trip to Turkey, Benitez spoke of what he felt Ayestarán - “the best coach I have ever had”, according to one member of Liverpool’s senior squad - brought to the table and why he was so important.
“Pako is very dedicated, very knowledgeable and always learning”, Benitez said.
“Without any doubt he is the best physical trainer there is, and now he works here as an assistant manager, I place on him many of the jobs I used to do at Valencia. I need to delegate as I am now the general manager.
“Ochotorena, Herrera and the others get all sorts of information and Pako Ayestarán is the one who gathers it all together and gives it shape.”
As no Liverpudlian lucky enough to remember it will ever forget, that tumultuous night in Istanbul did not start well for the Reds with Paolo Maldini’s 50-second opener being followed by a Hernan Crespo double which left Benitez’s side three goals behind at the interval and standing on the precipice of global humiliation.
Tales are legion of what went on in the Liverpool dressing room during half time that night but Ayestarán’s recollections provide a telling insight into the calm, methodical approach Benitez himself was renowned for and which ultimately managed to navigate a path towards glory from the wreckage of what seemed inevitable and embarrassing defeat.
“We had to achieve two things”, he explained.
“First we had to change the pattern in the middle of midfield where Milan were doing the most damage. So we had to put on a player who could hold a good line and control the flow of the ball. Since we hadn't had enough power and movement in that area it was obvious to go for Didi Hamman.
“The second thing was a basic - the players had to believe in themselves again. If Rafa has to give somebody a b******ing he'll do it and when he has to bawl and shout he'll do that, too. But it's rare. Above all, he is an analytical man. These types of situations call for more than just hammering the players until your aggression and your attack on them gets their character and spirit going again. We had to convince the players that the situation was merely a result of our errors and the fact that Milan had taken advantage of them so well.
“We needed to examine the problem, come up with an answer and then make the players both understand it and believe in it. From then on it would be vital to score a goal within the first 10 or 15 minutes after the break.
“When we came out, the fans applauded and we heard the sound of "You'll Never Walk Alone" echoing around. These fans have a deep belief - they have faith in the team and bring a tremendous boost of energy. They are more than just fans.”
The remarkable triumph over AC Milan which brought a fifth European Cup back to Anfield bought Benitez and his staff credibility and some time as they set their sights on ending Liverpool’s league title drought which had already stretched to a decade and a half but there was no resting on their laurels despite having already captured the most prestigious club trophy in football.
Twelve months after Istanbul, another dramatic fightback this time against West Ham in Cardiff saw another 3-3 draw and penalty shoot-out secure the Reds’ seventh FA Cup win but by then Ayestarán had already taken a leaf out of Bill Shankly’s book by creating an ingenious training device at Melwood in a bid to lay down the foundations to make Liverpool the fittest team in the world and in the best shape possible for future successes.
‘Shankly’s Sweat Box’, devised in the early 1960s, was a ten-by-ten, eight-foot-high wooden square placed on a practice pitch, inside of which players would take turns kicking and trapping and kicking the ball again during timed periods which was more gruelling than it perhaps sounds and was credited by many players for honing the fitness to the standard required for the way the manager wanted his side to play.
‘Pako’s Hill’, created in 2006, saw Benitez’s assistant preside over the instalment of three man-made hills running along the edge of the Melwood’s training pitches adjacent to the perimeter wall for stamina and resistance training.
"Every year we're trying to improve the facilities, and the peak is another way of doing this”, he explained.
“There are three. One is is 34m long with a gradient of 5. The other is 24m with a gradient of 5. Another is 70m long.
“We have to change the culture surrounding Liverpool. All of us have responsibility, from the coaching staff, the players, the board and the supporters. The change I’m talking about is a mental one. I’m not sure if Liverpool is ready to accept change, and this could be our biggest obstacle to taking our next step.
“Everyone needs to accept there are too many games in England but everyone says every competition is important, but I don’t agree with that. If we expect the same players to start in every competition, we can not be successful.
“Some players have had too much pressure on them for too long. To be successful, you can’t be looking to the same individuals all the time. It has to be group effort.
“Sometimes when you react to big expectations you make decisions to get quick results when you should be thinking over the medium and long term. Winning the Champions League in our first season increased expectations on us, but we were not a great team. You only have to get through 11 games to win that competition.
“The spine of our team is as good as any in the league. The rest of the squad is where we need to improve and that will determine how close we can go, but the new players must also be given time. We’re on the way to where we want to be and we have more solutions now but people must realise there’s still a way to go.
“It was Robbie Fowler who first called that area of Melwood Pako Hill, or Pako Peak. I tried to get the players to work with me for a week to build it, but they wouldn’t!”
Liverpool reached another Champions League final in 2007 as the methods the club’s Spanish backroom team were instituting took further hold with the boardroom takeover by Tom Hicks and George Gillett and big-money signings of Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun raising hopes of the serious assault title on a 19th league title supporters were craving.
But just weeks into the fourth season of the Spanish revolution at Anfield came the shock news that Ayestarán had been placed on gardening leave and was set to leave the club after being confronted by Benitez over reports linking him with a return to Spain.
The day before Liverpool’s 6-0 home win over Derby County at the start of September, a terse Benitez confirmed to the media his assistant had tendered his resignation at what he admitted was the worst possible time with Liverpool having started the season well and remaining unbeaten in the Premier League and Champions League qualifiers.
"He said that maybe he would like to leave the club and we are now analysing the situation”, Benitez said.
"Eleven years we have worked together but now we must analysis the situation. I know things but the best thing now is to say nothing and wait. I think he will go but I don't think he will be at the game tomorrow."
The pair were believed to have had a series of disagreements including over Liverpool’s pre-season training routine which had been altered in a bid to avoid of a repeat of the previous campaign’s slow start and, after reports linking Ayestarán with a move to Athletic Bilbao earlier in the summer, fresh stories suggesting his assistant was set to return to Valencia brought matters to a head.
Ayestarán’s departure after just over three years at Anfield was confirmed soon afterwards and the following March Benitez opened up on the reasons for his trusted ally’s exit, alleging a betrayal which gave him little alternative to address the situation.
"Pako was much more than a physical trainer, he was my friend and someone I trusted for many years”, Benitez said.
“I worked with him for 11 years. It's a recent wound that still hurts.
“Liverpool gave him autonomy and power and I think that changed him a lot – he wanted more and more. One day I found out that he had serious contacts with other teams and that seemed to me a betrayal towards me and the club that I couldn't accept.
“He told me he wanted to leave the same day that we played against Toulouse, so I lost someone I trusted greatly, a key member of my staff at a crucial moment in the pre-season."
Ayestarán denied claims he was manoeuvring for a job elsewhere at the time of his Liverpool departure and did not re-emerge in the game until the following year which saw a short spell as Real Sociedad’s sporting director then spells as fitness coach with Benfica and Valencia before a stint as Quique Sanchez Flores’ assistant at Al-Ahli Dubai.
He did eventually become a manager with Tecos in Mexico in 2013 and, after a spell with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, became Gary Neville’s assistant during the former Manchester United captain’s ill-fated time in charge at the Mestalla and succeeded him as head coach before coaching Las Palmas and then returning to Mexico with Pachuca and, latterly, Tondela.
He has always maintained though he never betrayed Benitez at Liverpool, insisting he merely had to leave Anfield because they were ‘going in different directions’ and that suggestions he was in discussions with other clubs behind his boss’s back were without foundation.
“That’s not true. I never looked at any jobs behind his back,” Ayestarán told the ECHO in 2015.
“It’s true that I had offers from Spain but Rafa knew about them.
“No, I’ve not seen Rafa since. I’ve not been lucky.
“I would have loved to continue at the club for more years but the fact is I had stopped enjoying my work on a daily basis.
“I just felt Rafa and I were going in different directions in the way of wanting to do things. In terms of the training and the competitions, we were getting away from our principles.
“If you are not enjoying it then you are not a happy bunny, as you say in English. When that happens it’s time to move on.
“If it had been anywhere else, it wouldn’t have been such a difficult decision. But because it was Liverpool it was very difficult.
“There are other good clubs but Liverpool is a truly special club. It’s not easy to find a similar environment but I have no regrets about leaving. If I was going to be fulfilled I needed to go somewhere else.
“When I look back on my time at Liverpool, I keep in my mind the positives. The great moments, great experiences and great people. The positives are more important than anything that happened towards the end of my time there.”
Liverpool did not win another trophy under Benitez after Ayestarán’s departure although reached the Champions League semi-finals again in 2008 and the following season produced the club’s most credible title challenge for the best part of two decades but fell just short to Manchester United despite a Premier League record points tally of 86 and only two league defeats during a campaign which saw them beat Alex Ferguson’s side home and away.
The impact of Hicks and Gillett’s catastrophic ownership is generally seen as the key factor in hampering the Benitez era at Liverpool in fulfilling its undoubted early promise but some of the Spaniard’s former players believed allowing Ayestarán to leave was a serious error which ultimately proved damaging to his regime.
"One of the things that I felt Rafa killed himself with was Pako Ayestarán. He was amazing”, said Peter Crouch on his podcast last year.
"He just ran the club. He was involved in absolutely everything.
"For whatever reason him and Rafa fell out, and I felt that it was to the detriment to the club really.
"He was so good, everyone liked him. He was brilliant at what he did, we respected him.
"If he was harsh on us you'd accept it because it came from him. He fulfilled two or three different roles."
Steven Gerrard meanwhile felt Ayestarán's influence as a sounding board for Benitez was particularly missed during his infamous 'Facts' diatribe against Alex Ferguson during the 2009 title campaign.
“It was a time when we really missed the stabilising presence of Pako Ayestarán. This was a key factor”, he wrote in his 2015 autobiography.
"We lost a lot when Rafa fell out with Pako. We all loved his training and his methods. I always felt so fresh and fired up when going out to play a match under Pako.
“He was also a great link to the manager. Rafa was so cold and Pako was the bridge and buffer for us. He was a fun guy and would explain to a player why he might be starting on the bench or why it would be important to miss a day’s training in terms of your fitness.
“The communication had been perfect under Ayestarán; and when he left it declined. I felt Rafa had changed and had no confidence in his new staff. For me, he’s the perfect number two.
“Rafa had brought in Sammy Lee but he actually gave more responsibility to Paco de Miguel. As far as we could see, he was Rafa’s yes man. The players had no respect for him and his training was terrible.
“We tried to keep a lot of Pako’s methods but it wasn’t the same. The new Paco had nothing about him. No personality.
“There were other Spanish guys after Ayestarán left. They were nice enough but we would have done better if Pako Ayestarán had stayed.”
Ayestarán admitted years later what a wrench it was to leave Anfield but made clear his affection and attachment to the club and the area - he still has a home on the Wirral, close to Benitez, with whom he has reconciled - will never end.
“It was so hard, one of the most difficult decisions I have taken in my life”, he said.
“It's difficult to explain because I was so happy here, I was enjoying my time so much. The day I drove out from Melwood for the last time and headed home to the Wirral it was really deep sadness.
“Sometimes you have to take decisions and, at that time, I thought it was for the best. Sometimes you realise you have things to express yourself and it was just the right time to move on.
“I felt that I needed another experience, to try different environments, and I thought it was the right time to leave.
“My connection with Liverpool started in 1975 and probably is going to stay with me until my last breath.
“At Liverpool, I loved it from day one. It's the feeling of belonging to a club, to a community. I was in Liverpool Lime Street and people were coming up to me, saying thank you, thank you for coming. I'm thinking 'f***!
“I was in Valencia for many years and I'm only stopped in the street to be criticised and then I come here and they are saying thank you before I have even started.
“When you ask my oldest son, who arrived here in Liverpool when he was just a month old, 'where is home?', he always says, 'home is in the Wirral'.”
