Rafael Benitez does not mince his words when asked whether he anticipated that Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa would one day become managers. "Alonso, yes. Arbeloa, not really," he says flatly. "For me, Arbeloa was a surprise."

Nearly two decades after Benitez brought the pair together at Liverpool, the two Spaniards will face each other as managers when Arbeloa's Fulham host Alonso's Chelsea at Craven Cottage on Monday.

From Anfield to the dugout

Alonso was one of Benitez's first Liverpool signings when he arrived at Anfield in 2004. Arbeloa followed in 2007, joining from Deportivo. Together they were part of a Spain side that won the 2010 World Cup and two European Championships, and both went on to represent Real Madrid after leaving Liverpool.

Their careers have remained closely intertwined. When Alonso was sacked by Real Madrid in January last season, Arbeloa was promoted from Real Madrid B — the club's academy side — to replace him. Both men then crossed the Channel in July to take on their first Premier League managerial roles at clubs whose stadiums sit just two miles apart.

Benitez offered a candid assessment of Arbeloa's readiness for English football. "With Alvaro, he knows the Premier League," he told BBC Sport. "But his experience is shorter than Xabi's. We need to know how he can cope outside Real Madrid, which protects you in a way. Outside, you are on your own."

Alonso's football intelligence

Of the two, Benitez is notably warmer in his praise of Alonso, describing his former midfielder as a player who possessed exceptional "vision" on the pitch. Time spent at Liverpool, Real Madrid, and then under Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich gave Alonso exposure to a variety of coaching philosophies, says Benitez — experience that would have "opened his mind."

Alonso's football intelligence was evident long before he entered management. Benitez recalls a telling moment from a 2009 league match at Anfield against Sam Allardyce's Blackburn. Ignoring instructions to deliver a free-kick to the far post, Alonso instead picked out the near post, allowing Fernando Torres to head home his second goal of the afternoon as Liverpool cruised to a 4-0 win. "He was someone who was always thinking," Benitez said.

Alonso carried that instinct into coaching, winning a league and cup double with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga in 2024 before taking charge of Chelsea this summer.

Friends and rivals

Despite the professional rivalry, the relationship between Alonso and Arbeloa remains warm. They played together for seven years at club level and shared the pitch 262 times across club and country — including under Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, and Vicente del Bosque. Arbeloa has described them as "very good friends," adding that friendship "will never change," even if they become "rivals when the game starts."

The pair spoke to each other ahead of Monday's match, though not about football. They also live close to each other in Cobham, Surrey, with their children attending the same school.

A coach who keeps on giving

Benitez lists more than 20 former Liverpool players who have gone into coaching or management, among them Wales manager Craig Bellamy. He also notes that Djimi Traore — the defender he memorably sent to the showers at half-time during the 2005 UEFA Champions League final, before an injury to Steve Finnan saw him return for Liverpool's extraordinary comeback and penalty shoot-out victory against AC Milan — is now an assistant coach at Seattle Sounders.

"They always take something from you. Maybe two or three things they can use as a coach, and I'm happy with that," he said.

Still searching for his next challenge

Now 65, Benitez remains without a club after being sacked by Panathinaikos in May despite achieving the top-four finish he had been brought in to deliver. He has been linked with the Scotland national team job and acknowledges that a national team role could appeal, particularly with many coaching positions set to turn over after the World Cup.

"There has to be something where you feel you can achieve something," he said, citing his time at Newcastle United — where he guided the club to promotion — as an example of the kind of project that energises him. He remains a Uefa technical observer and says he is embracing modern tools including social media, artificial intelligence, and advanced data analysis.

"I know football now is more demanding," he said. "You have to be patient because, if not, if you change with the pressure of social media and change every seven months, then you don't have any project. That is the difficult thing."