Achraf Lazaar aims dig at Newcastle fans and "fake" Rafa Benitez in explosive interview
Achraf Lazaar is a name that probably means very little to so many Newcastle United fans, even those who were ardent followers in the Rafa Benitez days.
The Moroccan left-back spent FIVE years on the books at Newcastle and made a grand total of TEN appearances in the famous black and white.
Rafa Benitez signed the Moroccan from Palermo for £2 million, and it didn't take the Spaniard long to realise he'd made a mistake. Lazaar spent most of his time at Newcastle out on loan before moving to Watford on a permanent deal.
Now the 34-year-old has been speaking to Flashscore, where he's taken aim at Benitez and even fired an odd dig at the Newcastle fans.
Achraf Lazaar slates "fake" Rafa Benitez
We can understand why Lazaar would feel bitter, but when you read what he's said, you'd think we'd signed Lionel Messi and left him to rot.
The Moroccan clearly struggled during his time on Tyneside, and has opened up on his dislike for ex-boss Rafa Benitez in an explosive new interview.
"Personally, I didn't have a good relationship with him (Benitez). Even though he had strongly pushed to sign me, at Newcastle he never gave me a real chance to play.
"In my first game, I was fouled a lot, and he immediately told me, 'This isn't Serie A'. I felt lost, I didn't speak English.
"Benitez would play me once every three weeks: it's impossible to build match fitness like that. His training sessions were different: we never ran, it was just possession drills for 40 minutes and then home. At Palermo I was flying, whereas at Newcastle I was getting tired immediately because I had lost my stamina.
"In England, they did a lot of gym work, and taking a leaf out of Cristiano Ronaldo's book, I started doing heavy lifting programs. I bulked up too much, and the muscle injuries started.
"I was incredibly stressed out because I went from being chased by the whole of Serie A and Lyon to warming the bench in the Championship. I used to go out at night with friends until two or three in the morning just to escape that situation, even though I didn't drink.
"Benitez used to tell me I didn't know when to play one or two touches and stopped me from taking men on. I once told him that if he wanted someone who was only good at passing, he shouldn't have signed me, considering he chased me when I had Inter, Milan, and Roma at my feet.
"He was a fake man: he used to badmouth Real Madrid players, saying it was their fault because on Thursdays they would fly to Marbella on private jets."
There's a massive difference between being 'fouled a lot' and falling over at the slightest sign of a physical challenge. Rafa was right. It's not Serie A, it's the English game; there's no time for dwelling on the ball, but if you want to try it, you'd better be strong enough to stand up after being clattered.
Newcastle fans were "cold", claims Lazaar
That's something he could have adapted to in time, so we'll give him the benefit of the doubt. But Lazaar wasn't done blaming everyone else for his shortcomings.
"English football is the strongest in the world, but in Italy, it's a religion, and I'm sad that this feeling is fading today. In England, despite playing for clubs like Newcastle, Watford, or Sheffield Wednesday, I didn't really feel like a footballer off the pitch.
"At Palermo, I was worshipped and pampered like a king; at Newcastle, instead, the fans were cold. The stadium was magnificent, always packed with 55,000 people, but on the street, no one knew who I was. I could drink a coffee next to them, and they'd barely say hello. I missed that beautiful Italian pressure where the fans give you hell if you lose.
"Furthermore, in England, before matches they would dance and blast music in the dressing room; I, on the other hand, needed silence and focus, I just needed to hear my studs on the floor."
So it's all our fault he was poor because we didn't recognise him and our players didn't let him sit in silence before the games.
Get over yourself, mate.
