Benítez relishing his final chances at home

Rafa Benitez has enjoyed title triumphs, famously with Valencia twice, but he really loves a final; the one-off challenge of plotting the enemy's downfall, applying the grey cells to getting the little details right or reacting assertively mid-match to fluctuating fortunes. Benitez faces his 12th showdown today (Sunday), hunting an eighth knockout trophy. If his tactics work and his players blunt Corinthians' dagger-sharp counter-attacking, Chelsea will be able to call themselves champions of the world.

Their interim first-team manager, an ambitious man who knows how important events here in refined Yokohama are to his restoration to the coaching A-list, held two meetings with his players yesterday, one focusing on the back four and the two shielding midfielders and the other a conflab with Fernando Torres and his high-class support acts.

Under Benitez's professorial eye, Chelsea holed up in their Yokohama hotel, swotting up on the champions of South America. They ignored the hubbub of the many weddings in adjacent banqueting suites so lavish and surreal that one had Darth Vader as a greeter, prompting jokes about the whereabouts of Obi-Wan Mikel. Outside the hotel, thousands stopped to take photos of a Christmas tree while 500 locals wandered around in Father Christmas outfits. In the rain. Cheering. As you do.

Chelsea cut themselves off from the local scenery. They had work to do. Benitez knows so much about Corinthians, he's probably also been scouting the Galatians and Ephesians - just in case.

Chelsea have certainly talked about the Brazilians' threats, about the mobile menace of Paulinho, the forceful way Paolo Guerrero leads the line and the influence of Emerson. All managers do this but Benitez seems happiest when scrutinising clips of opponents, using a rope for defenders to hold to stay in line in training. If Benitez watched The Full Monty, the scene he would freeze-frame is when the male strippers choreograph their routine by copying Arsenal's offside trap from the George Graham era.

"In a final you cannot afford to make mistakes so it's important you prepare things properly,'' said Benitez, having found a quiet space in a pantry to talk far from the marrying crowd. "The little things can make the difference so you have to analyse these little things." The devil is in the detail, decisively so. Benitez heard the words coming from the Corinthians' camp, the hunger emanating from the likes of Guerrero, who identifies with the "madness" of the club's 20,000 travelling fans "and like them I would do anything to make Corinthians world champions".

Benitez knows that the Brazilians will press hard, that they have been discussing the importance of squeezing the space around Juan Mata, and then counter-attacking at pace. He's studied them, looking to "see if they have some weaknesses and try to exploit them". He's ready.

Benitez's adrenalin flows fastest when cups are up for grabs. At Valencia, he organised the demise of Marseille in the 2004 Uefa Cup final. At Liverpool, he lost to Chelsea in the 2005 Carling Cup final after extra time, an experience he still described yesterday as "quite good", because it was a final, because it was a day out for fans, because they almost defeated Jose Mourinho. Anyone needing to understand Benitez needs to understand his paranoic dislike of the Special One.

The Spaniard then achieved his signature success, the 2005 Champions League victory over AC Milan, a 3-0 down, 3-3 epic won by Liverpool on penalties. Liverpool devotees still come up to Benitez and tell him it was the best night of their life. He smiled yesterday, remarking: "If your wife is in front of you, you might not say this, but you might mean it!"

Even seven years on, events in the Ataturk Stadium still seem the unbelievable side of incredible. Benitez was confident beforehand, looking into the eyes of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and the rest in red and seeing a steely determination to bring a fifth European Cup back to Anfield.

"You think you know,'' said Benitez. "You can see how they are. Always, after the warm-up, I ask my staff if they are sharp and paying attention to everything or distracted. Around 80 per cent of the time, you know." In Istanbul? "Yes."

But then came the goals from Paolo Maldini and Hernan Crespo twice. "I was preparing the half-time speech when it was 2-0 and then we conceded the third,'' recalled Benitez. "I had the idea to change the shape of the team, preparing Didi Hamann [to come on]. The tactical issues were fine, my head was clear, but you have to give your speech and in English."

As Milan ran riot, the main word he scribbled on his notepad was lucharlo - fight for it. Looking back yesterday, Benitez said: "I knew the players were down, with their heads down, so it was quite complicated but the message was simple: 'score one goal and we'll be back in the game, you have to fight for the game, there's nothing to lose now, you have 45 minutes to change things'. Apart from the message, the key was the tactical change. Hamann gave us more control."

Benitez switched to a back-three with Hamann joining Xabi Alonso in shielding the defence from Kaka's runs while Gerrard pushed on behind Milan Baros. Benitez attempted to exude control. "As a manager I have to be relaxed," he said yesterday. In Istanbul, he had to transmit a message that all was not lost. "Give yourselves a chance to be heroes," he told the players as they headed back out for the miracle of Istanbul. Score early. Gerrard obliged and the rest is hysteria.

To date, Istanbul has been the pinnacle of Benitez's achievements, all of them lovingly chronicled on his website, including honorary degrees and occasions when he has eclipsed records held by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Benitez is a strange mix of prickly, charming and insecure, but as he frequently points out, his CV does deserve more respect.

After Istanbul, Benitez guided Liverpool to the Uefa Super Cup in Monaco with a defeat of CSKA Moscow. He lost to Sao Paulo in the Club World Cup final here in 2005, a result that still hurts. "In that game we had three goals disallowed, a penalty that should have been given, a red card they should've had. Everything."

A year on, Benitez was again reliant on Gerrard for keeping the dream alive in the FA Cup final win over West Ham. Liverpool edged Chelsea in the Community Shield but endured the frustration of narrowly falling to Milan in the 2007 Champions League final. The memory still gnaws at Benitez. "We played better in Athens, when we lost, than in Istanbul. In Athens we were in control."

Dismissed by Liverpool in 2010, Benitez soon steered Inter Milan to the Italian Super Cup and Club World Cup in his brief spell, although he lost the European Super Cup duel with Atletico Madrid. Fast forward two years and Benitez could be found in Yokohama, preparing another team for another face-off. Mindful of his reputation for not always bonding with players, Benitez was quick to point out that the injured John Terry had been calling from London. "He was telling us how well we were doing, wishing us all the best." He knows there is no issue with the motivation.

"There are not a lot of chances in life to become world champions,'' said his defender Branislav Ivanovic. "We are here to make history. We also have huge motivation after being eliminated from the Champions League."

Every player has his own narrative. Ivanovic missed last season's triumph in Munich through suspension, booked by tonight's referee Cuneyt Cakir at the Nou Camp in the semi-final. "It was difficult personally, but after the final I quickly forgot this period from semi-final to final,'' said Ivanovic yesterday. "I can be a little bit more happy here now than before when I couldn't help the team. This is my chance."

Ditto Benitez. He has a habit of seizing final chances.


Long haul could cost Chelsea

Chelsea's ambition to become champions of the world could compromise their ability to take on Leeds United in the Capital One Cup quarter-final at Elland Road on Wednesday.

Noise-related evening take-off restrictions at Narita airport in Tokyo mean that Rafa Benitez's squad cannot leave immediately after today (Sunday's) Fifa Club World Cup final against Corinthians in Yokohama.

The European champions hoped for a 10.15pm take-off slot but have now been told they must wait until 11am tomorrow. With a 12-hour flight and nine-hour time difference, this would mean Chelsea arriving back at Heathrow after lunch with jet-lag to combat.

Alarm-clocks permitting, Chelsea could consider travelling to Elland Road on the day of the game. Benitez confirmed that John Terry has no chance of playing. Leeds fans will be hoping for extra-time for Chelsea tonight.