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Just eight months earlier they had both played key roles as Liverpool won a historic fifth European Cup in the most dramatic of circumstances in Istanbul.

But by January 2006, Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek was just about at the end of his tether with manager Rafa Benitez.

Having lost the number one role at Anfield to Pepe Reina, the Pole wanted a move and saw Benitez as the man who was blocking it.

Here in a dramatic extract from his new book “A Big Pole in our Goal” - and with Spaniard Benitez returning to Anfield on Saturday with new team Newcastle – Dudek reveals how he even considered physical violence against the Reds boss so angry was he with his actions.

Here Jerzy takes up the story:

Benfica were interested and the prospect of moving to Portugal was especially exciting as my old Feyenoord team-mate, Ronald Koeman, was the coach there. He knew what I was capable of from the extra training sessions I had with him in Rotterdam and he tried to convince me to attempt to win a title in a different country. Liverpool were interested in Simao at the time so there was speculation that I would move to Lisbon as part of a deal in the January transfer window.

Benfica weren’t the only club interested in me. A return to Feyenoord, now managed by Erwin Koeman, Ronald’s brother, was mooted, but a transfer ban on Feyenoord due to financial issues put paid to that.

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The main interest was from 1. FC Köln. I received a call from their manager, Michael Meier, and in a 15-minute conversation he made it clear he was desperate for me to try to help them get off the bottom of the Bundesliga. We had played a friendly in the Rhein Energie Stadium in 2003 so I already knew they had a great bunch of supporters so I told Benitez I wanted to go there.

He said it would be a good move for me, adding: “We’ll definitely help you, we’ll do whatever it takes to make a deal.”

The negotiations started. There was an issue over whether it was a loan move first or a permanent transfer straight away. A week-and-a-half later and there was no progress. I was in touch with Meier regularly and he told me Benitez wouldn’t speak to him, but was saying Köln’s offer was unacceptable. They wanted to take me on loan for six months, for which Liverpool would get €800,000, then complete a permanent €3m transfer in the summer if they avoided relegation.

German clubs are financially savvy – Köln knew they couldn’t afford to buy me if they weren’t in the top division – but Rafa refused to let me go on loan. It was a permanent deal or nothing as far as he was concerned. I tried to convince him to change his mind: “What have you got to lose? If they go down I’ll come back to Liverpool and stay until my contract ends or you can sell me then. I really need to play games to be prepared for the World Cup.”

He said he understood and liked my desire to be playing so negotiations with Köln continued. Three days before the transfer window closed I went in to see him again – “Relax, Jerzy, there’s still time, but we want a permanent deal,” – but Meier was telling me that Rafa was still refusing to take his calls! I got more and more frustrated with him until transfer deadline day when I finally boiled over.

As soon as training had finished I stormed over to him and ripped my gloves off in an aggressive manner. I was so angry that the lads said later the aggression was pouring out of me. I raised my voice. The lads could see I was fuming so all hung around to see what would happen. Footballers love seeing a bit of confrontation on the training ground!

“We’ll talk in a moment, Jerzy.”

“No, let’s talk now. What is going on with my transfer?”

“I will be honest with you, I am not interested in loaning you. If they come back today to buy you, they need to double their offer as this is the last day of the transfer window.” I was furious with him, absolutely fuming, and in my head I could hear a devilish voice saying ‘punch him in the face – punch him in the face and he’ll let you go to Germany’.

To be completely honest, I genuinely considered punching Rafa in the face. Then the consequences of doing so flashed through my mind. Would he let me go? Or would it just lead to a massive media scandal? Surely I couldn’t stay if I gave him a smack?

I don’t know how, but I managed to stop myself. Punching a Liverpool manager who had won the European Cup only a few months earlier wouldn’t have looked too good on the CV I guess, but I was still angry.

“You said you’d help me. You said you’d do everything to get a deal through. You didn’t mean it.”

“I cannot let you go on loan. I’ll get €800,000, great, but I can’t spend it today and I’ll be five months without an experienced reserve goalkeeper. What if Pepe gets injured next week? I’ll have Scott and a kid from the Academy. Imagine the pressure I’d be under if that happened...”

“Why should I care? I haven’t played all season. Scott played in the cups. You promised you would help me but now I have a concrete offer you’ve not kept your word.”

“I cannot risk it. I repeat, if they come back in today they must pay double.”

As I walked off towards the dressing room Stevie walked alongside me. “You wanted to punch him, didn’t you lad? You really wanted to f***ing punch him...” Benitez was walking a few metres behind: “Jerzy, once you get changed, come to my office please.” He knew that after a shower I would have cooled off and I would react differently.

I explained to the lads in the dressing room how he’d promised to help me move but was now going back on what he said. I felt he was treating me unfairly, but that’s how Rafa operated. He did everything so coldly, almost inhumanely, because he saw things as business. He had to protect his interests, but it was hard to be on the receiving end of it.

I went to his office and he said that if Köln paid €3m now and he could get a replacement in immediately he would let me go, but we both knew that wasn’t going to happen. So I was stuck at Liverpool with no prospect of playing or even being on the bench.

Jerzy Dudek A Big Pole In Our Goal, RRP £18.99 Only £14.99 on sportmediashop.com . ebook also available. Order here : http://www.sportmediashop.com/products/details/football_books/JerzyDudek/