He was hailed as our Spanish messiah, a genial tactician who restored our reputation as one of Europe's biggest clubs and led us to one of the greatest triumphs in our history.
The Spaniard's first year in England had climaxed like a fairytale, one that was capped by a European achievement that will ensure his tenure will be immortalised and cherished in the annals of Anfield history.
For while even the late, great Bill Shankly took time to establish Liverpool as a force, Benitez made an almost immediate impact, shrugging off the disappointment of a fifth-place finish in the Premiership to defy the odds and lead the Reds to a fifth European Cup success.
To say his legend can be summed up in six minutes would be to belittle his other achievements, but those few precious moments that followed half-time on Wednesday, May 25, 2005, were undoubtedly the most important.
A wave of optimism carried Liverpool into Rafa's second season and although the Reds secured a Super Cup win over CSKA Moscow, a fixture pile-up as a result of a series of Champions League qualifiers and poor Premiership performances saw them struggle early on.
A run of one defeat in 18 matches, in which they set a new club record of 11 consecutive clean sheets, got the Reds back on track, culminating in a third-place finish which at the time saw us notch up our highest points tally since the inauguration of the Premier League.
There was also another final to look forward to. With more than a little sense of déjà vu, the Reds overcame West Ham on penalties to claim the FA Cup and a third trophy under Rafa in just two seasons.
The Spaniard had certainly shown he had the Midas touch, following on from his success at Valencia where he had a developed a reputation as one of Europe's finest coaches.
However, there were still doubts over his understanding of the English game overall, with many supporters and pundits suggesting his rotation policy would continue to hinder Liverpool's bid to end their long wait for the League Championship.
This concern was perhaps enhanced by our start to the 2006-07 season, with the frustration of yet another disappointing Premiership campaign providing a stark contrast to the confident swagger the side had begun to display in the Champions League.
European Champions Barcelona stood in the way in the knockout stage, but Rafa and co produced one the performances of the season to clinch a famous 2-1 win in the Nou Camp and lay the foundations for progress to the next round.
After overcoming PSV and Chelsea respectively, the final in Athens would be another repeat, with AC Milan gaining revenge for 2005.
The Reds marched to a run of 14 league matches unbeaten but saw their title hopes derailed by a series of disappointing draws.
A shock FA Cup defeat at home to Barnsley heaped further pressure on the Reds boss and a parting of the ways seemed likely before an impressive Champions League victory over Inter Milan proved the catalyst for an end of season surge.
A 4-2 triumph in an all-English quarter-final second-leg at home to Arsenal had supporters dreaming of a third European final in four seasons, but this time it would be Chelsea's turn to advance to Moscow.
A second year without a trophy had raised the heat on Benitez heading into the 2008-09 campaign, but if it hadn't been for injuries to Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, a partnership that had terrorised defences home and abroad, the Reds could easily have finished the season as champions after losing just two league matches.
Highlights would include league doubles over both Manchester United and Chelsea, with the 4-1 mauling of Alex Ferguson's men at Old Trafford a particularly sweet moment for fans, players and coaching staff alike.
The Red Devils would go on to close out the championship but Liverpool kept winning right until the end with 10 victories from our last 11 league matches. It ensured we finished the campaign by setting a new personal Barclays Premier League best of 86 points.
Expectation was higher than ever heading into 2009-10, but all was not well in the Liverpool camp.
Xabi Alonso's on-off transfer to Real Madrid was the major theme of a disappointing pre-season schedule and when the Spaniard did finally make the move to the Bernabeu, Benitez's decision to fill the void with Roma's injured midfielder, Alberto Aquilani left many puzzled.
The opening day defeat at Tottenham had proved to be a sign of things to come and once again the injuries to Torres and Gerrard would have a huge bearing on results.
By November any thoughts of a title challenge were over and a group stage exit from the Champions League threatened to completely derail the season.
Rumours of disharmony within the squad and speculation over his own future did little to raise the team's morale and a shock FA Cup replay defeat at home to Championship strugglers Reading left Benitez on the brink.
All hopes of ending the season with a trophy were ended by Diego Forlan's crucial away goal in the Europa League semi-final against Atletico Madrid, while a 2-0 reversal against Chelsea in the final home match of the season quashed a top four hope that Benitez had 'guaranteed' back in December.
The goalless draw at relegated Hull City would not only prove to be the final game of a disappointing campaign, but would also be Rafa's swansong as the club opted to part ways with the Spaniard less than four weeks later after a season that saw his side lose 19 games.
-liverpoolfc.tv
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