Former Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek has said he wanted to punch ex-Reds manager Rafa Benitez in the face after falling out with the Spaniard.
Dudek lifted the 2005 Champions League trophy under Benitez, emerging as a Liverpool legend after he played a key role in their penalty shootout win over AC Milan.
But the Pole fell out with Benitez following the arrival of shot-stopper Pepe Reina, as Dudek sought an exit to Cologne but felt the move was being hindered by his boss.
Writing in his autobiography, "Jerzy Dudek: A Big Pole In Our Goal," serialised in the Daily Mirror, Dudek explained how he confronted Benitez after training.
He said: "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?
"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."
Dudek did, however, outline his respect for Benitez, adding: "Rafa Benitez is truly passionate about the game.
"He has a great knowledge of football. He's not a fool who comes out with theories that are all talk. His problem is that he's not a great 'people person' so always encounters problems when managing a group because he is very cold and hard-faced in how he makes decisions.
"He kept a distance between himself and his players -- like there was an invisible wall there -- but it didn't stop him from being a genius of a coach."
Dudek also mentioned former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, saying that the midfielder struggled to work under Benitez and would have benefited had he had been managed by Jose Mourinho.
He said: "Stevie once said to me that it would have been great if Mourinho could have taken over at Anfield when Rafa left.
"I think it was after my leaving, when I came to Liverpool as a Real Madrid player in the Champions League. I remember those words well, even if it was just a casual conversation.
"I think Liverpool could have improved under Mourinho. Stevie and Jose had a mutual respect. It's a pity that Stevie didn't come to Real.
"In my opinion, that move would have extended his career at the top level for at least two years and he would have learned even more by playing for Mourinho."