Rafael Benitez hailed his cup heroes after Liverpool produced an amazing comeback to lift the FA Cup in Cardiff with a victory on penalties over West Ham United.
The Liverpool manager praised the character and never-say-die spirit of his team and said he was so proud of them after a mammoth 62 game season.

"I must give credit to my players as after a 62 game season a lot of them had cramp but they kept going until the end, never gave up and have done a fantastic job," enthused Benitez.

"Steven Gerrard scored two fantastic goals and you know the quality he has and I give him credit but for me it was the success of the team. Steven would say that himself and the energy levels the players showed was amazing. It was a fantastic final.

"Our supporters were fantastic as always and they kept us going. I was a little bit disappointed with the mistakes we made but we changed things. Cisse got a goal just before half-time which was important then I put Kromkamp on down the right side because Konchesky had cramp.

"We needed to control the midfield more and I put Didi Hamann on and he kept the ball and passed it for us."

Benitez also praised his goalkeeper Pepe Reina for his heroics in the shoot-out when he made three saves.

"Pepe is famous back in Spain for saving penalties so we had confidence in him and he did his job for us," added Benitez.

The Reds boss also revealed Harry Kewell had to leave the field with a muscular injury but feels he will be fit for the World Cup Finals.

"It was a disappointment for Harry to come off in another final and I think he will be out for two weeks but I think he will be okay for the World Cup," said Benitez.