Ask a Kopite to name Rafael Benitez's crowning achievement at Liverpool Football Club and more often than not the reply will be delivered along with a quizzical and sarcastic expression that Scousers could trademark.

Our fifth European Cup, they'll tell you; As if you needed to ask, they might add.

Certain events or figures in history become so mythical in our perception that they can be referred to in just a single word: Watergate, Woodstock, Elvis.

On May 25 2005, Benitez masterminded a sporting comeback that saw the word Istanbul added to this list - if only in the minds of football fans.

What occurred in the Ataturk would arguably have been the high point of any Liverpool manager's reign, a remarkable achievement which re-established the club as a European power and a global brand.

But there is a case to suggest that one aspect of the Benitez legacy could yet prove just as significant in the club's future. Namely the revolution he instigated and oversaw at The Academy in the summer of 2009.

Of course it is still too early to judge, but anyone who has witnessed the work being done by Pep Segura, Rodolfo Borrell and Frank McParland (all three appointed by Benitez) over in Kirkby cannot fail to have been impressed.

Watching the U18s dispatch a talented Crystal Palace side (who themselves dismantled Arsenal's class of 2011) in the Youth Cup two weeks ago was a joy for advocates of pass and move football.

Refer to the CVs of Segura and Borrell and the jigsaw pieces start to fit together. The pair, during their time at Barcelona, helped nurture technically gifted players like Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Bojan Krkic, Cesc Fabregas and Lionel Messi - all of whom revel in playing the kind of dynamic football which, albeit in a raw, unrefined form, is now being executed at The Academy.

The likes of Suso, Raheem Sterling and Conor Coady have so far hogged the headlines, but earlier this season a total of 25 Academy hopefuls received international youth call-ups. Two years ago you could have counted the number of LFC youngsters asked to represent their country on one hand. With fingers to spare.

Credit too has to go to the likes of McParland for moderating expectations and for ensuring media coverage is both cautious and fairly apportioned.

Too often in the past we've allowed ourselves to get too excited too soon. Two examples that come to mind are Lauri Dalla Valle and Astrit Ajdarevic, both of whom left the club after failing to live up to their early hype.

These days nobody is allowed to get carried away. Even if there is a decent case for doing so.

One thing is for sure, though: if some of the players now shining at youth level go on to become the next Steven Gerrards and Jamie Carraghers, it'll not only be those still employed by the club who take the credit.

Follow me on Twitter @JimmyRiceWriter