In 2003–04 season, Valencia won La Liga with three games to spare and beat Marseille 2–0 in the UEFA Cup final. Despite this success, Benítez fell out with Jesús García Pitarch, the club's director of football, over control of new signings and the club's failure to reinforce the squad with the players he wanted. He said, "I was hoping for a sofa defender and they've brought me a lamp ]," in reference to the positions he wanted to be strengthened. These differences of opinion saw Benítez resign as Valencia coach on 1 June 2004.