After 11 years away, Rafa Benitez – the former Real Madrid youth product and once Madrid’s B team manager – finally has the chance to return home with Chairman Pérez expected to announce his appointment in the coming week according to Spanish media. Benitez surged onto the football landscape when he guided Valencia to the La Liga, UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup treble in 2004 before leaving for Liverpool. He reached his prime time with the Reds by leading them to Champions League title glory a relatively moderate squad against AC Milan in 2005 – a team coincidentally managed at the time by Carlo Ancelotti, who he will replace at Madrid. It was those first 10 years of his career that earned Benitez the reputation as a tactical master and Cup king.
Benitez’s career tumbled after he left Liverpool. He took over an aging squad from Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan – a team that had won the Champions League medal the year before – and couldn’t live up the expectation. After that, Benitez worked as interim manager at Chelsea, another team previously managed by his old rival Mourinho, and never really settled in. His tenure at Napoli hasn’t been brilliant either with fans recently angered by the side’s loss to Ukrainian club Dnipro in the Europa League semi-finals. Now in Madrid, we can at least be assured Benitez will be passionate about this tenure – but what about the fans?
The sacking of Carlo Ancelotti has revealed some deep problems within the Spanish giant. The Italian joined Real from Paris St Germain in June 2013 and won the Champions League and Copa Del Rey in his first season. But their elimination at the semi-final stage by Juventus and failure to win La Liga this year quickly sealed his fate. Professional football has a very short memory, particularly at a club like Real Madrid, with Barcelona star Dani Alves blasting Real for a “lack of respect”. He certainly makes a valid point.
Benitez will be Real’s 13th manager since the turn of the century with prestigious names such as José Antonio Camacho, Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Fabio Capello and Manuel Pellegrini all lasting no more than a year. If Benitez’s past is anything to go by, he is definitely not a manager who works well with ruthless and demanding club boards. His relationship with former Liverpool Chairmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett deteriorated to untenable levels in 2010 and his man-management has also been questioned. With a dressing room full of super egos at Madrid, he may again find it very difficult to handle. Then again, Madrid is truly his home. Can he return them to glory?
