In the history of Roman Abramovich’s time as the owner of Chelsea Football Club, in which managers were hired and fired with little thought or care, the appointment of Rafael Benítez is probably the most controversial move that the Russian made. It wasn’t so much the Spaniard’s ability that rankled Chelsea fans so much as it was the association that he has with Liverpool, regularly locking horns with the Blues in the Premier League and Champions League. Even so, Benítez’s managerial talents saw him lead Chelsea to the UEFA Europa League final in his one season at the club, emerging victorious against Benfica.
Rafael Benítez’s Honours as Chelsea Manager
| Season | League Titles | Domestic Cups | European/International Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012/13 | – | – | Europa League |
Benítez the Player & Young Coach
Rafael Benítez Maudes was born on the 16th of April 1960 in the Spanish city of Madrid. He began playing in the Madrid youth system in 1973, gradually working his way up to appearing for the Real Madrid Aficionados in 1978. Having earned his stripes playing in the Tercera División, he was promoted to play with Real Madrid Castilla in the Segunda División in 1979. This saw him gain the attention of the Spain Under-19s, with whom he played in the World Student Games in Mexico City, scoring a penalty as the Spanish defeated Cuba 10-0 in the opening game. He was injured in the next game, however, being sidelined for a year.
This essentially put paid to any idea of Benítez making it as a senior player, joining Parla in 1981 and then signing for Segunda División B side Linares in 1985. He became a player-coach for Enrique Mateos, with more injuries in the 1985-1986 season resulting in him retiring as a player. In 1986, Benítez was invited to join the coaching staff at Real Madrid, soon being appointed the coach of Real Madrid Castilla at the age of 26. He won two league titles in 1987 and 1989 and then a third with the Real Madrid youth team in 1990. He soon became the Real Madrid Under-19 coach, winning the Spain Under-19s Cup in 1991 and 1993.
Becoming a Manager
Benítez’s first tries at senior management away from the protection of Real Madrid were less than successful. He was dismissed from his role at Real Valladolid after winning just two games in 23 and lasted only nine games in charge of Segunda División side Osasuna with just one win to his name. Success was to come with Segunda División side Extremadura, leading them to promotion and keeping them in the top-flight the following season. When they were relegated in 1999, Benítez decided to take a year off in order to work as a commentator and analyst and study football in both England and Italy.
He returned to management in 2000 at Tenerife, winning promotion and earning the attention of Valencia. They gave him the manager’s role in 2001 when Héctor Cúper left to join Inter Milan. He immediately won over the fans by introducing a more attacking style of play, but it was success on the pitch that helped him secure his legacy. He took the club to its first La Liga title in more than 30 years when he won it by seven point in 2002. Though they finished 18 points behind Real Madrid the following season, the club kept the faith and Benítez led them to another title in the 2003-2004 season, also winning the UEFA Cup.
Liverpool & His Chelsea Run-ins
The fact that Benítez had been able to lead Valencia to two La Liga titles in spite of the fact that he was up against significantly richer clubs in Barcelona and Real Madrid was hugely appealing to Liverpool. The Merseyside club was looking to overhaul both Manchester United and Chelsea, with the latter’s purchase by Roman Abramovich making them one of the richest clubs in the world. One of the Spaniard’s first jobs was to convince the club captain, Steven Gerrard, to stay at Anfield rather than make the switch to Chelsea. He succeeded, with the cruel irony being that Gerrard then scored an own goal in the League Cup final against the London club.
That wasn’t to be the only run-in that Benítez would have with his future club that season, with the most important one being in the Champions League semi-final. After a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge, a controversial goal in the opening period of the second-leg at Anfield and a huge miss by Eidur Gudjohnsen in the last minute saw Liverpool make it through at Chelsea’s expense. Chelsea went on the win the Premier League for the first time, with Liverpool coming from 3-0 down in the Champions League final to win the most exciting match in the competition’s history that was later dubbed ‘the Miracle of Istanbul’.
They say that familiarity breeds contempt, which certainly appeared to be the case of Benítez and Chelsea in the years that followed. Liverpool defeated the Blues in the Community Shield at the start of the 2006-2007 season, following that up with another Champions League final clash between the two clubs. In spite of Chelsea’s superiority, both financially and on the pitch, the Merseyside club once again emerged successful at the expense of the Blues. They went on to lose in the final against their opponents from two years earlier, AC Milan. When Benítez left Liverpool, he took over from Chelsea favourite José Mourinho at Internazionale.
Managing Chelsea
Benítez’s arrival at Inter Milan came in the wake of Mourinho having won Serie A and the Champions League, with the Spaniard then winning the Italian Super Cup but losing to Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup. They club struggled in the league as well as in Europe, in spite of the fact that they won the FIFA Club World Cup in the December of 2010. A few days later, however, Benítez was sacked, remaining out of work for nearly two years. His return to work came at a location that surprised everyone: Stamford Bridge. When Roberto Di Matteo was dismissed on the 21st of November, just months after winning the FA Cup and Champions League, the Blues needed a new manager.
Roman Abramovich was an owner who was never afraid to make the unpopular choice, offering Benítez the role of interim manager for the rest of the season. The Spaniard, also happy to be unpopular, took on the position and was initially disliked by Chelsea fans. Both his association with Liverpool as well as comments he’d made about Chelsea previously meant that he faced a ‘fiercely hostile reception’ in his first home game. It took until December for Benítez to get his first win, which came in the Champions League, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Blues from crashing into the Europa League instead.
Chelsea made it to the final of the Club World Cup but were beaten 1-0 by Corinthians in the final. Benítez’s methods began to get through to the players, though, and he oversaw a 5-1 win over Leeds United in the League Cup as well as a record-equalling 8-0 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League. Benítez has repeatedly taken on battles that many would not, so it is perhaps no surprise that he chose to criticise the Chelsea board for calling him the ‘interim manager’ and the Chelsea fans for not welcoming him to the club in the February of 2013. The Blues lost in the League Cup semi-final but made it to the final of the Europa League.
Although Benítez struggled to win over many Chelsea fans, he did manage to win silverware whilst at the club. They defeated Benfica 2-1, meant that he became just the second person to have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League with two different sides. Chelsea player David Luiz said that Benítez’s tactical tweaks at half-time is why the club managed to win the trophy. The Blues had also finished in the top four, securing a third-place finish thanks to a 2-1 win over Everton in what was his last game as the club’s manager. Though he didn’t take part in the lap of honour at the end of the game, many fans did show their appreciation to him.
Life After Chelsea
In the wake of his time as Chelsea manager, Rafael Benítez continued to follow former Chelsea fan favourite José Mourinho around. He won the Coppa Italia with Napoli, but left the club at the end of the 2014-2015 season in order to become Real Madrid manger, replacing Carlo Ancelotti, another former Chelsea man who had himself taken over from Mourinho. His contract was terminated in the January of 2016 and two months later he took over at Newcastle United. He was extremely popular there, but left the club in the June of 2019 after disagreements with the club’s owner, Mike Ashley.
Benítez managed the Chinese club Dalian Professional for about a year and a half before once again proving that he didn’t mind doing the unpopular when he was appointed the manager of Liverpool’s city rivals Everton. Evertonians had daubed ‘We know where you live. Don’t sign’ on a bedsheet that they hung, ironically, outside one of his neighbours’ houses. He was sacked in the January of 2022, taking a job at Celta Vigo in the June of the following year. That lasted until the 12th of March 2024 when he was sacked after winning just 24 points from 24 games. A serial winner, yes, but one who tended to leave destruction in his wake.