Benitez to Madrid

Rafa Benitez has been confirmed as the new coach of Real Madrid after the Spanish giants decided to get rid of Carlo Ancelotti, unsurprisingly after he had won nothing this season.
If anything is unsurprising about Benitez' appointment is that it had not happened before. Rafa Benitez seems to have been aiming at this job ever since he started as a youth coach in Real Madrid and Castilla (a satellite club for Real Madrid): to be Senior coach of Real Madrid seemed to be in the cards, but he first had to build up his career. After some initial tries in Valladolid and Tenerife, it was at Valencia where Benitez first found success; he joined the team in 2001 and until he left in 2004 he brought two Spanish championships and one Europa League title. It was surely the best years of Valencia, who let Benitez go for the hapless Claudio Ranieri....
But that is another story.
Benitez went on to Liverpool whom he took to one Champions League title, one final and one FA Cup, but despite this, never to the craved Premier League title, and he left in 2011.
After a short unsuccesful stint at Inter Milan, Benitez went on to become "interim" coach of Chelsea, whom he took to a Europa League title, but never fulfilled the high expectations of the moneymen in London, and in 2013 he went on a two-year stint to Napoli, whom he took to a Cup title and gave them a somewhat decent return to Europe.
And now he has resigned to take the post he probably has been longing for: Real Madrid coach. It will be interesting, because he knows Real Madrid and is a very demanding coach. But at the same time he will be under the same pressure as any other Real Madrid coaches: titles or leave.

New managers all around!

With Guardiola's signing of Bayern Munich and Alex Ferguson's goodbye at Manchester United there have already been huge managing news in European football. But lately there have been even more interesting news on this front, most notably the exit of Jose Mourinho from Real Madrid. Notwithstanding that Mourinho is a brilliant manager, what he most takes away from Madrid is that the club was indeed bigger than him, something that must hurt his ego. While the team won a lot of matches, the titles eluded them under Mourinho, and that is really the only thing that matters to such a huge club. At the same time, and this is where I part ways with the Portuguese, is that he did not add much positive to the club. No matter what you think of Real Madrid (and I am certainly an anti-Madridista), it is a club know for great football, proud traditions and a gentlemanly attitude to the game (fans have clapped when an opposing team is just too good! Almost no fans in the world do that!), and with players who are known for being gentlemen on and off the pitch. One of these is Iker Casillas; that he is not playing is Mourinho's insult to what Real Madrid wants to stand for.
So where is he going? All bets seem to be a return to the club where he made his first foreign forays, namely Chelsea. Mourinho will always be bigger than Chelsea, a club that said bye to its latest "interim" coach after Rafa Benitez gave them a European title. Rafa Benitez, a well-traveled manager, is in the meantime returning to Italy, where he already coached Inter Milan, but he is now going south, to Napoli, the runners-up in Serie A and Champions League participants next season. It is surely going to be interesting to see what title he takes them to there!
Real Madrid without a coach is a matter for huge speculation: matters seem centered on Carlo Ancelotti and Jupp Heynckes. The problem with Ancelotti is that Paris St. Germain will not free him of his contract, but Heynckes had announced his retirement; a change to a club that he already once led to Champions League glory in 1998, but fired him anyway that same season, is surely going to raise some eyebrows.
A man that will try again with a club that treated him like that is surely worth investing in!
Another interesting change is that of Manuel Pellegrini who will be replacing Roberto Mancini in Manchester City. Manuel Pellegrini is a hugely experienced coach who first succeeded as coach in his homeland Chile, at Universidad Catolica, and in LDU Quito in Ecuador, as well as in San Lorenzo and River Plate in Argentina. In all places he got titles, and he then went to Villarreal in Spain, which he took to an unprecedented Champions League semifinal. He then went on to Real Madrid, created a solid side that broke the point season record for the club, but without a title, he was out. I always loved his reflection about Real Madrid: "I didn't have a voice or a vote at Madrid. They sign the best players, but not the best players needed in a certain position. It’s no good having an orchestra with the 10 best guitarists if I don’t have a pianist. Real Madrid have the best guitarists, but if I ask them to play the piano they won’t be able to do it so well. He (Florentino Pérez) sold players that I considered important. We didn't win the Champions League because we didn't have a squad properly structured to be able to win it."
His time at Malaga was not a success, but now it will be hugely interesting to see what he can do in a club with money, ambition, and in his first non-Spanish speaking country!
But a lot of pressure and interesting new arrangements all around Europe for next season!

"Interim" Chelsea

Chelsea has been up and down over the last few years. In 2011 Carlo Ancelotti was fired as the club "only" made it to second place in the Premier League (the previous year he had led them to their first "Double"). For the start of the 2011-12 season Andre Villas-Boas became manager, and under him team performance dipped with a string of defeats. Villas-Boas was fired in March 2012, and was replaced by "interim" coach Roberto Di Matteo, who in the subsequent months pulled the side up to win the FA Cup and the Champions League in May 2012. One could have been led to think that this would be enough to keep him in the club, but Chelsea's elimination in the first round of the 2012-13 Champions League season (as the first defending champions ever) led Di Matteo to lose his job in November 2012, and a new "interim" manager took over: Rafa Benitez.

And Rafa Benitez stayed as "interim" in spite of continued controversies and criticism, and eventually he announced that he would be leaving at the end of the season in spite of securing a CL spot in the Premier League. In the meantime the team progressed in the Europa League and last night Rafa Benitez led Chelsea to the Europa League title when defeating Benfica 2-1 in Amsterdam. It wasn't pretty: only Benfica inefficiency and an excellent late header by Branislav Ivanovic gave them a victory that must surely have felt somewhat bittersweet for Benitez, who will nevertheless probably not have to look much around for a more steady job.

And Chelsea? Rumors abound about a certain Portuguese gentleman returning to Chelsea. He will probably not have the title "interim", although that may always be the case in Chelsea anyway.

The classy exit of the champions

The defending Champions League champions, Chelsea recently fired their coach, Roberto Di Matteo, after their latest defeat in the CL, 0-3 to Juventus. This meant that today they had to hope that Shakhtar Donetsk would defeat Juventus at home and themselves defeat FC Nordsjaelland. And under the new coach, Rafa Benitez, the defending champions did all they could to defend their title against a meager Danish side. 6-1 was the final score, but it was not enough.  Juventus won 0-1 in Donetsk, meaning that both the Italians and the Ukranians continue to the next round.
Chelsea are out, but it was a classy exit, and it will be interesting to see Rafa Benitez in his new (temporary) role as Chelsea manager.

The cruel fate of Di Matteo

Last March Roberto Di Matteo became interim coach for Chelsea at a moment when the Londoners were in crisis. Within a few months he guided Chelsea to the FA Cup title and to their first Champions League title ever. Within a few weeks he was no longer interim, but permanent manager. Now, barely six months after taking Chelsea to the greatest triumph in its history Di Matteo has been fired after some disappointing results. They are "only" third in the Premier League and are struggling in the Champions League were Juventus' 3-0 win over them sealed Di Matteo's fate.
A cruel fate, to be hailed and then fired within the same year! And one has to doubt whether this is not a too hasty decision by Chelsea's management: Di Matteo may have given rapid success, but he had a strong team, where there have been changes since last season (they lost their star player, Didier Drogba!). One would think that a manager needs time to build up a competitive team!
But no, short-term thinking is the rule in Chelsea, just as it is in other teams that think they can buy quick success, and where loyalty only reaches to their wallets.
There are rumours now about a new coach. Rafa Benitez has been mentioned, but in some places only as "interim" if Chelsea can get hold of Pep Guardiola.
I think everyone is "interim" in Chelsea.

Benitez out

Although Inter Milan just last week won the World Club Championship, it is perhaps not surprising that it was today when coach Rafael Benitez was fired after only six months. Benitez has been very critical of the Inter leadership, and as results have not been forthcoming (they are only 7th in Serie A and came second to Tottenham in their CL Group A), the firing of Benitez is perhaps not so surprising, in spite of the short time and many injuries on the Milan side.

Benitez is a great coach (A CL title, a UEFA Cup Title, a Spanish Championship) but he apparently has a controversial personality that has often led him to part ways, as in Valencia, Liverpool and now Inter. It will be interesting to see where he will be heading next.

More interesting will be to see who now takes over in Inter. The Brazilian Leonardo, with a history in AC Milan seems to be first choice. Whoever it ends up being, he will have a difficult task!

Rafa Benitez and Liverpool

I have lately heard some rumours about Mr. Rafa Benitez shaky position as Liverpool manager, partly due to a tense relation with the club's American owners, as well as the fact that Liverpool is yet again with meager chances of winning the Premier League.
Liverpool has great players and under Mr. Benitez the team has had some amazing results in the Champions League, most memorably the 2005 victory.
Mr. Benitez is a great coach, and competition in the Premier League is bitter to say the least. Victory in the Premier League goes over a long season, and I find it doubtful whether anyone could do better than Mr. Benitez.
Instead, Liverpool people reconsidering Mr. Benitez should remember that when he coached Valencia CF, he won both the Spanish Championship and the UEFA Cup, only to leave Valencia for Liverpool the following season. Valencia has never really recovered from losing him, and Liverpool should consider whether it could recover from losing Mr. Benitez!

Rafa Benitez and Liverpool

Liverpool's coach Rafa Benitez is one of the best coaches in the world. So it is not surprising that many of Europe's leading clubs (most notably Real Madrid), have been trying to recruit him from his current employer in the Beatles' home town.

However, it seems Mr. Benitez is very happy and comfortable in Liverpool, and will be staying for a long time. That is a great achievement by the club. The harmony between the coach, team, leadership and fans is very important for a football club, and I think that over the long-run, Liverpool will benefit greatly from this. In his first season in Liverpool Mr. Benitez won the Champions League and he has the ambition to win many more titles with Liverpool.

Lucky Liverpool!

Top 10 coolest football people pf 2005

I have before made a top 10 of coolest football personalities of the year. This category is about people, or groups of people, whom I have found have brought positive attention upon themselves in the World of football:

• 10) Gambia fans: I have to include these on the list due to the stupid stunt the made during the U-17 World Cup in Peru in September: they pretended to have engine problems in a plane, in order to catch a match with their national team. It was stupid, but worthy of a high degree of football fanaticism.

• 9) Liverpool fans: They were great, and deserved the victory they were given this year with their Champions League triumph.

• 8) Real Madrid fans: A lot of people will be smiling, knowing my antipathy towards Real Madrid. However, I feel the fans of this team deserve to be on the list due to the display of fairness they showed when Real Madrid lost 3-0 to Barcelona at home in November. The fans simply clapped of Barcelona, in admiration of the amazing football display they had been witness to. Not many fans in the world would do that.

• 7) Roman Abramovich: The billionaire owner of Chelsea belongs here, because he is a huge football fan. He has done what I would do if I was a billionaire: buy a team, get some great players, the best coach, and try to win everything!

• 6) Diego Maradona: I have long admired Maradona. He is the main reason I started watching football as I was a child in Argentina. Therefore, I was always sad to see how he was going down the drain. But this year it seems Mr. Maradonahas gotten his act together: he hosts a popular TV show and seems fit. This is probably the greatest battle he will ever win!

• 5) Rafa Benitez: The Liverpool coach had made Valencia UEFA and domestic champions in 2004. That was apparently not enough for Valencia's leadership to make him stay. But Mr. Benitez took the offer from Liverpool, and in 2005 they have been one of the best teams of the year, notably with their Champions League triumph in Istambul.

• 4) Jose Mourinho: Mr. Mourinho is arrogant indeed. But he is has a reason to be: he is an amazing coach. At the same time, by his sheer personality, he is taking all the burden off his players, and carrying it all himself. In a world of football, where stars shine shortly, this is very risky, and you have to be a strong personality to do it.
  

• 3) Adrian Mutu: The former Chelsea striker almost ruined his career because of cocaine. I have no doubt he has had to fight his way back to the pitch, but he is indeed back on a strong Juventus side.

• 2) Manchester Fans: My experience with Manchester United fans is very positive, and I have always admired them. This year, they faced the takeover of their team by the media-magnate Mr. Malcolm Glazer. They rightly fear that Mr. Glazer will turn the clud into a money machine, in place of the symbol of the city it is. Although in the end, Mr. Glazer has managed to take over the club, the fans feeble attempts at hindering the takeover were an admirable feat of the fans against the money. At least somebody is trying to show that football belongs to the fans, although this might be a dream long gone...
  

• 1) Rene Temmink: Racism in football continues to be a disgrace. All over the pitches of Europe, racism thrives, as a rotten sympton of sick societies. Although UEFA has made feeble attempts at solving the problem, it just seems to grow. Therefore, it was admirable when a Dutch referee, Mr. Temmink stepped in and stopped a match because of the racist chants by the fans. It is seldom a referee shows such character, and Mr. Temmink is a friend of football, and a decent human being. There seem to be too few of both around in the world these days...

This is my list. I was close to being very arrogant and nominating myself. As usual, I have identified everything with football this year: I ditched a cocktail with a Danish Minister for a football game, and I remember my fight with malaria because of a football game. Although I think people consider me a decent guy, I have concluded that football for me has moved beyond passion, and become an addiction...

fire Ranieri

I am tired of Mr. Ranieri in Valencia. They were wonderful last season, tis season they are very bad. It is of course also because of the leadership, that could not keep Mr. Benitez as coach. But Mr. Ranieri, who had to leave Chelsea in disgrace, was then hired by the team of the year in Spain.
He must go.