Rafa Benitez
We all know what the Spaniard is about purely because of his achievements in the Premier League with Liverpool and Chelsea.
He masterminded the greatest comeback in Champions League final history in 2005, when Liverpool overturned a 3-0 half-time deficit against AC Milan to win their fifth European cup on penalties. Then, as Chelsea’s ‘interim’ boss, he lifted the Europa League in 2013.
So we know he’s capable of guiding teams to glory on the biggest stage possible.
But what about his managerial style? His Wikipedia page goes a little something like this…
“He is often praised for his tactical acumen, particularly in European ties, setting his team up to exploit opposition weaknesses.”
It also describes the Benitez as “a firm believer of zonal marking and squad rotation.” Though it also states that “his squads are renowned for their defensive nature and low number of goals scored against them.”
Defensive. Nature. Not again!?
Anyway, regardless of all that, Benitez has the reputation and the experience to attract some pretty big names to the club and, should we achieve Europa League qualification, at least we’d stand a change of progressing to the group stages for once.
