Rafa will be hoping for great success at Real this season
While it was almost certainly meant playfully, Montse Benitez has no doubt stirred up the old rivalry between Rafa and the Chelsea boss with her comments today.
Speaking to La Region, Montse said: “Real Madrid are the third of Jose Mourinho’s old teams Rafa has coached.
“We tidy up his messes. If you think about it, of course you end up crossing paths. There are only a few world-class clubs out there.”
Having now managed Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, Rafa has followed Mourinho to three of the world’s top clubs, with varying success at each. Many would argue he wasn’t given a fair shot at Inter, whilst his short spell at Chelsea was a clear success.
Rafa will now be hoping to surpass Mourinho, who found Madrid a tough nut to crack, winning just one league and two cups over three seasons; a tally impressive for most, but for a manager of Mourinho’s quality, at a club with such high expectations, it can be seen as a failure.
But Benitez is a manager who obsesses over the tiniest details and he will not want his time at Real to be deemed anything but a success. And Montse believes that Rafa’s love for the game is his biggest strength. She continued: “On our first date, Rafa explained to me what a 4-4-2 was. He finds it hard to stay away from the game.
“The year we spent at home he helped coach the local school team. It was hilarious. He stood on the sidelines and shouted at them as if they were first division players, waving his arms about.
“He doesn’t see football as work, it’s his passion.
“Sometimes I ask him, who’s going to play? He says he doesn’t know yet. They criticised him at Liverpool for constantly tweaking his starting XI. I thought his two best friends in England were going to kill him.”
Benitez what an absolute wonderful manager. I like him till now. one day he will come back to coach Liverpool, the team he loves most
I hope that day would come very soon
This is embarrassing from the Benitez wife, he’s actually taking over from Ancelotti a 3 time CL winner. So cringe worthy.
I would be honest, i think Mourinho is a fantastic coach having won all in club football with nothing else to prove. The only arena left for him is the international stage, maybe he can one day do that if he manages a national team. If he were to manage LFC, it would be an instant upgrade, if we does not actually win the league we can actually challenge year in year out even with a mediocre squad (something for you to think about BR).
However i would RATHER NOT have him as our manager. He may be a great coach but a very poor human being, his response to Mrs. Benitez says it all. What started off as a harmless joke, a banter, Mourinho’s response is vicious, sexist and in very poor taste. A winning mentality is good (something we lack over the last couple of years especially under BR’s watch) but Mourinho seems not to understand that it does not have to be at all cost and at everything. Does he not wonder that why a club like LFC despite having not won the league in more than 20 years is still one of the biggest club in the world with a larger fan base than CFC despite their recent success ? Simple, at a club like LFC and shall i say many other English clubs big and small does not condone a character like him. Only clubs which had lost their moral compass and share his mentality of winning at all cost, no matter what the cost is would be associated with him. After Porto, JM’s portfolio read Chelsea, Inter and Real and now back at CFC. Inter and Real, with owners or former owners or presidents that does not elicit laughter.
Clubs like United, Arsenal or even City, while they might consider JM but when it really comes to decision making time do you really think they would give the job to JM ? Not likely as they would realize soon they would have egg in their face.
I have friends and relatives who are fans of CFC and while i congratulate them for having a rich owner and a manager who would ensure continued success for years to come, i urge them to look into the mirror and be honest with themselves, are CFC and by extension themselves as fans are an entity who only cares about winning trophies or just plain winning at anything but nothing else ? We might not have won the league for a long but i am hell glad we do not have your manager.
To Rafa and your wife, i understand you have to go to Real even though its a madhouse and a joke these days as this is where you begin your career, when it is all over you are always welcome back at LFC. You are a true Champion and a great person and i still remember that night in Istanbul even it had been 10 long years. That is something even a certain self appointed “special one” could never ever replicate.