Rafa Benitez has lost none of his competitive edge – just ask his teenage daughter Agata.
The pair became fierce rivals across the chess board during the coronavirus lockdown.
And when Benitez’s wife Montse demanded to know why her husband never allowed Agata to get the better of him, it revealed a streak that should pacify those Everton fans who have questioned how a former Liverpool manager can now be in charge of Goodison.
Benitez survived three years at Newcastle and spent another couple putting millions in his bank account with Chinese club Dalian.
But the 61-year-old believes he has another decade in management to deal with the unfinished business of winning.
“My CV is there for anyone to see,” said Benitez.
“I have won 13 trophies, so I don’t have a feeling that I have to win this or I have to win that.
“But I want to win. It doesn’t matter what competition, I just want to win.
“That’s the same with any game. If I play chess with my daughter, my wife is telling me, ‘Listen, why don’t you allow her to win?’ That’s just how I am. Hopefully, we can do it at Everton because we have a good team with good players and everybody here is trying to help and create an atmosphere where we can just concentrate on football.
“I think it is a great challenge.”
Benitez has been successful in the harshest environments.
He has won trophies at Valencia, Liverpool, Inter Milan and Napoli – despite not always singing from the same song sheet as his employers. His Anfield connections saw him run the fans’ gauntlet at Chelsea, despite winning the Europa League.
And his experiences in the boardrooms of Real Madrid and Newcastle have tempered him further.
Benitez said: “If I said I am more energetic now than in 2004, then maybe you will not believe me.
“My last memories of the Premier League are from Newcastle and they are fantastic.
“The relationship with the fans, the staff, the players, everyone who was from there... I was really happy. It was a pity to leave because there was no vision in the ideas.
“But at Everton we want to fight from the first day, trying to improve every single detail.
“It is a mentality. You go there, you want to win. You stay here, you want to win.
“Hopefully, I will retire in 10 years’ time, maybe, and will have the same mentality that I have now.
“I might not win every game, but I want to try to win every game.
“Everton is a great chance to create, improve and develop something that is already there – but needs to try to do a little bit better.
“To challenge for the title, to challenge for Europe? You never know.”
