He produced a style of football that equated to “shit hanging from a stick” in the unpalatable yet unforgettable words of Jorge Valdano. On Wednesday the man with the stick joined Real Madrid. It is an incongruous appointment in terms of Real’s celebrated reputation for winning and winning with flair.
But if it is “just about winning”, as their new head coach professed at his unveiling, then it made sense to welcome home Rafael Benítez.
The voice croaked and the 55-year-old got a little teary as he accepted the applause of Real officials at the Bernabéu where the president, Florentino Pérez, hailed the return of “one of ours” as the replacement for La Décima-winning coach, Carlo Ancelotti, on a three-year contract.
It is the fulfilment of a dream for Benítez, a Real supporter since childhood – when his mother took him to matches at the Bernabéu despite the reservations of his Atlético-supporting father – a Real B team player for seven years before injury curtailed his career, a former coach of their Castilla team and, for three months in 1994, the assistant manager to Vicente del Bosque. And now back in charge after 20 years away. Emotion was understandable with his wife, Montse, looking on.
Benítez understands Real. With that CV he did not need to pose for photographs in front of 10 European Cups for an education in the standards required. He knows what is demanded of their team and that as Real’s 13th coach in 12 years, and with Zinedine Zidane in the wings as the B team coach, it will require a small miracle to remain Pérez’s employee for the duration of his contract. In the president’s eyes, all coaches are simply passing through his club whether Champions League winners or not.
According to one poll only 8% of Real supporters are happy with Benítez’s appointment and their cool reception – that may be shared by Cristiano Ronaldo (not that his new coach will care a jot) – stems from Ancelotti’s harsh dismissal plus his successor’s reputation as a defensive manager. Along with Real’s reputation for success with style that label does not hold entirely true. Since 2002, when he won the first of two La Liga titles with Valencia, Benítez has secured 12 trophies. Real have won 14 trophies in the same period having spent almost £1bn in the transfer market. Perhaps they are a better fit than first impressions indicate.
Benítez faced a series of questions related to his pragmatic style of play at Wednesday’s unveiling (and pragmatism did not prevent José Mourinho from serving three years at the Bernabéu) and he was quick with a cutting retort. “I have always won titles thanks to my system of work and that is why I am here today,” he said.
The theme of “system” continued throughout. “It’s not about what system you play, just about winning,” he added. “The only thing that counts at this club is coming first. Second is not good enough. I’d rather talk about my philosophy and how football should be played. Tactics are important but it’s more important players play well and attempt to win.” He sidestepped questions about David de Gea, Iker Casillas and Raheem Sterling, who arrived at Liverpool when Benítez was in charge in February 2010 and is now seeking a way out. “Today is not the day for singling out individual players,” was his stock reply. In Benítez’s world it never will be.
Valdano, a former Real coach and World Cup winner with Argentina, is an idealist who has promoted the club’s reputation for winning with “creative licence” and “exquisite skill”, and sees Benítez as their arch-enemy.
It is worth noting Valdano and Benítez do not get along. Benítez and José Ángel Sánchez, Real’s chief executive, get along very well indeed; another internal factor that contributed to the appointment of the former Valencia, Liverpool, Internazionale, Chelsea (on an interim basis) and Napoli coach.
It was in May 2007 that Valdano expressed his disdain for the “very intense, very collective, very tactical, very physical, and very direct” football that Benítez’s Liverpool and Mourinho’s Chelsea had delivered in their Champions League semi-final. “Football is made up of subjective feeling, of suggestion – and, in that, Anfield is unbeatable,” he wrote in the Spanish newspaper Marca. “Put a shit hanging from a stick in the middle of this passionate, crazy stadium and there are people who will tell you it’s a work of art. It’s not: it’s a shit hanging from a stick.”
Less than two years later Real were demolished 4-0 at Anfield as Benítez’s team reached the Champions League quarter-finals for a third consecutive season and finished the runners-up to Manchester United in the Premier League having outscored the champions (77 goals to 68), lost fewer games (two to four) but drawn five more matches. Only the eventual winners, Sevilla, scored more goals than Napoli’s 26 in this season’s Europa League, with Benítez’s last club the third-highest scorers in Serie A behind Lazio and the champions, Juventus.
It has always been about balance for Benítez, something that was lacking in his time at Napoli where, in contrast to his Liverpool reign, criticism centred on suspect defending rather than a lack of adventure. He will not pander to any egos at Real but will obsess on how to get more from Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and James Rodríguez. Whether he will get the time, however, remains to be seen.
