Madrid - Rafael Benitez was
overcome with emotion as he was
presented as the new coach of Real
Madrid on Wednesday.
The former Liverpool boss has signed
a three-year deal to take charge of
the club where he began his
coaching career in the youth ranks
during the early nineties.
"It is a special, emotional day for
me. I have worked for many years
trying to be successful to be able to
return here," said the 55-year-old.
Madrid president Florentino Perez
has been heavily criticised for
sacking Carlo Ancelotti just a year
after he won the club's long-awaited
10th European Cup.
However, he claimed Benitez was the
right man for the job, hailing him as
one of the world's best coaches.
"We start a new era with the full
confidence that the arrival of our
new coach will make us stronger,"
said Perez.
"Your name is a guarantee of hard
work. We have one of the best
coaches in the world."
Benitez is returning to Spain for the
first time in over a decade after
making a name for himself with two
league titles in three years at
Valencia between 2001 and 2004.
Yet, he has failed to land a league
title in the 11 years since he
swapped Valencia for Liverpool.
Benitez's greatest achievement in
that time came in winning the
Champions League in his first season
at Liverpool. However, he delivered
only the UEFA Super Cup and the FA
Cup in 2006 in the five years that
followed at Anfield.
A nightmare experience followed at
Inter Milan where he lasted only six
months as Jose Mourinho's successor
and another short-lived unhappy
spell at Chelsea followed as he was
never accepted by the fans despite
winning the Europa League in 2013.
A two-year spell with Italian giants
Napoli also came to an
unsatisfactory end on Sunday with a
4-2 home defeat to Lazio which
ensured they did not qualify for next
season's Champions League.
And Benitez is fully aware that he
has to deliver success immediately if
his stint in his dream job isn't to be
a short one.
"Undoubtedly this is the highest
quality squad I have coached," he
added.
"It is different to when I arrived at
Liverpool. There was a project there
for three years to compete and try to
win something. Thankfully, in the
first year we won the Champions
League.
"Here we need to compete and win
from the first moment. We have to
always be competing and we will
only be satisfied with victory. The
expectations are very different, they
are much higher than when I arrived
a Liverpool."
Many of Real's stars, including World
Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo,
took to social media to show their
appreciation of Ancelotti before and
after his dismissal.
However, Benitez is confident that
won't manifest itself into a negative
reaction towards him and his
technical team.
"It is normal that the players show
their warmth to Carlo, who is a great
coach and person.
"I have spoken with him and I hold
him in the highest esteem."
Benitez wasn't so forthcoming,
though, on which players he would
like to see arrive at the Bernabeu in
the close season.
"Madrid are a very big club who are
always in the market for players.
"But I repeat we have a great
squad. Real Madrid have to play as
well as they can to win and have a
clear idea of what they have to do.
They have to be competitive. When
you're at Madrid you have to attack
and win.
"I've got all the enthusiasm in the
world. I've come to work hard, the
club has a structure and if we bring
in players then great. We'll talk
about the finer details in the
future."
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