Top Facts About Rafael Benitez, One of The Best Coaches in History

At the age of 26, Benitez joined

's coaching staff as an under-19 and reserve team coach, as well as an assistant manager for the senior team. After leaving Real Madrid in 1995, he went on to manage Real Valladolid and Osasuna, however, both stints were short-lived and unsuccessful.

In his debut season, he led Extremadura back to

from the Segunda División, but the team was demoted the following season. In 2000, he departed the club to coach Tenerife, where he won a promotion in his first season.

Benitez was hired as Valencia's coach in 2001–02, and the team won La Liga. Valencia won another La Liga title and the UEFA Cup in 2004, expanding on the groundwork created by Héctor Camper, who had led Valencia to two consecutive Champions League finals in 2000 and 2001, both against Real Madrid.

Following his departure from Valencia, Benitez joined Premier League team Liverpool, where he led the club to victory in the UEFA Champions League in 2005. He was elected UEFA Manager of the Year for the second year in a row. He also won the FA Cup in 2006 and advanced to the Champions League Final in 2007, but he was unable to win the Premier League, with Liverpool's highest league position under Benitez being second in 2008–09.

Benitez was appointed manager of treble-winning Inter Milan after leaving

in June 2010. His time at the club was brief, and he was fired in the middle of the 2010–11 season. He was named Chelsea's interim manager for the rest of the season in November 2012, and he won the 2013 Europa League.

In 2013, he returned to Italy to coach

, winning the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in the process. He then left Napoli in June 2015 to take over as coach of Real Madrid on a three-year deal. After a 2–2 draw against his old club, Valencia, on January 4, 2016, he was fired.

In March 2016, Benitez was named manager of Newcastle United in an attempt to save the club from relegation. He was unable to avoid relegation, but won the Championship the following year and was promoted back to the Premier League.

He left the team in June 2019 and was named manager of the Chinese Super League club Dalian Professional the following month. In January 2021, he departed the club by mutual consent before taking over as manager of Everton in June. And now it's time to learn more

Top facts about Rafael Benitez

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Top Facts About Rafael Benitez You Might Want to Know

He has been named Manager of the Month six times and UEFA Coach of the Year twice. He is a remarkably calm character, but he is still subject to controversies and disputes.

His career has been primarily connected with Liverpool, with whom he won two

finals in two years, the first in 2004-05 and the second in 2006-07, both against Carlo Ancelotti's AC Milan.

Rafael Benitez's childhood

, family life, personal life, occupation, net worth, and salary will all be revealed at the end. I also suggest that you read this article.

Rafael Benitez Early Life

Rafa Benitez attended multiple schools in Madrid as a young football player, playing for several school teams. Ricardo Gallego, a future Spanish player, was one of his classmates and teammates.

He began coaching a children's football team at the age of thirteen, demonstrating early coaching talent. Benitez was drafted into one of Real Madrid's youth teams when he was twelve years old.

His initial experience as a defender was with the club's amateur sides in the fourth level, after which he moved to Castilla, a second division side of the Madrid team. In 1982, he enrolled at the Polytechnic University of Madrid as a sports student and finished with a degree in Physical Education.

Benitez was a member of the Spanish national football squad that competed at the 1979 Universiade in Mexico City. He played in the opening game, which concluded in a 4-0 victory for the Spaniards over Cuba.

In 1981, Benitez moved to Parla, a club in the fourth tier. His tenure there was initially on loan, but he later secured a permanent contract and helped the team gain promotion to Spain's third division, Segunda B. He went on to play three more games for the Spanish university team.

Then, in 1985, he moved to Linares, another third-division team, where he was both a player and an assistant under Enrique Mateos. He later had to miss practically the entire 1985/86 season owing to health issues, and he eventually opted to retire.

Rafael Benitez Information

Now that we know him much better, it is time for us to share some general information about him in this section of

top facts about Rafael Benitez

such as

Rafael Benitez's nationality.

• Celebrated Name:

  Rafael Benitez Maudes

• Age

  : 61 Years

• Nickname

  : Number 10

• Rafael Benitez Birth Date:

  16 April 1960

• Gender

  : Male

• Profession

  : Footballer

• Nationality

  : Spanish

• Birth Nation

  : Spain

• Place of Birth

  : Madrid, Spain

• Rafael Benitez Horoscope

  : Aries

• Career Start:

  1973

• Father

  : Francisco Benítez

• Mother

  : Rosario Maudes

• Brothers

  : N/A

• Sisters

  : N/A

• Marital Status:

  Married

• Wife

  : Maria de Montserrat

• Children

  : Ágata Benítez, Claudia Benítez

• Height

  : 1.75 m

• Weight

  : N/A

• Eye Color

  : Green

• Hair Color

  : Brown

• Sexual Orientation:

  Straight

• Source of Wealth:

  Football career

Stay tuned to read Top Facts about Rafael Benitez.

Rafael Benitez Family Life

His father was a lifelong

fan, while his mother was a lifelong Real Madrid fan. Even though they supported opposing teams, both parents cheered him on with equal zeal and enthusiasm when he joined Real Madrid at the age of thirteen. We will go to read the Top Facts about Rafael Benitez.

Who Is Rafael Benitez’s Wife?

He married Mara de Montserrat in 1998, whom he met while working at Madrid's Abasota Gymnasium. Claudia, born in Madrid in 1999, and Gata, born in

in 2002, are their two daughters. Stay tuned to read Top Facts about Rafael Benitez.

Rafael Benitez Personal Life

Francisco, Benitez's father, was a hotelier. Rosario Maudes is his mother's name. While Benitez was in Japan for the FIFA Club World Championship in December 2005, Francisco died. Benitez speaks Spanish, English, French, and Italian fluently. We will go to read the Top Facts about Rafael Benitez.

Rafael Benitez Education

Rafa never overlooked his schooling, which was very important to him, as his football career progressed. He put aside all of the 2000 pesetas (12 euros) he received as a wage from football to pay for his university tuition. His degree, of course, was in Physical Education, which he earned at the INEF in Madrid.

He didn't need to warm up before exercising, of course. Stay tuned to read this section of

Top Facts about Rafael Benitez

as we want to share some more information about his coaching career. 

Rafael Benitez Managerial Career

Benitez returned to Real Madrid in 1986, at the age of 26, to join the club's coaching staff. He was named coach of Castilla B at the start of the 1986–87 season. In 1987 and 1989, he won two league titles with this team.

In 1990, he won his third league title with Real Madrid Youth B. He took over as coach of Real Madrid's under-19 team from José Antonio Camacho halfway through the 1990–91 season. In 1991 and 1993, he and the team won Spain Under 19s Cup, defeating

in both finals.

In 1993, the team won both the national under-19 league and the national championship. Benitez earned his coaching certificate in 1989 while at Real and taught in a football camp at the University of California in Davis, California in the summer of 1990.

During the 1992–93 season, Benitez also worked as Mariano Garcia Remón's assistant coach at Real Madrid B. Benitez took over for Garcia Remón at the start of the 1993–94 season after his success with the U19s.

Real Madrid B was in the Segunda División at the time, and he made his debut as a manager with a 3–1 victory over

on September 4, 1993. In March 1994, he joined Vicente del Bosque's main Real Madrid team as an assistant manager before returning to coach Real Madrid B for the 1994–95 season.

Benitez's first forays into senior management outside of Real Madrid were less than fruitful. He took over as manager of

for the 1995–96 season but was fired after only two victories in 23 games with the club finishing last in La Liga.

Benitez took leadership of Osasuna in the Segunda División for the 1996–97 season, however, he was fired after only nine games and one win. He did, however, meet fitness instructor Pako Ayestarán at the club, and they went on to work together for the next decade at other clubs.

In 1997, he moved to Extremadura, another Segunda División club, and led them to promotion, finishing second in the table behind Alavés after winning 23 of their 42 games. Extremadura, on the other hand, only lasted one season in La Liga, finishing 17th and losing a play-off to Rayo Vallecano in 1999.

Following that, Benitez left Extremadura and took a year off to study in England and Italy. He also worked for Eurosport, Marca, El Mundo, and local Madrid television as a commentator/analyst. He took over as manager of Tenerife in the Segunda División in 2000, and with a team that included Mista, Curro Torres, and Luis Garcia, he earned a promotion to La Liga by placing third behind Sevilla and Real Betis.

In the summer of 2001, Valencia recruited him as a replacement for Hector Cuper, who had transferred to Inter. Initially, he preferred a 4-4-2 formation, with two strikers, Angulo and Mista, and two pure outfielders, Vicente on the left and Rufete on the right. 

Throughout the season, he created his greatest tactical masterpiece by imposing an innovative playing formation on the team: the 4-2-3-1, which favored the position of Pablo Aimar, who was converted from a triquetra into an additional midfielder who acted as the high vertex of the midfield triangle, allowing numerical superiority in the hot zone.

This new form was a watershed moment in the season, which culminated in a La Liga triumph. Valencia failed to retain their Spanish league title the next season, finishing in the fifth position and earning a place in the UEFA Cup.

Later that season, Benitez made his UEFA Champions League debut, but Valencia was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Inter Milan. The following season, he guided Valencia to their sixth domestic title, repeating their triumph from two seasons prior, while also earning their first European trophy with a 2-0 UEFA Cup final win over Olympique Marseille.

For the 2003-04 season, Benitez was again named UEFA Coach of the Year. Rafa decided to take on various new challenges after what he considered his final season at Valencia, including the challenge of coaching abroad.

He had always wanted to coach in the Premier League, so when the opportunity to join Liverpool FC presented itself, he leaped at it.

Rafa was thrilled to become the first Spanish coach in the elite British tournament when he accepted a contract with Liverpool in June 2004. This marked the beginning of what has been dubbed "Rafa's love affair with Liverpool."

He won four major titles during his time at Afield, including that magical night in Istanbul when the Champions League trophy was brought to Merseyside. In addition, he reached three finals and finished second in the Premier League race with 86 points, a club record. He had to leave Liverpool after six magnificent seasons due to a variety of factors.

It was necessary for life to continue. As a result, in June 2010, he packed his belongings and flew to Italy to take over as coach of Inter Milan. Rafa won the Italian Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup in just five months as Inter's manager.

Despite his achievement, the executive team, who had never backed him from the start, was unsatisfied. They came to an agreement to end Rafa's contract early and enable him to leave the company. Rafa returned to Merseyside (Liverpool) to reside after his experiences with Milan.

Rafa and his wife founded ‘The Montse Benitez Charitable Foundation' there. The foundation was established to assist in the fundraising of funds for various charities in Merseyside and the Wirral. Rafa was honored to receive the Golden Club Crest from Valencia in September 2011, which was presented to him by the President, Manuel Llorente, prior to the match versus Barcelona at the Mestalla.

Rafa joined Chelsea in November 2012 and has worked tirelessly with the team to instill high standards and challenge for titles. He is now pleased with his personal and professional accomplishment of leading the club to victory in the UEFA Europa League Final on May 15th in Amsterdam.

Despite his success, Chelsea fans continued to despise him and displayed a variety of banners calling for his removal. This was due to his intense rivalry with them while managing Liverpool. After so much hatred, Rafa decided to leave them. Rafa was in charge of SSC Napoli from July 1, 2013, till June 15, 2015. He added two more trophies to his collection of achievements.

In his first season, he won the Copa Italia final against Fiorentina (3-1) at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. He also won the Italian Super Cup last season, defeating Juventus (5-6 on penalties after a 2 2 draw in Doha, Qatar). 

He was named the first-team coach of Real Madrid CF in June 2015, nearly two decades after his departure from Real Madrid as a player and coach, the club he called home for 17 years. He was forced to leave a club that was so important to him again seven months later. Stay tuned to read Top Facts about Rafael Benitez.

Rafael Benitez Net Worth And Salary

Rafael Benitez is also among the world's wealthiest soccer manager, having been born on April 16th. Spanish Football Manager and former player Rafa Benitez has an estimated net worth of $30 million.

• Net Worth:

  $30 million

• Salary

  : $6 million

Rafael Benitez Management Style

In English football, Benitez has earned a reputation for being difficult to please, with former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard revealing that he wished for a "well done" from Benitez following successful performances.

Benitez's ruthlessness can also be observed in how he got rid of all but Gerrard and Jamie Carragher from his Champions League-winning squad in just four seasons, with penalty shoot-out hero Jerzy Dudek being promoted to back-up goalkeeper the season after the European triumph.

Benitez likes to play in a 4–2–3–1 formation, which he used at Valencia and Liverpool. He was known for his tactical prowess, especially in European games, when he set his squad up to take advantage of opponents' flaws.

His calm approach and tactical changes at halftime of the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final were stated to instill confidence in the players, despite the fact that he had to amend his plans when it was pointed out to him that his new formation would necessitate 12 players on the pitch. Benitez frequently places crucial players in unusual positions to suit a system, most notably turning Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt to right-wingers in the 2005–06 season.

Steven Gerrard enjoyed the most successful seasons as a right-winger/midfielder, winning the Champions League and the FA Cup. Squad rotation and zonal marking are important to Benitez. 

Despite harsh criticism from the English press, Benitez persevered, winning the Champions League and the FA Cup in his first two seasons. Benitez stated that he needed to rotate his tiny squad in order to keep important players fit for the final stages of these events.

When Liverpool concedes from set-pieces, observers have questioned the method of zonal marking, despite the fact that Benitez's teams are known for their defensive style and a low number of goals scored against them. Benitez defends his strategy, claiming that man-marking teams concede just as many, if not more, goals from set-pieces.

At the end of the 2008–09 season, Benitez made a slew of backroom changes to boost the club's young development, including the appointment of club legend Kenny Dalglish to a senior role at the academy.

Rafael Benitez Honors

As a footballer, his lone club title was the Tercera División, which he won with Parla in 1981-82. He has won numerous honours as a manager, including La Liga, the UEFA Cup, the FA Cup, the FA Community Shield, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup, the Europa League, and many others.

He has also received other personal honors, including La Liga Best Coach, UEFA Manager of the Year, European Coach of the Year—Alf Ramsey Award, and LMA Special Merit Award, to name a few.

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