Rafael Benitez Celebrates 60 Years in Charge of Dalian Yigang
A meticulous football lover, tireless worker, avid scholar, beloved by many and misunderstood by others, Rafael Benitez celebrates his 60th birthday on Thursday as the manager of Dalian Yigang in China, the thirteenth project of his career where he aims to take off again.
Memorable moments fill Benitez's career, including winning two La Ligas and a UEFA Cup with Valencia; an FA Cup, a Community Shield, a Champions League, and a Super Cup with Liverpool; a Club World Cup with Inter Milan; a Europa League with Chelsea; and a Coppa Italia and a Supercoppa Italiana with Napoli.
These titles paint an extraordinary trajectory. It is the story of a man who wanted to be a football player and began his attempt in the youth ranks of Real Madrid, but a treacherous injury changed his destiny just as he was about to join the club's reserve team.
Perhaps, alongside Liverpool, the club currently presided over by Florentino Perez has had the greatest impact on Rafa Benitez. At Real Madrid, in less than a season (2015/16), he attracted so much attention that his departure from the club was possibly the loudest of his career.
Benitez's love for Real Madrid is infinite. His tears when he was presented alongside Florentino Perez showed the sensitivity of a coach who couldn't replicate the success of previous projects with his beloved club. On January 4, 2016, after seven months at the helm of the Whites, he left the club through the back door.
Prior to that, in the summer of 2015, he entered with a bang, hand in hand with Florentino Perez, who gave an opportunity to a man from within: "No one knows better than you how to interpret what we are and what we represent. No one knows better than you what this shield and this shirt symbolize. You will count on the support and strength of the institution, with players of immense quality, and with the fans."
This is how Real Madrid's president welcomed Benitez, who, in 1993, started kicking a ball in the youth teams of the Merengue squad, only to change his path after a knee injury. Football lost a potential player but gained a methodical coach.
With a degree in Sports Science (INEF) and a diploma in Business Sciences, he took his first steps as a coach in Real Madrid's youth teams, then changed course to join Valladolid, his first team in La Liga. Before his breakthrough at Valencia, he had stints at Osasuna and achieved promotion with Extremadura and Tenerife.
Valencia offered Benitez the opportunity to lead a top-level team after Héctor Cúper's departure. With a resume in minor league teams, Benitez managed to convince a doubtful public with his signing and won the league titles of 2002 and 2004, as well as the UEFA Cup in the latter year.
His successes did not go unnoticed, and Liverpool cast their net on a coach who started a career in England that was marked by the achievement of the Champions League title on May 25, 2005, after an epic comeback against AC Milan, overturning a 3-0 deficit at halftime.
Praised by many as a tactical genius who could bring out the best in limited resources, and criticized by others who perceived his style as tough and devoid of flair, Benitez fought in vain for the Premier League title, lost another Champions League final in 2007, and left Merseyside in 2010 with four major titles under his belt.
Inter Milan embraced him after José Mourinho's departure. It didn't work out, and he left in December despite winning a Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. Then, at Chelsea, after two years away from the sidelines, he was criticized for his Liverpool past. Eliminated from the Champions League and far from the Premier League, he won a Europa League before the end of the season.
Napoli was the stepping stone to Real Madrid. There, he won a Supercup and a Coppa Italia, but he couldn't fight for a league title despite finishing in third place in one of his two seasons. His move to Los Blancos, the most significant of his career, came at the age of 55.
Now, at 60, his departure from Real Madrid may have shaped part of his trajectory. After that, he managed Newcastle, which he couldn't save from relegation after joining halfway through the 2016/17 season, but then he led them back to the top flight at the first attempt. He secured their top-flight status and on July 2, 2019, he was presented as the new coach of Dalian Yifang.
At the helm of the Chinese club, Benitez celebrates his 60th birthday with many titles behind him, several loves, and some misunderstandings. In his prime, Benitez still has time to achieve the glory that few have been able to reach. He still has plenty of fuel left in the tank.