Manchester City’s season looks dangerously close to unravelling. Knocked out of Europe and now there are no cup competitions to take the minds of the beleaguered players off the fact that they sit 6 points off Chelsea – who’ve played a game less – and only one point above the chasing pack behind. Champions League football next season is now far from certain.
Manuel Pellegrini’s job is the topic of choice for lots of commentators recently, and the speculation is that his time is up. His team have been sluggish all season, and his tactics have been widely criticised too.
The City board may well be looking for a replacement, and the Daily Express has been tipping former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez for a return to the Premier League. If this were to happen, Benitez would be going head to head with former foe Jose Mourinho and former clubs Liverpool and Chelsea – there would be much to look forward to!
Although the Spaniard has an impressive CV, he hasn’t won a league title in 11 years. So by appointing him as manager, would the City board be showing that they are prioritising Europe over the league?
First some ‘facts’ about Rafael Benitez.
Benitez played in the lower leagues in Spain and cut his teeth managing below the top tier too. When he finally got his chance at a big club, though, he took it well. His first ‘big job’ was at Valencia where he managed to win 2 league titles and the UEFA cup before moving to Liverpool.
At the merseyside club he reached two Champions League Finals, one an unforgettable night in Istanbul in 2005, the other a miserable night in Athens two years later. He did win the FA Cup in 2006, but his six years in charge yielded just one domestic trophy.
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He then moved to Inter Milan where he had a short and fairly disappointing spell as coach. Succeeding Jose Mourinho was never going to be an easy task, especially as the Special One had left the club after winning an historic treble. Benitez was sacked after just 6 months, with the club 13 points behind the league leaders and only days after he had won the World Club Cup.
Chelsea was his next club, but this time as interim manager. To say that the Chelsea fans didn’t warm to him would be an understatement, but he managed to guide the club to third place in the league after a dreadful start, and win the Europa League.
Next was Napoli where he is still the manager. He has already won the Italian cup and this season his side are still in the Europa League with an excellent chance of winning the tournament.
A fourth European title would certainly look good on his CV – even if it is of the Europa League variety – and may persuade the City bosses that he’s the right man for the job. After all, Man City do seem to be targeting Europe now more than ever.
The whole club is set up to imitate Barcelona, a new academy has been built and the Citizens are looking to try to build a conveyor belt of players who can go on to win European titles at the club. The appointment of Pellegrini himself had a similar ring to it; after all, he did manage to bring a small Spanish club, Villarreal, to the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2006.
The City bosses are clearly looking to boost the side’s pedigree in Europe. Despite having not win a domestic title since 2004, Benitez is certainly a man who has a top class knowledge of European football. He has won a trophy with every club he’s managed at, and this season he is still on course for another European title.
If City do sack Pellegrini and go for Rafa, you can bet that City will be eyeing Champions League success over and above a third Premier League title.
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