Real Madrid have officially announced that Carlo Ancelotti will be succeeded by Rafa Benitez as their first team coach.
The announcement on Wednesday morning came of little surprise, with Benitez less than a week earlier confirming that he would not be continuing at Serie A side Napoli amid increasing speculation that he would return to Madrid.
The 55-year-old started his coaching career with the Real youth squad and has always spoke of his desire to one day return to the 10-time European champions.
The ex-Valencia, Liverpool, Inter Milan and Chelsea boss has already won two La Liga titles and a Champions League, but he'll know that expectations will be sky high in the Spanish capital where one trophyless season saw Ancelotti sacked 12 months after securing La Decima.
A Real Madrid club statement on Wednesday morning read:
“Real Madrid C. F. will present Rafa Benítez as the new first team coach for the next three seasons today, Wednesday June 3rd .
“The ceremony will take place at 1pm CEST in the presidential box of the Santiago Bernabéu. Following his unveiling, Rafa Benítez will hold a press conference in the press room.”
Benitez left Napoli on Sunday after two years in charge, following a fifth-placed finish in Serie A. While the Madrid native began his coaching career at Real but has been away from Spain since 2004, when he left Valencia to take the helm at Liverpool.
Landing the Real job is the biggest challenge of Benitez’s career. He has been one of the biggest coaching names in football for more than a decade having led Valencia to two titles, back-to-back appearances in the Champions League final and a Uefa Cup crown.
He also steered Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2005, where his team staged a stunning comeback in the final to beat an Ancelotti-led AC Milan. Benitez also won the FA Cup and Uefa Super Cup while at Liverpool.
He coached Inter Milan in 2010 but was sacked three months into the Serie A season. Benitez also led Chelsea to the Europa League title in the 2012-13 campaign before joining Napoli. The Spaniard then guided Napoli to Coppa Italia success in his first season in charge. Had Napoli won their last game of the season against Lazio on Sunday, they would have finished third and qualified for the Champions League preliminary round.
