Former Chelsea interim manager,
Rafael Benitez was appointed coach of Serie A side Napoli on Monday, the
club president announced. The Spaniard – whose previous experience in
Serie A was a painful
short-lived spell with Inter Milan – had been widely expected to be
named and Napoli supremo Aurelio De Laurentiis tweet confirmed that to
be the case.
"Rafa Benitez is the new coach of Napoli," he tweeted. "He is a man of experience and a true leader."
Benitez last job was as the interim coach for English Premiership side, Chelsea.
Benitez, who had also been linked with
French champions Paris Saint-Germain, had a successful spell in charge
of Chelsea after replacing the sacked Champions League winning coach
Roberto di Matteo.
The Spaniard guided Chelsea to the
Europa League crown and also helped them qualify for next season's
Champions League after being brought in on a short-term basis.
However, despite being popular with
owner Roman Abramovich he never won over the supporters, who verbally
abused him from the stands from the start.
The Chelsea fans yearned for the return
of their adored Jose Mourinho, after he largely failed at Real Madrid,
and appear likely to get their wish.
According to the Spanish press Benitez
was to sign a two year contract with the option of extending it by a
further year and an annual salary of 3.5million euros.
Benitez replaces Walter Mazzarri, widely rumoured to be heading to Inter Milan next season.
Ironically, Benitez's last Italian
adventure was at Inter but lasted only six months and ended just after
having won the Club World Cup.
His team had struggled in the league and
he had forced officials' hands by telling them to strengthen his squad
or find another solution, which they did.
Although his joining Chelsea was hugely unpopular with many fans, he has a good record.
He won two Spanish titles and the Europa League with Valencia while he led Liverpool to Champions League success in 2005.
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