Rafa Benítez

Spanish association football manager and former player

Photo by: Football.ua · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Born:April 16, 1960

Age:66

Zodiac Sign:Aries

Height:1.75 m (5′9″)

Born in:Madrid, Spain

Languages:English, Spanish

Association Football Coach Association Football Player

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Rafa Benítez

Spanish association football manager and former player

Biography

Rafael Benítez Maudes (born 16 April 1960) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player. Benítez joined Real Madrid's coaching staff at the age of 26, going on to work as the under-19 and reserve team coach, and assistant manager for the senior team. He moved away from Real Madrid in 1995, but management spells at Real Valladolid and Osasuna were short-lived and unsuccessful. He guided Segunda División club Extremadura back to La Liga in his first season in the 1997–98 season, but the team was relegated the following season. He left the club, and coached Tenerife in 2000, winning promotion in his only season. Benítez was appointed coach of Valencia and won La Liga in the 2001–02 and 2003–04 seasons, with the UEFA Cup alongside the latter. After leaving Valencia, Benitez moved to English club Liverpool of the Premier League, guiding the club to victory in the UEFA Champions League in 2005. For the second consecutive season, he was named UEFA Manager of the Year. He also won the FA Cup in 2006 and reached the 2007 Champions League final, but was unable to win the Premier League, with Liverpool's best league performance under Benítez a second-place finish in 2008–09. After leaving Liverpool in June 2010, Benítez was appointed manager of treble-winning side Inter Milan. Despite attaining silverware with the Supercoppa Italiana and Club World Cup, he was dismissed midway through the 2010–11 season. In November 2012, he was appointed interim manager of Chelsea for the remainder of the season, and he won the 2013 Europa League. He returned to Italy in 2013 to coach Napoli, where he won the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana. He then left Napoli and became coach of Real Madrid in June 2015 on an initial three-year contract, lasting six months. Benítez was appointed manager of Newcastle United in March 2016. He was unable to avoid relegation, but earned promotion back to the Premier League by winning the Championship. He left the club in June 2019, and joined Chinese Super League club Dalian Professional. He left the club by mutual consent in January 2021, before taking over as manager at Everton in June. He was dismissed in January 2022, and then managed Celta Vigo in 2023–24. From 2025 to 2026, he managed Panathinaikos.

This biography uses content from the Wikipedia article “Rafa Benítez”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Quotes

“We don't need to give away flags for our fans to wave - our supporters are always there with their hearts, and that is all we need. It's the passion of the fans that helps to win matches - not flags.”

“The key to them is Abramovich. The only difference I see between Mourinho and [Avram] Grant is in their press conferences! I watched the game at Everton and they were playing the same as they always did. The media might miss Mourinho, but not me.”

“I'm sure Chelsea do not like playing Liverpool. When they are talking and talking and talking before the game it means they are worried. Maybe they're afraid?”

Quotes sourced from the Wikiquote article "Rafa Benítez", available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Photos

Rafael Benítez

Aston Villa v Newcastle United, 7/5/2016

Rafa Benitez during Emirates Cup 2013

Rafael Benítez on the touchline against Chelsea in the FA Cup Jan 28th 2018

Chelsea FC manager Rafael Benítez during the Aspire4Sport Conference in Doha. Photo by Mohan.

Rafael Benitez (Chelsea v Nordsjaelland ) December 2012

Rafael Benitez during Liverpool's Asia Tour 2009

Gianfranco Zola & Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez Upton Park

Banner of Liverpool's supporters with Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan, Kenny Dalglish and Rafael Benítez during Europa League match against SC Braga.