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Over a week after relieving Carlo Ancelotti of his managerial duties, Real Madrid have found his successor.
Not only a successor but a former youth academy product.
The Spanish giant announced that they agreed to a three-year deal with Rafael Benitez. Before signing with Real Madrid, Benitez coached for Serie A club Napoli. The 55-year-old Spanish coach led the Italian club to a Coppa Italia victory in his first season in 2013.
“If I had a fantasy team, I would want Cristiano Ronaldo,” Benitez said in 2008. Seven years later, he is now the head of Los Galacticos and has Ronaldo on his ‘fantasy team’.
At the time of the statement mentioned above, he was the manager at Liverpool and was having a falling out with new ownership. During his tenure, the new owners offered Benitez’s job to Jurgen Klinsmann, who later took the job with Bayern Munich. He was said to have had strong ties with Real Madrid but nothing evolved. Benitez went on to manage the English side for two more year before leaving Inter Milan.
As you can tell, Benitez right at home.
Rafa Benítez ya conoce las instalaciones en las que trabajará. #BienvenidoalRealMadridpic.twitter.com/2SbvTULpUF
— Real Madrid C. F. (@realmadrid) June 3, 2015
Real Madrid is just coming off of a loss in the Champions League semi-finals to Juventus. Just last year, Ancelotti led the team to a Champions League victory over in town rival Atletico Madrid. A native of Madrid, Benitez has a lot to prove and even more to lose with a club that sets prodigious expectations.