Mourinho welcomes Benitez to Chelsea with Materazzi gift

 

Rafael Benitez takes charge of Chelsea for the first time on Sunday against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

And while Fernando Torres might be pleased to see his old Liverpool boss, others who have played under the Spaniard do not remember him quite so fondly.

Former Inter defender Marco Materazzi was "devastated" when Benitez replaced Jose Mourinho, who shared a joke with another former Nerazzurri star - City defender Maicon - at the new Chelsea boss' expense.

"Your friend Benitez is going to Chelsea," the Brazilian said to Mourinho, according to La Sexta.

The 49-year-old responded: "The fat one? Well then Materazzi should be his assistant."

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Chelsea boss Benitez sat on ticking time-bomb at the Bridge

 

After Roberto Di Matteo's dismissal on Wednesday morning, Chelsea swiftly moved to appoint Rafa Benitez as interim manager to get the European champions back on track.

Despite winning the FA Cup and Champions League last season, the Italian was axed by Roman Abramovich after failing to win his last four Premier League matches and denting the club's chances of qualifying for the European competition's knockout stage following a 3-0 defeat to Juventus on Tuesday evening.

Benitez becomes Chelsea's ninth manager since Abramovich purchased the club in 2003, but if the Spaniard suffers an inconsistent campaign similar to his six-month reign at Inter in 2010, his time at Stamford Bridge could also be cut short.
 

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Rafa's lucky red pants lose their magic

 

Rafael Benitez has revealed that a lucky pair of pants he wore during all his European matches in his first year at Liverpool may have been the real reason the Reds won the Champions League.

The Spaniard won the European Cup in his debut year on Merseyside, and went on to almost clich a memorable first league title in Premier League era for Liverpool.

However, when Benitez moved on to pastures new with Inter Milan the spell appeared to have worn off - getting sacked after less than half a year at the San Siro - with him not having managed since.
 

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John W. Henry left scratching his head

 

They must have thought it would be easy to fill the void left by the recently-sacked Kenny Dalglish in the Anfield dugout, yet so far Liverpool's managerial targets have been dropping like flies.

Ajax boss Frank de Boer has become the latest boss to rule himself out of a switch to the Reds, joining Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Brendan Rodgers in saying 'thanks, but no thanks' to club owner's FSG.

Now, John W. Henry is set to choose between Roberto Martinez and Andre Villas-Boas to take the hot seat, or opt for a blast from the past with Rafa Benitez.

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Benitez on the hunt for a new job

 

With two La Liga titles, one Uefa Cup, a Champions League triumph and an FA Cup medal in his trophy cabinet, Rafa Benitez comes with a sparkling track record of success.

However, the Spanish coach has been out of a job since he was dismissed by Inter back in December 2010, and may be getting desperate to get back to work - perhaps talk of two unsettled Portuguese will have got him interested ...

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Could 'The Tinkerman' soon be out in the cold at Inter?

 

Inter president Massimo Moratti has admitted that he is considering the future of current coach Claudio Ranieri but insisted there is a chance the 60-year-old could remain at San Siro. 

With the Nerazzurri on a run of five straight defeats in all competitions, Ranieri's position has come under intense scrutiny of late. 

Moratti will evaluate the current state of affairs at Inter before making a decision as to whether Ranieri will suffer a similar fate to previous trainers Rafael Benitez, Leonardo and Gian Piero Gasperini.

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All your enemies are happy now

After the humiliation defeat against Barcelona, for sure all of Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinhorivals are happy and satisfied now, as he always used to criticize and mock other managers

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Fire in North London

Gareth Bale and co burned Inter Milan and his manager Benitez. While on the other hand Real Madrid president Perez shows interest towards van der Vaart.

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Etoo and Benitez

Benitez: Chill out Eto'o and lets drink tea.

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