Benitez back in top draw

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It couldn’t have been a better week for Rafael Benitez. At Naples, his boys in sky blue kick-started their campaign at the Champions League with a superb 2-1 victory over last year’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund, while at his former ‘temporary home’ Stamford Bridge in London, Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea were embarrassed by a similar scoreline by Swiss champions FC Basel.

The bitter irony wouldn’t have been lost on the Chelsea fans, particularly those who were screaming their lungs out for his ouster not that long ago.
Benitez, though sometimes criticised for not changing his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation even in crisis, had always been regarded as one of the best managers in Europe. The famous Champions League glory at his time at Liverpool and the now-unimaginable La Liga triumph with Valencia before that are testaments to his managerial ability. But nothing, even a Europa League victory, convinced the Chelsea faithful. For them, apparently, Chelsea under a former Liverpool manager who used to hit out at the Blues during his days at Anfield was unacceptable. Perhaps they forget that at the rate which Abramovich fires and hires coaches, such a benchmark is too high for Chelsea.
But on Wednesday, Benitez was certainly in a position to say ‘what ended, ended for good.’ The former Chelsea ‘interim manager’— who, thanks to Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis, didn’t have to wait too long to find a new job — is certainly poised to advance further in the competition than Mourinho’s Chelsea. Of course, a single weekday in Champions League is too small a sample to give out bold predictions. But further evidence to Benitez’ re-emergence is available in the Italian League. After three matches, Napoli top the Serie A points table with nine points at an average goal ratio of three-per-game. It is needless to say that the acquisition of Gonzalo Higuain and José Callejón from Real Madrid has seamlessly filled the gap left by the departure of Edinson Cavani. More impressively, Napoli have shifted from former manager Walter Mazarri’s 3-4-3 formation to the ‘Benitez style’ with ease. At Naples, Benitez, for sure, is respected, both by players and fans.