Rafa Benitez: The Player

For a man who is so often under the spotlight, Rafa Benitez is, to many, somewhat of an enigma. Masquerading behind a baffling array of tie rack’s finest and Ricky Gervais style facial hair, the Liverpool manager keeps his cards very close to his chest. In this micro series I will aim to shed some light on a distinctly shadowy figure, divulging to you the three sides to the man himself; the player, the manager and the man.

I shall kick off with where it all began for Benitez, as a promising young Spanish footballer at one of the world’s most prestigious clubs.

Having now established himself as one of the game’s top managers, it is no surprise that Benitez’s playing career is often overlooked. As seems to be the trend with highly successful coaches, he never really set the world alight with his football. However, it’s nice to know where it all began so without further a due, I present to you Rafa Benitez; the player.

After impressing for various clubs as a schoolboy, Benitez was rewarded with a place in the Academy at his hometown club; Real Madrid no less. He joined the academy at the age of 12 and progressed through the ranks playing as a midfielder for Real Madrid Castilla and Real Madrid Aficionados, the club’s second and third string teams respectively. He also showed an early penchant for management when at the age of 13, he began coaching a kids football team.

Benitez juggled his football with university studies at INEF, the sports faculty at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. During his time at INEF, Benitez was chosen to represent Spanish Universities at the world student games. He enjoyed an emphatic start to the competition, scoring a penalty in a 10-0 win over Cuba in the opening game. However, the joy was short-lived as in the following game, a 0-0 draw with Canada, Benitez suffered a devastating injury as a result of a crunching tackle. He was sidelined for almost a year with this injury and any hopes he harbored of going on to be a top-flight footballer were effectively dealt a crushing blow.

Determined not to give up on the game, though, Benitez returned to football in 1981, joining AD Parla on loan. The Tercera División team clearly recognized his ability and they eventually signed him up on a permanent basis. With Benitez in the side the club gained promotion to Segunda División B. He also played a further three games for the Spain Universities XI that year.

In 1985, Benitez moved on to pastures new. He signed for Segunda División B club Linares CF and under then manager Enrique Mateos he was handed the role of player/coach. Unfortunately for Rafa Benitez the footballer, further injuries forced him to miss most of the 1985-86 season and this subsequently spelled the end of his playing career.

For Benitez the manager, though, this was just the beginning. He was to go on to become a world class coach, renowned the world over for his uncanny attention to detail as well as his dry sense of humour.

Stand by, then, for the meatiest article of the series; Rafa Benitez: The manager.