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Calcio Debate: Rafa Benitez Could Be Perfect For Juventus, But He Must Not Be In Charge Of Transfers
The Spaniard is favourite to take over the reigns in Turin in the summer. Is he the right man to resurrect Juventus? Carlo Garganese looks at both sides of the argument.
01-Feb-2010 9:30:00 PM
By Carlo Garganese
If there is one coach in world football who, on the surface, appears to be man-made for Italian football it is Rafael Benitez.
Since taking over at Liverpool in 2004, the 49-year-old has had a mixed time of things. In the Premier League he has failed miserably to maintain a title challenge, with the club only once threatening during 2008/09 when Manchester United still coasted to the line reasonably comfortably.
However, in Europe Benitez has been a revelation. With the exception of this season where Liverpool were dumped out in the group stages, Benitez has chalked up numerous high-profile scalps and managed to lead an often ordinary-looking Reds outfit to two Champions League finals (winning one).
The reason Benitez has done so well in Europe, yet poorly domestically, and remember he also won the UEFA Cup with Valencia in 2003/04, is because his style of management is just not suited to the 100mph English game. He is a tactician whose strength lies in outwitting and outthinking his opposite number.
This, in a nutshell, is why Benitez would be such a success in Serie A, which revolves chiefly around these concepts. Tactically, it is difficult to name too many superior coaches than the Madrid-born boss.
Indeed, Benitez is very ‘Italian’ and ‘Juventino’ in his style of management. He is pragmatic, he values defence before attack, and he places a lot on strategy, intelligence, mental qualities, and to use a common Benitez quote “using your head and not your heart”. This is the Italian philosophy all in one, and probably helps explain why the coach is admired on the peninsula.
While Juventus would love to play a Barcelona-brand of football, tifosi must accept that this has never really worked for the club. Only during Marcello Lippi’s brilliant first reign have the Bianconeri focused more on attack than defence. Benitez also speaks Italian well, and often appears on local TV after Champions League games, meaning he should have very little trouble settling into Turin-life.
On the other hand, Benitez does have many weaknesses. Juventus are desperate to win the Scudetto again after a four-year drought, but many critics will ask why should they pin their hopes on a manager who has been at Liverpool for six years and never won the Premier League.
Benitez's tactical tinkering, as well as his constant changes in team selection, will also trouble many fans and bring back unwanted memories of Claudio Ranieri’s reign. While squad rotation over the course of the season is important in order to keep everyone fresh, Benitez has certainly taken things too far at Liverpool and the team has often been unable to develop any partnerships or rhythm due to persistent switches.
Those who believe that Benitez will bring some long-overdue success to a Juventus squad that has not tasted Champions League glory since 1996 should also cool their jets. Whichever way you look at it, Liverpool were incredibly lucky to defeat Milan in 2005. The Reds were crushed for 114 minutes of their Istanbul final, and only by a freak of nature - a Steven Gerrard dive, a Nelson Dida blunder, a one-in-a-million save by Jerzy Dudek on Andriy Shevchenko, and some more luck in the shootout - did they somehow win on penalties having been 3-0 down at half time.
As for the fruitless final they reached in 2007, where they ironically actually more than matched Milan in the Athens showpiece, Liverpool had only progressed past Inter and Arsenal in the last 16 and last eight respectively due to a string of shocking refereeing calls. Against the Italians in the first leg at Anfield, Marco Materazzi was red carded after just half-an-hour for two offences that were never befitting of a yellow card. Although serial European flops Inter had started the game very sluggishly, playing with 10 men obviously altered the match and played a huge role in them losing 2-0. In the second leg at San Siro, with Inter dominating possession, the referee issued Nicolas Budisso a second yellow card just after half time after a routine coming-together with Lucas Leiva. Inter lost 1-0 on the night, but conceded all three goals in the tie when down to 10 men.
Against Arsenal it was a tale of two penalties rather than two red cards. The Gunners outplayed Liverpool for long spells in the first leg in London but could only manage a 1-1 draw after Aleksandr Hleb was denied a stonewall penalty. In the return, Arsenal again spurned numerous opportunities but were set to go through at 2-2 until, with five minutes remaining, Kolo Toure was wrongly adjudged to have pulled back Ryan Babel in the area. Steven Gerrard did the rest.
When you also consider Luis Garcia’s ‘phantom goal’ that defeated Chelsea in the 2005 semi-final, and the fact that it has been over a decade since the UEFA Cup/Europa League was a prestigious competition, then it is easy to see why some people believe that Benitez’s European achievements have been overblown.
For those that argue that Benitez has done better than any Liverpool manager since 1989/90, it must be recognised that he succeeded Graeme Souness, Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier – three rather poor managers. Houllier couldn’t even qualify for the 1994 World Cup with a brilliant France team including Eric Cantona, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps, David Ginola and Jean-Pierre Papin.
As for Benitez’s transfer record since taking over at Liverpool – it is almost on a par with Juventus’ infamous Alessio Secco. In simple terms, Benitez does not have the transfer philosophy that befits of a top club. If he has £30m to spend, he would rather buy three good-to-very good players rather than two world class players. This approach generally does not win major trophies.
Since arriving at Anfield, Benitez has spent £230 million (not including this month’s transfers or signing-on-fees). While some correctly point out that, when you take into account sales, there has been a net spend of £80m – this should not cloud the fact that Rafa has had a nightmare in the market.
So much money has been wasted on “good” players who were never going to make Liverpool title-winning material. Josemi (£2m), Luis Garcia (£6m), Peter Crouch (£7m), Sebastian Leto (£1.85m), Gabriel Palletta (£2m), Fernando Morientes (£8m), Craig Bellamy (£6.5m), Dirk Kuyt (£10m), Jermaine Pennant (£6.7m), Mark Gonzalez (£1.5m), Yossi Benayoun (£5m), Lucas Leiva (£6m), Robbie Keane (£20.3m), Albert Riera (£8m), Glen Johnson (£18m), Ryan Babel (£11.5m). Footnotes can perhaps be placed next to Benayoun, who has been a late-bloomer, and Ryan Babel, who certainly looked like he had the potential to be a star when he joined.
To counter the net spend argument, there is only one point to make. In six years, Liverpool have only sold one player who has weakened their first team. And that was the past summer when Xabi Alonso left for Real Madrid (Momo Sissoko does not count because there was already Javier Mascherano, and neither does the burnt-out Michael Owen).
If Liverpool had been forced to sell a number of first team stars in order to fund their signings of a new first teamers, then perhaps there can be some sympathy for Benitez. But the fact that in six years, Liverpool have only sold one important player, means that the net spend argument is quite frankly a load of rubbish.
Benitez has had £240m to turn Liverpool into Premier League champions and he has failed miserably.
So, in view of all the above, will Benitez be good for Juventus? Tactically, he is man-made for Juventus and Serie A, but he must not be in charge of transfers or it could spell disaster!
What are your views on this topic? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think...
Since taking over at Liverpool in 2004, the 49-year-old has had a mixed time of things. In the Premier League he has failed miserably to maintain a title challenge, with the club only once threatening during 2008/09 when Manchester United still coasted to the line reasonably comfortably.
However, in Europe Benitez has been a revelation. With the exception of this season where Liverpool were dumped out in the group stages, Benitez has chalked up numerous high-profile scalps and managed to lead an often ordinary-looking Reds outfit to two Champions League finals (winning one).
The reason Benitez has done so well in Europe, yet poorly domestically, and remember he also won the UEFA Cup with Valencia in 2003/04, is because his style of management is just not suited to the 100mph English game. He is a tactician whose strength lies in outwitting and outthinking his opposite number.
This, in a nutshell, is why Benitez would be such a success in Serie A, which revolves chiefly around these concepts. Tactically, it is difficult to name too many superior coaches than the Madrid-born boss.
Indeed, Benitez is very ‘Italian’ and ‘Juventino’ in his style of management. He is pragmatic, he values defence before attack, and he places a lot on strategy, intelligence, mental qualities, and to use a common Benitez quote “using your head and not your heart”. This is the Italian philosophy all in one, and probably helps explain why the coach is admired on the peninsula.
While Juventus would love to play a Barcelona-brand of football, tifosi must accept that this has never really worked for the club. Only during Marcello Lippi’s brilliant first reign have the Bianconeri focused more on attack than defence. Benitez also speaks Italian well, and often appears on local TV after Champions League games, meaning he should have very little trouble settling into Turin-life.
On the other hand, Benitez does have many weaknesses. Juventus are desperate to win the Scudetto again after a four-year drought, but many critics will ask why should they pin their hopes on a manager who has been at Liverpool for six years and never won the Premier League.
Benitez's tactical tinkering, as well as his constant changes in team selection, will also trouble many fans and bring back unwanted memories of Claudio Ranieri’s reign. While squad rotation over the course of the season is important in order to keep everyone fresh, Benitez has certainly taken things too far at Liverpool and the team has often been unable to develop any partnerships or rhythm due to persistent switches.
Those who believe that Benitez will bring some long-overdue success to a Juventus squad that has not tasted Champions League glory since 1996 should also cool their jets. Whichever way you look at it, Liverpool were incredibly lucky to defeat Milan in 2005. The Reds were crushed for 114 minutes of their Istanbul final, and only by a freak of nature - a Steven Gerrard dive, a Nelson Dida blunder, a one-in-a-million save by Jerzy Dudek on Andriy Shevchenko, and some more luck in the shootout - did they somehow win on penalties having been 3-0 down at half time.
As for the fruitless final they reached in 2007, where they ironically actually more than matched Milan in the Athens showpiece, Liverpool had only progressed past Inter and Arsenal in the last 16 and last eight respectively due to a string of shocking refereeing calls. Against the Italians in the first leg at Anfield, Marco Materazzi was red carded after just half-an-hour for two offences that were never befitting of a yellow card. Although serial European flops Inter had started the game very sluggishly, playing with 10 men obviously altered the match and played a huge role in them losing 2-0. In the second leg at San Siro, with Inter dominating possession, the referee issued Nicolas Budisso a second yellow card just after half time after a routine coming-together with Lucas Leiva. Inter lost 1-0 on the night, but conceded all three goals in the tie when down to 10 men.
Against Arsenal it was a tale of two penalties rather than two red cards. The Gunners outplayed Liverpool for long spells in the first leg in London but could only manage a 1-1 draw after Aleksandr Hleb was denied a stonewall penalty. In the return, Arsenal again spurned numerous opportunities but were set to go through at 2-2 until, with five minutes remaining, Kolo Toure was wrongly adjudged to have pulled back Ryan Babel in the area. Steven Gerrard did the rest.
When you also consider Luis Garcia’s ‘phantom goal’ that defeated Chelsea in the 2005 semi-final, and the fact that it has been over a decade since the UEFA Cup/Europa League was a prestigious competition, then it is easy to see why some people believe that Benitez’s European achievements have been overblown.
For those that argue that Benitez has done better than any Liverpool manager since 1989/90, it must be recognised that he succeeded Graeme Souness, Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier – three rather poor managers. Houllier couldn’t even qualify for the 1994 World Cup with a brilliant France team including Eric Cantona, Marcel Desailly, Didier Deschamps, David Ginola and Jean-Pierre Papin.
As for Benitez’s transfer record since taking over at Liverpool – it is almost on a par with Juventus’ infamous Alessio Secco. In simple terms, Benitez does not have the transfer philosophy that befits of a top club. If he has £30m to spend, he would rather buy three good-to-very good players rather than two world class players. This approach generally does not win major trophies.
Since arriving at Anfield, Benitez has spent £230 million (not including this month’s transfers or signing-on-fees). While some correctly point out that, when you take into account sales, there has been a net spend of £80m – this should not cloud the fact that Rafa has had a nightmare in the market.
So much money has been wasted on “good” players who were never going to make Liverpool title-winning material. Josemi (£2m), Luis Garcia (£6m), Peter Crouch (£7m), Sebastian Leto (£1.85m), Gabriel Palletta (£2m), Fernando Morientes (£8m), Craig Bellamy (£6.5m), Dirk Kuyt (£10m), Jermaine Pennant (£6.7m), Mark Gonzalez (£1.5m), Yossi Benayoun (£5m), Lucas Leiva (£6m), Robbie Keane (£20.3m), Albert Riera (£8m), Glen Johnson (£18m), Ryan Babel (£11.5m). Footnotes can perhaps be placed next to Benayoun, who has been a late-bloomer, and Ryan Babel, who certainly looked like he had the potential to be a star when he joined.
To counter the net spend argument, there is only one point to make. In six years, Liverpool have only sold one player who has weakened their first team. And that was the past summer when Xabi Alonso left for Real Madrid (Momo Sissoko does not count because there was already Javier Mascherano, and neither does the burnt-out Michael Owen).
If Liverpool had been forced to sell a number of first team stars in order to fund their signings of a new first teamers, then perhaps there can be some sympathy for Benitez. But the fact that in six years, Liverpool have only sold one important player, means that the net spend argument is quite frankly a load of rubbish.
Benitez has had £240m to turn Liverpool into Premier League champions and he has failed miserably.
So, in view of all the above, will Benitez be good for Juventus? Tactically, he is man-made for Juventus and Serie A, but he must not be in charge of transfers or it could spell disaster!
What are your views on this topic? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think...
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