Rafa Benítez has been fired at Inter Milan, ending his six-month tenure with the world champions. According to various reports (this one being from The Guardian), a formal announcement will come in the next 24 hours. Benítez has already been informed his contract is being terminated, though club and former manager are still negotiating compensation.
Rafa Benitez’s Firing At Inter Milan Brings Inevitable Conclusion To Predictable Saga
If there is a strange part about a firing that was so expected, its the irony of circumstance. Internazionale is four days off from winning the Club World Cup, posting a 3-0 victory in the final over Congo’s TP Mazembe in Abu Dhabi. The accomplishment was not enough to overshadow disappointing league results, with the five-time reigning Serie A champions sitting seventh in league, a fact that understates Benítez’s failures.
Internazionale are 13 points behind rival Milan. Coming off a season that say the Nerazzurri win league, cup and European titles, the gap makes depths to which Inter have fallen astounding. Not only did Benítez fail to escape José Mourinho’s shadow, he dug a trench, forged a bunker in it.
Perhaps it's mere coincidence, but seventh is where Benítez finished last season with Liverpool, a result that saw his contract bought out. While at Anfield, Benítez won one European title as well as an FA Cup, but when four years without trophies culminated in missing Champions League, Benítez left the Reds, making his departure from Milano his second dismissal in seven months.
The decision of club president Massimo Moratti comes after an embattled Benítez used his post-Mazembe press conference to issue an ultimatum, one which included bizarre insinuations that Inter lacked both talent and a plan to move forward:
”One, 100 per cent support for the coach and buy four or five players to build a stronger team with competition among the players to be able to carry on winning matches and trophies.
”Two, carry on like this without a project, without planning, and go ahead with one person to blame for the whole season getting to May this way.
“The third is to speak to my agent and reach an agreement if there is not this support. Simple.”
Not surprisingly, the club has chosen the third option, something many suspect Benítez wanted. It’s the ultimate defense mechanism. You’re going to fire me? Me? How do you say triple dog dare in Italian?
This way, Benítez can go out on top, defiantly, with an empty claim of having won a world title. He can look back on a fall full of injuries and excuse his performance. And, of course, the club gets what it wants, what it was going to seek regardless of empty ultimatums and trophy-wagging tirades. Inter get chance to salvage their season.
While Benítez's departure from Anfield made him the obvious choice at the San Siro, it was always a strange connection. Benítez had not only been a disappointment in his last season with Liverpool, he had also proven easily distracted: Bogged down by problems with ownership, seemingly obsessed with others' perceptions. Following in the footsteps of Mourinho, Benítez was never had the humility to do the obvious: keep the European Champions on course. Instead, Benítez's judgment led him to subtle changes, most notably unsettling Diego Milito.
While Benítez has one European and two domestic titles to his credit, he is also without a job, with two names prominently mentioned as his successor. Former Roma manager Luciano Spalletti is coming off a title with Zenit St. Petersburg, though his acquisition seems unlikely (if for no other reason than his denials). More likely, former Milan boss Leonardo, six months removed from having left the Rossoneri, is the likely hire, with the system he played last year fitting well with the Nerazzurri’s personnel.
And when Benítez’s replacement is confirmed, Inter can turn their backs on this unfortunate period. While few will remember the second half of 2010 as a particularly down point in Internazionale’s history, there is always something sad about seeing the premature end of an era. And when you look at Inter’s talent, this ending would be premature. The Nerazzurri still have the best squad in the league, making Benítez’s dismissal almost obligatory. There is little explanation beyond coaching failure to describe why the five-time champions - coming off a European title - have allowed themselves to be caught by the league. While Milan, Juventus and Roma all stocked-up this summer, they didn’t stock-up to the extent that Inter should be 13 points off the pace at break.
But there was a sense of inevitability to it all. When Benítez became available this summer, we knew he was going to Inter. In hindsight, we could say that Guus Hiddink or Fabio Capello were preferred candidates, but there was never a sense that either would be moving to Milano. And Massimo Moratti wasn't going to replace José Mourinho with some relatively anonymous man. Benítez had a European title on his resumé. He was the last man to win Spain with a non-Madrid, non-Barcelona club. The hiring was, on paper, justifiable.
But the reliance on that justification is what made this fit so wrong. When Moratti hired José Mourinho, he had fired Roberto Mancini to do it - a man who was coming off multiple title winning seasons. It was an aggressive, ambitious move. In contrast, the Benítez hire was made out of preservation and fear. Instead of being aggressive and going to find the best man to replace Mourinho, Moratti let Benítez fall into his lap. Unfortunately, the same complacency with which Moratti hired Mourinho’s replacement permeated to the pitch. By the time the need for a correction was acted upon, Inter was 13 points back.
I don’t think Inter’s so far behind that they can’t find their sixth straight scudetto; however, it’s clearly a long shot. They have two matches in hand - six points which could bring them even with Roma. From that perspective, a run toward the title is more unlikely than remarkable. But the key is finding the right fit. Getting Spalletti would be a coup, but even the positive focus of Leonardo should be enough to right the course. Whether Moratti’s made the change in time remains to be seen, but it’s difficult to argue he could have waited any longer.
It's hindsight, but it's still relevant: The last thing Inter needed was a coach with a chip on his shoulder. As much as Benítez wanted Inter to win, he seemed to have other things on his mind. He wanted to show that Liverpool wasn't his fault. He wanted to show he could win Italy on his own terms (not his predecessor's). He wanted to show he wasn't Mourinho, and while winning was consistent with all those goals, those goals were also a formula for failure.
It was a terrible fit when the prevailing maxim should have been “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” Well, now it’s broken. Moratti had to fix it.
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