Inter Milan Confirm Leonardo As Successor To Rafa Benitez

It didn’t take long for Massimo Moratti to eliminate all excuses surrounding Inter Milan. Given all the injuries suffered by the Nerazzurri, falling from their Serie A pedestal is explicable. But the troubles the five-time defending champions have had while healthy, the 13 point gap from the top that’s created, the former manager’s lack of accountability - Inter’s problems have transcended fitness. Thus, Leonardo has been named Rafa Benítez’s replacement, an obvious is head-shaking move.

Not that Leonardo doesn’t fit with Inter. He clearly does, to the extent that it’s hard to argue any other available coach would have been a better fit, but after 13 years on the red and black side of the San Siro, not even today’s announcement can make the fit seem right. When he’s on the sideline January 6, standing next to an eerily similar looking Javier Zanetti, the visage will seem like something from a video game. Ha! This game is crazy! Leonardo is managing Inter!

Despite that uncertainty, three SB Nation Soccer writers break out their crystal balls:

Kevin McCauley - At this point in his career, Rafa still has some options, despite the incredible damage that has been done to his reputation. One of those options is to go the route of Juande Ramos or Eric Gerets and chase the money, moving to Russia or the Middle East. If Rafa’s sick of high pressure jobs with the European media breathing down his neck and he just wants to take care of his family, it’s not a bad option. The opposite option is to take the first job he gets offered in the English Premier League, regardless of the team’s current stature. Can you imagine what would happen if Benitez took the Blackburn job? If Rafa actually enjoys the media attention in England, he will probably have some options. The final option is to do what’s best for football reasons and wait for a good job in Spain to open up. Quique Sanchez Flores is probably on his last legs at Atletico Madrid if things don’t improve swiftly right after the winter break, and despite just hiring Gregorio Manzano, Sevilla can’t be too enamored with the results. Chances are, one of those two jobs will be available by June. Both would be excellent fits for Benitez.

The announcement, released earlier today on the club’s web site, is three sentences: one announcing, one thanking, and another .... thanking?

Even by mealy-mouthed business standards, this is an uncommonly affable statement. It’s as if Massimo Moratti randomly iChat’d Benítez late last night, stared blankly at him in the moments after the Spaniard’s face appeared, and waited. Then, both spontaneously, simultaneously blurted: “I can’t do this!”

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.

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.