Can you name this unrecognisable football star who lifted the Champions League with Liverpool and won LaLiga twice?
- His playing career was hampered by an injury picked up playing for Spain U19s
- He found success as a manager and his greatest achievement came at Liverpool
- He also won the LaLiga title twice but lost his most recent job over 12 months ago
For all of his accolades throughout a decorated career, this former player continues to divide opinion.
He won one of the most highly-prized honours in European football with Liverpool, after starting his career at Real Madrid.
A meandering journey through the Spanish second division in his youth saw him later hang up his boots and take up managerial posts that took him around the globe.
Successes came not just at Anfield and in the English top flight, but also in Serie A and the Championship.
But some argued he tainted his legacy with a controversial crosstown move which ended in disastrous fashion.
Can you guess which highly-decorated player-manager is pictured on the left in the 1970s?
As a player, this mystery figure also turned out for two Spanish teams (back row, second right)
So, who is this player-manager, who looks almost unrecognisable in the picture unearthed from his time as part of the Spanish under-19 team in the late 1970s?
The answer is none other than Rafa Benitez, who notched up five international appearances as a youth player during his time playing at club level for Real Madrid’s reserve side.
The picture was taken in Mexico, where the former Newcastle manager featured as part of the side at the World Student Games in the Mexican capital.
At the tournament, Benitez picked up an injury that relegated him to the sidelines for a year, all but ruling up the possibility of a career at the very top of the game.
After spells at Parla, and now-defunct Linares, the 63-year-old called time on his playing career and moved into coaching, first working with Real Madrid’s under-17 side before climbing through the ranks to lead the reserve team.
It was at Valencia that Benitez saw the success that mapped out his move to Liverpool though, winning LaLiga in both 2002 and 2004, and the then-UEFA Cup in the latter year too.
At Liverpool, Benitez became a cult hero, delivering the club all but the Premier League as he stuffed the cabinets at Anfield with an FA Cup, Super Cup, and treasured Champions League trophy in 2005.
Rafael Benitez’s success with Valencia in the early 2000s set him on course for Liverpool
Benitez won the Champions League as his side performed ‘the Miracle of Istanbul’ in 2005
Spells at Inter Milan, Napoli, Chelsea, and Newcastle saw him win more honours at domestic level, but seldom were his moves smooth-sailing.
His season-long stints with Real Madrid, Inter, and the Blues were particularly star-crossed, but no move was more unhappy than his ill-considered appointment at Everton in 2021.
Liverpool fans felt the sting of betrayal whilst Toffees supporters never truly warmed to their manager, setting him up for an avalanche of criticism when the team’s form began to suffer.
Yet to take up a managerial role since his January 2022 sacking, Benitez now has his hands full with a different challenge.
An ill-fated move to Everton was the 63-year-old’s last managerial appointment in England
After a string of poor results, fans at Goodison Park were vocal about their dislike of Benitez
The Spaniard is one of a number of football luminaries recently appointed to UEFA’s Football Board.
The board – which convened for the first time at the end of April – was put together to provide oversight on the laws of the game and act as an advisory body for the organisation.
Alongside Benitez are former or current manager Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Zinedine Zidane, Fabio Capello, Javier Zanetti, Ronald Koeman, Gareth Southgate, Roberto Martinez, and Patrick Vieira.
Former players include Gareth Bale, Juan Mata, Robbie Keane, Petr Cech, and Rio Ferdinand, Luis Figo.
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