Five managers who can replace Rafa Benitez at Inter Milan (Part 1)
Rafa Benitez is arguably going through the toughest season of his managerial career. While he had great success with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011, during his first year in charge of Liverpool. The Spaniard
pulled off one of the most historic come backs in Champions League history, when the Reds defeated AC Milan on penalties in the final, after http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 had been down 3 – 0 at half time.
Even though the fans adored him at Anfield, his failure to win the league, and poor player management – transfer policies in particular – were simply too much to handle, and Rafa had to part ways.
Benitez then decided to join Italian giants Inter Milan, a club which had just won a historic treble last season with Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese had left monstrous shoes that needed to be filled, and Rafa duly accepted the challenge. Only he couldn’t.
Hardly six months have gone by, and the Spaniard has been axed. Inter Milan are languishing in seventh place in the league rankings, while they finished in second place in their Champions League group, behind Tottenham Hotspur. Inter are a mammoth 13 points
off the pace on domestic front, and things are showing little signs of improvement.
In spite of Rafa winning the Club World Cup, the Spaniard launched a scathing attack on his employers for their inability to reinforce the squad in the summer. Even though Rafa Benitez had a point, his relationship with President Massimo Moratti has gone
beyond repair, and a parting of ways looks imminent. If the latest reports coming out of Italy are to be believed, Rafa Benitez will get the sack in the coming days.
Bettor.com now analyses the options Nerazzurri hierarchy has, should Benitez be given his marching orders.
Leonardo Nascimento de http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Araújo-c6436
Teams managed: AC Milan
Active years in management: 1
The youngest and least experienced of the coaches linked with Nerazzurri hot-seat is the favourite to take the position, should Rafa get the sack. Leonardo has managed just one team so far in a very brief career, and coincidentally that has been in the opposite
half of Milan; AC Milan.
The rookie manager was given the reigns of the Milanese giants last year following the departure of Carlo Ancelotti, and despite being woefully short on player quality, he managed to earn AC Milan a third placed finish. The Rossoneri were thumped 7–2 on
aggregate by Manchester United in the Champions League, as Milan made a premature exit from the premier continental competition.
Leonardo and Milan President Silvio Berlusconi had a break down in their relationship, and the two parted ways. It must be added that Milan did not treat the legendary scout with the respect that he deserved.
Despite being linked with several openings, Leonardo has stayed clear of work, arguably waiting for a more high profile job. Even though Leonardo might be the media favourite for this job, he is far from being the ideal candidate. The biggest difference
comes in terms of mentality that the involved parties inherit. Owing to his Brazilian heritage, Leonardo is a proponent of beautiful football and that often leaves his defence exposed – as was evident with AC Milan.
Inter Milan’s strength last season was their superb defence, and discipline on the pitch. The players are cut out to play such tactics. With Leonardo in charge, the Nerazzurri defence and discipline would be sacrificed for attacking flair and style, and
that would be detrimental for Inter's progress.
In short, Leonardo is not the manager http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan need right now. Until and unless Moratti gets him world class defenders in January, Leonardo’s tactics are only going to backfire with Inter Milan.
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