Benítez regrets leaving Liverpool and wants to coach a national team

Currently at Celta Vigo

Rafael Benítez has been on the sidelines for numerous top international clubs, but the 63-year-old Spaniard has never been in charge of a national team. The coach, who has been working for Celta Vigo since July 2023, would like to change that. “When I think about the future, I want a national team capable of fighting for trophies,” Benítez explained in an interview with the portal “The Athletic“.

The veteran with a contract until 2026 initially wants to be 17th in the table. Stabilize in LaLiga and help it grow so that the club doesn’t have to “suffer” every year. “With structure and organization you can secure a comfortable position in the table and then start moving towards the European places. That would be the goal,” said Benítez, who spoke about wanting to take the chance to take part in a European or World Cup at some point.

“I suffer a lot from defeats. When you’re on a team that doesn’t lose that often, you get used to fighting for wins. That’s why I want a national team that is capable of achieving something,” Benítez said, but emphasized that all of these ideas lie in the future. Benítez has already felt the pain of defeat 14 times with his current employer. This compares to eight wins and eight draws.

The Madrilenian native has previously coached, among others, Liverpool FC (2004 to 2010), Chelsea FC (2012 to 2013), SSC Napoli (2013 to 2015), Real Madrid (2015 to 2016) and Newcastle United (2016 to 2019). Benítez’s biggest coup came with Liverpool’s Champions League title in 2005, when the Reds spectacularly turned around a 3-0 deficit against AC Milan in the final. At no other position did Benítez last longer than at the Reds, whom he managed a total of 360 times. And from his point of view, in retrospect it could have been even longer.

Coach Benítez would like to stay at Liverpool FC longer today

Asked if he would do anything differently today, Benítez said: “Absolutely. I left Liverpool because there was a difficult situation with Hicks and Gillett (then owners; editor). Maybe I could have stayed and tried to work things out, but in that moment I had to make a decision. And then you go to a team like Inter, who didn’t spend a euro after winning the treble, but with a very experienced team.” He only lasted 25 games with the Nerazzurri in 2010, as the successor to José Mourinho. After the Champions League triumph against FC Bayern, Inter decided not to make any big-name signings.

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