Last May marked 21 years since Benitez’s Liverpool pulled off one of the most remarkable comebacks in football history, when the Anfield side roared back from three goals down to defeat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final.
Yep, life moves fast.
Benitez had moved to Merseyside off the back of stunning success in Spain, winning La Liga twice and the Uefa Cup with Valencia.
He failed to win the Premier League at Liverpool, but his coaching thrived in Europe and established him as one of the continent’s elite managers in the early to mid-2000s.
He consistently led the Reds to the latter stages of the Champions League, including another final in 2007.
He also won the Europa League with Chelsea in 2013, plus multiple domestic cups during his time in England and Italy with Inter Milan and Napoli.
People often praise his detailed defensive work above anything else. That is crucial at all levels of the game, but particularly in international football, where there is less time to work on complex patterns of play in possession.
Liverpool greats Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have often hailed Benitez’s tactical nous and described him as the best coach they worked under, but a long time has passed since then.
Benitez has had nine jobs since leaving Anfield in 2010, lasting less than a year in six of those.
He was adored during his three-year spell at Newcastle but was dismissed quickly at clubs such as Inter, Real Madrid, Everton and Celta Vigo.
