Official: Napoli hire Benitez

By Football Italia staff

Rafa Benitez is officially the new Coach of Napoli, announced President Aurelio De Laurentiis, after his Chelsea reign ended on Sunday.

The confirmation arrived via Twitter and he replaces Walter Mazzarri, who signed for Inter this week.

“Rafa Benitez is the new Coach of Napoli,” read the posting by De Laurentiis.

“A man of great international experience. A leader.”

De Laurentiis had already told journalists a deal was done with Benitez, but back-tracked because he had to wait until the Spaniard’s commitments as Chelsea Interim Manager were completed.

That happened on Sunday night when the Blues lost a friendly 5-3 to Manchester City in New York’s Yankee Stadium.

Despite lifting the Europa League trophy and taking them to third place in the Premier League, Benitez was never popular with Chelsea fans after replacing Roberto Di Matteo on November 21.

This will be his second spell in Serie A after leading Inter to the Club World Cup in December 2010.

That run lasted only six months, as he terminated his contract with the Nerazzurri by mutual consent due to poor Serie A results and a series of disagreements.

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