3 Ways Rafa Benitez Could Succeed as Chelsea Manager

Jesse PJun 7, 2018

Reports today are speculating on the optimistic claim that Roman Abramovich has contacted Rafa Benitez about taking over as Chelsea manager.

After reading a few articles, I decided to do some more research myself and speculate on the idea of Rafa joining Chelsea.

AVB has had a horrible time at Chelsea and the results are not going his way. If he fails to progress in the Champions League, I don't see Abramovich keeping him around.

Out with AVB and in with RAFA.

Rafa Brings Success and Experience

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Chelsea have recently been picking up Liverpool's scraps (Torres, Benayoun, Meireles), and Rafa could soon be joining the list. Rafa Benitez won the Champions League in his first season at Liverpool and reached the finals again in 2007. That isn't the best track record, but Abramovich has made it pretty obvious what he wants, and it seems he will do anything to get it, including spending upward of €28 million for managers.

Benitez did go on to win the FA Cup, but he was never able to win the Premiere League. Rafa knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League two out of the three times they went face to face in the European competition.

AVB seemingly has a plan (as I would hope every manager does), but whatever it is isn't working at the moment, and Rafa could bring some much needed experience to the table. There have been reports of breakups with senior players and an unsettled Chelsea dressing room with the policies of AVB. Benitez has the ability to tame the atmosphere.

Rafa's Ablitity to Sign Quality Players

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I'm sure most would agree with me in saying that Torres is no where near the player he was when he first came to Liverpool FC. Rafa brought Torres to Liverpool along with many other quality Spanish players such as Xabi Alonso, Luis García and Pepe Reina. Chelsea have been acquiring some very talented Spanish players and Benítez would be an excellent addition to the current Chelsea reformation.

Rafa, most notably, convinced Steven Gerrard to stay at Liverpool instead of making the switch to Chelsea, which would have been a huge plus for Chelsea since Benítez knows how to keep the senior players happy while still being active in the transfer windows and by bringing a new generation of player in to revamp the squad.

Style

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Benítez was able to perfect the 4-2-3-1 formation at Liverpool and in recent Chelsea games, AVB has decided to switch out of the 4-3-3 and into a 4-2-3-1. Rafa would fit right in with the system and with some defensive tweaks (remember Rafa got the best out of Carragher), Chelsea would be in serious contention for the title. Rafa could finally bring some consistency and confidence to the Chelsea squad by having a set formation and starting lineup.

Liverpool defeated Barcelona on their way to the Champions League Final, and Benítez brings the experience needed to compete with teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona.