Rafa Benitez's Appointment at Chelsea Highlights Roman's Torres Obsession

Minutes before Real Madrid faced off against Manchester City in Wednesday night's Champions League fixtures, Roman Abramovich and Chelsea decided to steal the headlines by appointing Rafael Benitez as the new interim manager at the London club.

Few were surprised by the appointment of the former Liverpool manager, whose name had been banded around the mainstream media outlets as the front-runner to replace Roberto Di Matteo, but many wondered what the reasons were behind the appointment.

Benitez has been out of football management for the last two seasons, and his last job at Inter Milan—that lasted just seven months—saw him guide the reigning champions of Europe down to sixth place in Serie A as well as carrying them to two heavy losses in the Champions League away at Tottenham and Werder Bremen.

The Spaniard didn't leave Liverpool in a blaze of glory either.

After guiding the Reds to the 2004/05 Champions League final victory in Istanbul, Benitez's reputation began to hit a downward spiral, culminating in a dismal finish to their 2009/10 campaign that saw the Merseysiders slump to seventh place in the Premier League. That was a huge frustration to the Anfield faithful after they'd been forced to watch Xavi Alonso head for Madrid the summer before and his replacement, Alberto Aquilani, failed to impress having finally recovered from his long-term injury.

So, with two years out of the managerial "game" and two poor seasons behind him since his hiatus, questions have arisen about why Rafa has been given the testing role at Stamford Bridge.

One popular theory being discussed on Sky Sports News and Twitter is that Benitez's appointment is linked to his ability to get the best out of Fernando Torres.

El Nino scored 56 goals under the guidance of Rafa in his first three seasons at Anfield and was arguably Liverpool's best player during that disappointing final season of the Spaniard's tenure as the gaffer on Merseyside. It's also obvious to football fans around the world that Abramovich was the man who wanted to bring Fernando to Chelsea in 2011, rather then it being a decision made by then-Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti.

With the £50 million price tag hanging over both Torres and Abramovich, it appears that the Russian billionaire is desperate to be proved right in the never-ending debate that surrounds the striker and his value as a world-class striker.

Torres has been a thorn in the side of the Chelsea owner as he continues to fail to find the goal-scoring form that made him the hottest striker in football, and the obsession of continually sticking by, and starting, Torres is widely believed to be coming from the head office at the Bridge rather than from the managers at the training ground.

The appointment of Benitez stinks of desperation on Abramovich's part to be vindicated in his decision to bring Fernando to London, and his obsession with his "star" striker has now lead to the removal of the one manager who, just six months ago, brought the club the one trophy that Chelsea have been devoted to bringing to London since the Russian's takeover in 2003.

Di Matteo was a popular player and manager with the fans, and many hoped that, with the European Cup finally in their trophy cabinet, the managerial merry-go-round that has taken place since Jose Mourinho left the club would finally be over.

Benitez's interim appointment will, in the chairman's eyes, potentially bring back the Fernando Torres of old, just in time for the expected appointment of Pep Guardiola next summer, but the desperation at Chelsea to rediscover the Torres of old is a very worrying sight for Chelsea fans to watch. And for any manager that steps into the dugout at Stamford Bridge.