Champions Inter To Suffer With Rafael Benitez

After watching the reigning European and Italian champions Inter fall some way short of claiming the European Super Cup against Atletico Madrid, who ran away deserving victors in Monaco, there is perhaps some substance to the claim that Inter do not look like the Champions they were last year.

Such a claim too seems logical when one considers that on the bench instead of Jose Mourinho on the bench, Inter now have Rafael Benitez. The difference between the two could not be any greater. 

Quite simply, Mourinho knows how to build a winning side and indeed Porto, Chelsea and Inter were all winning sides when Mourinho was their boss.

As for Benitez, he has not had half the success of his predecessor and in his six years with Liverpool he failed to build a side capable of claiming the Premier League title that for some years now the club, previous winners on 18 occasions, has so been longing for.

Sure, Benitez did manage to secure the Champions League for Liverpool, but that was more due to the heroic efforts of Steven Gerard and some freakish luck that somehow helped Liverpool overturn a seemingly impossible score line .

What Benitez showed more than anything in his time at Liverpool was his complete lack of ability in building a team, a winning team. Instead, he wasted copious amounts of money on average players. Ryan Babel, Lucas Leiva and Andriy Voronin to name but a few.

Another reason why Benitez and his Inter side may struggle this year is because unlike the Spanish or English leagues, the Serie A is an extremely tactical affair and Benitez lacks the tactical nous required. Few foreign coaches succeed in Italy and only the best of the bunch to achieve success. Jose Mourinho was one such coach.

With Juventus looking a much more capable squad this season, along with Milan who have greatly increased their prospects with the signing of Ibrahimovic and even Roma who in Simplicio and Adriano have added some strength and quality to their side, the Serie A championship may just be a more intriguing and closer affair this season. Finally.