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December 23, 2010 - Internazionale announced today the termination of Rafael “Rafa” Benitez’s contract.
Here is the official announcement posted on Inter Milan official website:
“F.C. Internazionale and Rafael Benitez wish to convey that, together and with mutual satisfaction, they have reached an agreement for the early cancellation of their working partnership.”
“F.C. Internazionale would like to thank Rafael Benitez for his work in charge of the team, which he guided to success in the Italian League Super Cup and in the FIFA Club World Cup.”
Inter President Massimo Moratti told Italy’s ANSA news agency:
“I’m sorry the relationship with Benitez is over, but the split had become inevitable.”
After 6 months of serving the Inter, from the day he agreed a deal to become the new head coach of Serie A Club champions on June 10, 2010 until today, Benitez’s contract is officially over.
Inter, defending Serie A champion, currently ranked at 7th with only 6 wins, 5 draws, and 4 losses. They are 4 points behind Palermo, 6 points behind AS Roma, 8 points behind Juventus, 10 points behind Lazio and Napoli, and 13 points behind arch-rivals AC Milan. Even though there are still 22 games left in this season, falling from first to seventh place is definitely disappointing for Moratti.
Successive defeats in Serie A as well as losing at Tottehnham Hotspurs in Champions League became a major threat on Benitez’s career at San Siro. Though he was able to guide Inter in their success at Supercoppa Italiana (the first trophy he received as Inter manager) against AS Roma in August 21, 2010, and the FIFA Club World Cup against TP Mazembe (3-0) last Saturday, Benitez’s failed to impress the Inter management.
Below is the farewell speech of Benitez posted at Inter official website:
“I want to thank everyone for the support given to me during my time at Inter. I also want to personally thank, on behalf of my staff, the players, the employees at the club, and the fans who had faith in us. It is also my wish to bid farewell to the players, the staff and the employees who, due to the festive period, I won’t be able to say goodbye to personally over the next few days. To all of them, and to the club and fans, I wish the utmost sporting success in the future. Finally, it is right that I should thank President Massimo Moratti for having, at the time, chosen me to be the Inter coach.”
Rafael Benitez, former Inter Manager
Now that Benitez’s contract with Inter has ended, the question is: where’s his next stop? There are some rumors that Benitez will return to management in La Liga. Other rumors say that his next stop is Bundesliga where he will replace Wolfsburg coach Steve McCLaren while there are still some speculations that he’ll be back to Liverpool.
IMAGE SOURCE: guardian.co.uk/John Sibley/Action Images
Topics: Champions League, FIFA, Inter, Inter Milan, Internazionale, Massimo Moratti, Rafael Benitez, resign, Serie A, Soccer, sports
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