Liverpool fans will certanly remember the last time the Reds won the Champions League, during the 2004-2005 season in which they brilliantly came back from 3-0 down against Milan to lift their fifth European trophy.
They will also remember who was on the tactician's bench at that time: Rafa Benitez. It would also prove to be the highlight of the Spaniard's career, as just five seasons later, with the club posting a disappointing 7th-placed finish, he was handed his termination papers at the end of the 2009-2010 domestic campaign.
A frusting spell with Inter--his first in Serie A--ended midway through the season and after two years without a job, he was appointed manager of Chelsea after the Blues opted to sack Roberto Di Matteo. Naturally his association with rivals Liverpool did not sit too well with the team's fans, but after their embarrassing Champions League group stage exit following the historic win in May of 2012, Benitez managed to quiet a few by winning Europe's second-tier competition, the Europa League.
Now, with Napoli, despite winning the Coppa Italia last season, the Partenopei failed to progress in the Champions League for the second straight season. And Benitez himself recently admitted that he missed life in England, especially being separated from his family.
"My wife and two daughters live in Liverpool, [and] it is not easy [because this is] the first time I haven’t had them with me.[Napoli president Aurelio] De Laurentiis knows how important my family values are to me," he noted.
Interestingly, English reports already have him as the clear favorite to succeed Brendan Rodgers, who has endured a torrid time so far this season and whose future at Anfield may not be as secure as he would like.
