Benitez in strange plea that will surely end with the sack

It was always going to be a tough job for Rafa Benitez to follow Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan. How do you take over from a man regarded by most as the best coach in football and when that coach has just led the club to the most successful season in it’s history.

Double

Last season Mourinho took Inter to an Italian league and cup double and to a famous Champions League triumph. This season so far, Benitez has seen Inter slip to seventh place, some thirteen points behind leaders and ground sharers AC Milan. He has also seen his side make stuttering progress through to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

All in all it has been a poor start and a 3-0 win against TP Mazembe to win the World Club championship at the weekend was some light relief, but not much more than that.

Strange

After the game Benitez made a very strange ‘back me or sack me’ plea to Inter president Massimo Moratti, via the media. In the sort of bizarre press conference for which Benitez has notable previous, (remember the Ferguson rant?) he said,

“There are three possibilities for the club. One, 100% support for the coach and buy four or five players to build a stronger team with competition among the players to be able to carry on winning matches and trophies. Two, carry on like this without a project, without planning, and go ahead with one person to blame, for the whole season. The third is to speak to my agent to reach an agreement if there is not this support. Simple.”

Refused

Yesterday, Moratti refused to be drawn on the comments of Benitez.

“I prefer not to talk today to avoid the risk of creating controversies.”

Moratti did go on to say that he didn’t think Benitez’s comments were suitable but that he was impressed with how he had led his side to victory.

Happy

“For the moment the Inter fans are happy. It is not the moment to ask for reinforcements. He managed the game very well, I saw his handywork.”

Some reports suggested that Benitez had been sacked but the club said these were nothing more than rumours. It would certainly not be a great surprise if those rumours proved to be based on some truth as Inter have won just one of their last six league games and go into the Italian winter break in a poor state.

Fortune

It is true to say that Benitez has not had good fortune with injuries and that he had an almost impossible act to follow, but he has made the type of start that he would have had nightmares about. He is, at best, under pressure and at worst, on his way out.

I don’t know a great deal about Massimo Moratti, but from what I do know, if presented with a ‘back me or sack me’ ultimatum, there is only one likely outcome.