Rafa Benitez did his research before he accepted the coaching job at Napoli. He assured himself the club had the resources to back up the ambitions of president Aurelio De Laurentiis. And yes, he checked that a worldly Spaniard like him would fit in.
After all, once upon a time in the eventful and often turbulent history of the Mediterranean, the kingdom of Spain included Sicily and Naples in its domain.
Spanish and Italian football, however, are often perceived to be very distinct realms, indeed. Benitez is familiar with that idea, and when he was coach of Valencia, often used to reference it, critical of what he regarded as crabby tactics when Inter Milan, in particular, shared some taut European knockout ties with his then-employers.
When Benitez joined Inter, years later, in 2010, he sensed a little residual hostility. That gig lasted barely six months, and when he quit, he seemed yet another victim of the jinx Serie A seems to put on Spaniards.
Since the turn of the millennium, players such as Gaizka Mendieta, bought by Lazio for an astonishing €48 million (Dh239m), and Jose Mari, just 21 when AC Milan paid €20m to Atletico Madrid for him, have joined a lengthy list of Spain internationals who flopped in Italy.
So the type of expansive importing of Spanish players carried out by Benitez as he arrived at Napoli carried some risks. It had one rather shaky and recent precedent, too: the “Hispanization” of Roma two years ago.
That was three Roma coaches ago, when the then-novice Luis Enrique took charge. He brought onto the playing staff compatriots Bojan Krkic and Jose Angel, and swooped for a centre-forward, Osvaldo, who had been burnishing his reputation in the Primera Liga.
On paper, Benitez has done something rather similar: Spaniards Pepe Reina, Raul Albiol and Jose Callejon are Napoli newcomers in goal, in defence, and in midfield; Gonzalo Higuain, like Osvaldo, is an Argentine-born new striker fresh from the Spanish top flight.
The difference? Benitez’s vast experience.
His stint at Inter reminded him of the need to start a new job with ready-made allies. His work at Liverpool told him compatriots – he had Fernando Torres, Reina, Luis Garcia and Xabi Alonso at Anfield – generally make good allies.
And his sense of Naples is that, even in the 21st century, the city might be ready to anoint again as their king someone from Spain, if he delivers something gleaming and silver.
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