Article
23 February 2009
Realmadrid.com remembers when he was a player and coach at the Club Rafa Benitez's Real Madrid past
Realmadrid.com remembers when he was a player and coach at the Club
Realmadrid.com / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell
Rafael Benitez Maudes, one of the most important and successful coaches in football right now, has a brilliant past as a Madridista which is unearthed here by Realmadrid.com.
Rafael Benitez Maudes was born in Madrid on 16 April 1960. He always had a passion for football, but his analytical approach to it indicated that he was destined to become a coach. He joined Real Madrid through the Social Torunament in February 1974 when he was 13 years old and he played for the youth system for ten years. He was loaned out to Parla in his last three seasons and left the Club on 30 June 1984.
He played for Under-15 Castilla in the 1973/74 campaign. His first team was the Under-15 A side, with whom he became Champion of Castille. He played as a right central midfielder in a 4-4-3 system. His technique was good, he was strong and he worked hard.
Rafa joined the Under-18 C side in the 1975/76 season and became Champion of Madrid and Castille with the team. He was promoted to the Under-18 B team the following season and was coached by Rafael Guillen Cuesta, who had faith in him and made him an important player; thanks to his efforts, the team won the Under-18 Regional First Division title. Other important Madridistas on the squad were Ochotorena, Robles, Riaño, Garcia de las Heras, Jose Luis Castro and Cob.
Benitez joined the Under-18 A side in the 1977/78 campaign, where he was coached by Grosso. The team won the league and the King's Cup. Other players on the squad were Agustin, Lopez Perez, Villar, Herrero, De Andres, Cedillo and Lopez Miro. "Rafa was a great team-mate," says the latter, "He was a good player and a charming guy. He studied a lot, but no-one thought he'd get this far."
"His success has nothing to do with chance," says Lopez Miro, "He was a hard worker that knew how to make good use of his characteristics and resources. We used to tease him because he was very polite and had good manners. 'You have to get angry more often,' we used to tell him, 'You'll amount to nothing if you don't.' Look at him now; he is one of the best coaches in the world."
Benitez was promoted to Real Madrid's Aficionado in the 1978/79 season and fought hard for a starting spot. The team was fourth in the Championship of Castille, but Benitez managed to play for the University team in Oviedo before being loaned out to Parla, where he stayed until he left the Club on 30 June 1984.
REAL MADRID COACH
Many coaches have started their careers at Real Madrid: Muñoz, Del Bosque, Camacho, Quique Flores, Valdano, Garcia Remón, Pepe Mel and... Rafa Benitez. He coached Castilla B (now Under-18 B) when he was just 26 years in 1986. He won two league titles and two Championships of Castille.
He won the league title again in 1989/90 with the youngest squad in the championship, and he made a great impression with his fast and offensive football in the Tournament of Lisbon.
He won the Youth King's Cup with Real Madrid A (today's Under-18 A) in 1990/91 after winning the penalty shootout against Barcelona in the final. Goalkeeper Contreras, who later got promoted to the first team, was one of the kids on the squad. "He was a football scholar," he says, "Way ahead of his time, he was a pioneer at breaking with the old image people had of a coach and in using computers to draw up new systems and come up with methods. He gave speeches on nutrition and travelled to the US to study on it. You could tell he would be a great coach some day."
He coached Real Madrud's Under-19 side in the 1991/92 campaign, coming in second in the league and winning the Tournaments of Helsinki, Sunderland, Laredo, Soria and Cordoba. This success promoted him to Real Madrid's Second Division side, with whom he finished 16th on the table.
He won the title the following campaign, getting Dani promoted to the first team and forming men such as Molina, Lopez, Gerardo, Sanz, Raul, Velasco, Moreno, Bravo... He worked with important men of the youth system like Cedomir Jovicevic and fitness trainer Javier Miñano.
Benitez won a league title and two King's Cups with the Under-19s and was promoted to coach Castilla in the 1993/94 season, which was the best the team had in many years. They came in sixth, one point short of promotion to the First Division. Ten of its players made their first team debut that year too: Dani, Morales, Velasco, Marcos, Antia, Valerio, Contreras, Fernando, Sandro and Jovicevic.
He was promoted to help Del Bosque on the first team when Benito Floro was dismissed. The Club continued to support the young coach's methods because he had great vision and was very well prepared for the job -Degree in Physical Activities and Sport, BA in Business Sciences, and several medical courses-.
Benitez managed to make Castilla come in 8th in the Second Division at the end of the 1994/95 campaign and decided to sign for Valladolid. He was 35 years old and in a few years would become the important coach he is now at Liverpool.
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Page:
1973/74: Under-15 Castilla
1974/75: Under-15 A
1975/76: Under-18 C
1976/77: Under-18 B
1977/78: Under-18 A
1978/79: Real Madrid Aficionado
1980/84: Loaned out to Parla
REAL MADRID COACH
1986-88: Castilla B
1988-90: Real Madrid B
1990/91: Real Madrid A
1991/92: Real Madrid Under-19 & Real Madrid Second Division
1993/94: Real Madrid Second Division & Assistant Caoch on the first team (8-3-94)
1994/95: Real Madrid Second Division
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