Rafael Benitez… manager of the year

A third place finish and a Europa League final, in which they won, may not seem like much for a manager of the year contender. But what Rafael Benitez has done at Chelsea is nothing short of a miracle.

When Benitez came to Chelsea it was under a chorus of boo’s and hatred from the Chelsea fans due to Roman Abramovich’s unfair dismissal of Roberto Di Matteo and the his previous ties to Liverpool. Game after game there would be chants of Benitez out, when he was hired by the directors to do nothing other than be an interim manager and see Chelsea through to the end of the season.

That being said, his decisions to not start captain John Terry and senior midfielder Frank Lampard as much as the Stamford Bridge faithful would have liked also added to the hatred of him by the Chelsea fans.

A Champions League 6-1 win over FC Nordsjælland in his first game in charge wasn’t enough for the Blue’s to qualify for the knockout stages of Europe’s top competition, and saw them enter into the Europa League. A competition that seems to have lost a lot of “sex appeal” over the years.

Chelsea’s league status wasn’t the best either as Di Matteo had an average start to the season. Third place was a minimum requirement for the billionaire Russian owner, and one in which Benitez delivered on. His acquirement of Demba Ba in the January transfer window and glimpses of getting Fernando Torres back to his best slowly start to see the Chelsea fans lose that hatred for him.

After his first win in the Premiership against Sunderland Benitez, questioned why the fans hate him. As he stated he was hired to do a job and that is what he will do, knowing that he would be leaving at the end of the season.

A disappointing final lost in the FIFA Club World Cup may have been a dampener on his managerial performances, along with home defeats to Swansea City and Queens Park Rangers. But making it to the semi-final of the F.A. Cup and League cup, as well as recording a club record victory of 8-0 over Aston Villa is a credit to Benitez’s managerial expertise.

A man who was subject too many chants of “out” by the fans and rifts with senior players could have easily thrown in the towel. Benitez is not that type of manager though. His tactics for the game and pursuit of perfection while still being very stern and hard to please is what makes him my manager of the season.

A man who put everything that was thrown at him to one side and went about doing a professional job at a club which he seemed distend to fail at since he first walked through the door.

The only team in the history of Europe to be both Champions League Winners and Europa League winners at the same time, as well as guaranteed Champions League football next season will all look very impressive on the Spaniard’s c.v.

Whether you agree with me or not, Benitez should be manager of the year simply for achieving the impossible, and that is winning over the Chelsea fans. It may not have been Chelsea’s best ever season, but under the circumstances he had to work through, for me Benitez deserves the award. I’m sure Arsenal; Tottenham and Liverpool fans would have taken a European trophy and automatic qualification to the Champions League if you had offered it to them at the start of the season.

ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.