Inter Milan coach is on hot seat after latest loss
It’s a good thing that Rafael “Rafa” Benitez speaks Italian because he should soon be able to read the handwriting on the wall in Milan.
The Spaniard took charge of Inter Milan in June after Jose Mourinho, the celebrated soccer coach who led the team to Italian and European titles last spring, chased the money all the way to Real Madrid.
But since Benitez’s arrival, Inter’s fortunes have fallen. The club lies fifth in Serie A and on Tuesday it was thumped, 3-0, by Werder Bremen in Germany in the UEFA Champions League.
That result, combined with Tottenham Hotspur’s exhilarating 3-3 tie with Dutch champion Twente Enschede in Holland, means that Inter finished in second place behind Spurs in Group A as both moved on to the 16-team knockout stage.
More important, though, it means that Benitez’s stay in Milan will likely be much shorter than the former Liverpool coach might have preferred. Unless his team can find a way to overcome a spate of injuries and turn things around in a hurry, he could be ousted.
Tuesday’s loss came on the heels of a 3-1 Serie A loss to Lazio in Rome on Friday, and Inter Milan fans already sense that last season’s triumphs are not going to be repeated this season.
Later this week, Benitez takes Inter Milan to the United Arab Emirates to try to win the FIFA Club World Cup, with South American champion Internacional of Brazil being the main obstacle standing in the way.
“Winning it has become an overriding objective for the club,” Luis Figo, Inter Milan’s international relations manager, told FIFA.com. “After winning the Champions League, the Club World Cup is our priority and would cap a fantastic year.”
Failure in Dubai, on the other hand, could mean Benitez is gone before Christmas.
On Tuesday, he fielded a largely second-string team against Werder Bremen, resting such stars as Wesley Sneijder, but Inter’s reserves let him down. Finishing second in the group means Inter could be drawn against a powerful first-place team in the knockout phase of the Champions League.
“We tried young players and we did not risk more injuries,” Benitez told Sky Italia. “I do not believe my future depends on the Club World Cup. We are fully convinced that our season will soon reach a turning point and everything will improve.”
While there were long Italian faces in Germany, there were all sorts of English smiles in the Netherlands after Tottenham’s 3-3 tie.
“I thought it was the toughest group and to top it was a great achievement,” Spurs Coach Harry Redknapp said.
In Group B, Germany’s Schalke 04 clinched first place with a 2-1 victory over Benfica in Portugal. It was the Portuguese team’s first loss at home to German opposition in 14 years.
Olympique Lyon of France finished second in the group after scoring a late goal to tie Hapoel Tel Aviv of Israel, 2-2 in Lyon.
Group C was claimed by Manchester United, which finished ahead of second-place Valencia after the teams played to a 1-1 tie in England on Tuesday.
In the day’s other Group C game, Bursaspor tied Rangers of Scotland, 1-1, in Turkey.
Barcelona, which had secured first place in Group D, rested virtually all of its starters but still managed to overcome Rubin Kazan of Russia, 2-0, to finish unbeaten in group play.
Lionel Messi appeared for the final half an hour or so on a night when Barcelona’s starting 11 featured eight homegrown players from its academy, a fact noted by Rubin Kazan Coach Kurban Berdyev.
“You notice that they are from the Barcelona school of football,” Berdyev said. “They all know exactly what to do in each moment.”
Barcelona Coach Pep Guardiola’s team, which won the tournament in 2009, was joined in the final 16 by FC Copenhagen of Denmark, which defeated Panathinaikos of Greece, 3-1, on Tuesday to take second place in the group.
It marked the first time a Danish club has reached the knockout rounds, and although Copenhagen’s delight was obvious, Coach Stale Solbakken already was looking ahead.
“We need to avoid Real Madrid and the three big British teams to go beyond the next stage,” he said of the draw for the next round.”
The group stage of the Champions League ends Wednesday with the final eight games and with two places still up for grabs in the final 16. Arsenal is at home and needs to defeat Serbia’s FK Partizan to qualify or else it will open the door for Portugal’s FC Braga. AS Roma needs a victory over CFR Cluj in Romania to stave off the challenge of the Swiss club FC Basel.
After Wednesday’s games, the tournament takes a break until Feb. 15, when the knockout phase begins.
The Champions League final will be played in London on May 28.
