Rafa Benitez (foto: Getty Images)
Rafa Benitez could be set for a surprise return to management, with reports from Greece confirming that the veteran Spanish coach is in advanced talks with AEK Athens.
The 13-time Greek champions endured a dismal end to their season, losing all five of their final playoff matches and finishing behind title winners PAOK. The collapse has forced AEK’s management into action, and they have turned to a familiar name in European football.
Benitez, now 64, has been out of work since leaving Celta Vigo last year. His coaching résumé includes some of the biggest names in European football — Liverpool, Real Madrid, Inter, Chelsea, Napoli, and Valencia — but recent years have brought fewer successes and a noticeable drop in demand from elite clubs.
The potential move to Greece suggests that opportunities in the top five leagues are currently limited for the man who famously won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005 and La Liga with Valencia in 2004.
AEK are reportedly eager to bring in a coach with international experience who can restore order and ambition to a team that capitulated in the most crucial phase of the season. With Olympiacos and PAOK strengthening their grip on Greek football, the Athens club hopes Benitez can bring tactical discipline and a winning mentality to the dressing room.
Should the deal go through, it would mark the first time Benitez manages outside Europe’s top five leagues, and a fascinating new chapter in a career that has seen both triumph and turbulence in equal measure.