© EuroFootball.com
Rafael Benitez was officially appointed as the temporary coach of London's "Chelsea" on Wednesday evening. The Spaniard signed a short-term contract until the end of this season.
The 52-year-old specialist will replace Roberto Di Matteo in the position. The Italian was dismissed due to unsatisfactory results, despite winning the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the club's history last season and claiming the FA Cup.
It is believed that Benitez could pave the way for Pep Guardiola, who is being courted by the team for the summer. Up until then, the former Barcelona coach promises to rest and ignore even highly lucrative offers.
Benitez is no stranger to England - the former Valencia strategist led Liverpool for six years. After winning the Champions League and the FA Cup, he was dismissed in 2010 and moved to Inter Milan, but worked there for only a few months and had been waiting for the right offer since.
London team fans interviewed by the BBC viewed Benitez's choice skeptically. "Rafael simply won't be warmly welcomed by the fans. I don't think he's a good coach - after all, no serious club made him offers for two years," said one of them.
In the English Premier League, "Chelsea" currently holds the third place. The situation in the Champions League is complicated: in order to advance to the knockout stages, they need to beat "Nordsjelland" at home and hope that "Juventus" from Turin stumbles against "Shakhtar" Donetsk.
