It’s fair to say that the impending arrival of Rafa Benitez at Everton has hardly gone down well at Goodison Park.
Finding a replacement for Carlo Ancelotti was always going to be a difficult task for the Blues, particularly as they didn’t think they’d have to, but few would have thought the former Liverpool man was the answer.
It appears, though, despite growing discontent from the fanbase, he will be Everton’s next manager.
The media machine has already been in full defence of the Spaniard over the last few weeks, with his admirers doing their utmost to defend Benitez and make it clear Everton would be lucky to have him.
That’s something we’ll begin to see more of in the coming days and weeks, particularly in Spain, and Plaza Deportiva have got us off the mark today.
Journalist Vincent Molins comes to Benitez’s defence today with an opinion piece that can best be described as a love letter.
He labels the Spaniard’s move to Everton as like a Russian spy joining the National Rifle Association, while for Liverpool fans, it is simply an ‘affront’.
He feels, though, it is unfair, particularly from Everton fans, who will be getting ‘one of the most successful Spanish coaches’.
Molins argues that Benitez’s ‘undefined identity’ and the fact he has not succeeded at one of the big Spanish clubs has created something of a false narrative around him.
Because of this, he is ‘accompanied by a strange shadow’ of man who ‘crammed on his stripes’ without asking permission from any of the big teams.
That’s left him ‘standing out laterally’, and his short spell in charge of Real Madrid created an idea of him being a ‘cursed coach’ who does not fit in at the ‘kings of the night’.
Molins believes ‘Benitez deserves more’, though. More attention and more consideration. He argues that he’s the victim of some of the main vices of a football world that is so fast-paced it needs ‘fresh meat to replenish its myths’.
He defends the Spaniard, saying he is ‘not clickbait’ and articles about him are ‘little read’, while the fact he is ‘chubby’ also goes against him, likening him to a ‘Hollywood actress whose neck lost its smoothness’.
In other words, Benitez is harshly treated and overlooked because he is not flash and didn’t earn his stripes with the big clubs in Spain.
As far as Molins is concerned, ‘Benitez deserves better’ and ‘one of the greatest Spanish managers of all time’ has signed for Everton, who it seems he thinks should be grateful for that fact.
