If Rafa Benitez hadn’t been sacked quite so soon by Real Madrid, and stayed on long enough to ensure another job last season was unlikely, then he’d probably right now be the prime candidate for next Spain manager.
The Spanish media expect Vicente del Bosque to be leaving his role as national manager after another poor tournament, and candidates are already being arranged.
At this stage it would be natural to link Newcastle United manager Benitez, but Spanish newspaper Sport connect him to the England job instead. Roy Hodgson’s disasterous end as manager means there’s a vancancy to be filled.
Sport say that the idea of Benitez leaving Newcastle and becoming England manager has ‘taken shape in the last hours’. They reckon the FA are in a hurry to appoint someone and move on from Euro 2016 humiliation.
Of course, lots of other managers are linked too, but the Spanish media have long been under the impression Benitez is held in very high regard in England, more so than in Spain. That may well be true, but leaving Newcastle after only recently agreeing to stay may be a little much.
That said, the England and Spain jobs are rather tempting.
