If Rafa Benitez was hoping that a return to Spain this year would help banish the disaster that was his time at Everton, then it seems he was sorely mistaken.
That’s at least according to Mundo Deportivo, who say the Spaniard has guided new club Celta Vigo to an awful start, in fact their ‘worst in 30 years’.
The newspaper explains that with a solitary victory and five points under his belt so far, Benitez is currently equalling the club’s worst start to a season for three decades.
The last time Celta performed this badly was in the 1994/95 season when the team, led by Carlos Aimar, endured an identical start to the one the former Everton man is having.
On that occasion Aimar started with a win, two draws and four defeats and a defeat to Almeria on matchday eight led the club to sack him. He was replaced by Castro Santos, who avoided relegation.
Benitez has now equalled that record, a tally of five points from 24, after arriving in the summer for his first job post Everton.
He now needs to turn things around in his eighth game, with a defeat meaning he would equal even worse records. In 100 years of existence only two managers at Celta have had worse starts in eight games, with Alejandro Scopelli and Lluis Miro both winning one, drawing one and losing six.
The pressure is very much on the former Everton boss then, with him continuing where he left off at Goodison Park.
