7 legendary coaches who did not have great playing careers

Mourinho enjoyed a lot of success as a manager, but not as a player
Mourinho enjoyed a lot of success as a manager, but not as a player

#6 Rafa Benitez

Rafa Benitez won the UCL with Liverpool in 2005
Rafa Benitez won the UCL with Liverpool in 2005

Benitez is currently the coach of Newcastle United but has managed some of the biggest clubs in Europe including Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, Inter, and Valencia.

The 58-year-old made a name for himself as Valencia coach when he led Los Che to two LaLiga triumphs in 2002 and 2004 (the former of which was their first league triumph in 31 years) in addition to the UEFA Cup in 2004 and is still highly revered till this day at the Mestalla.

Benitez' greatest moment as a manager, however, came in Istanbul in 2005 when he led Liverpool to the UEFA Champions League triumph over overwhelming favourites and star-studded AC Milan on penalties having been 3-0 down at half-time.

He also had further successes with Chelsea in the Europa League as well as in the Coppa Italia with Napoli.

Till date, the Spaniard is the only man in history to have won the Europa League, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup as a manager.

Benitez played as a defender during his playing days, having an unspectacular playing career that saw him suffer a serious injury early on while a part of the Real Madrid youth setup.

The injury all but ended his hopes of becoming a top-level professional footballer, going on to represent Spanish lower division sides before a recurring set of injuries saw him retire prematurely aged 26 and venture into coaching where he has enjoyed much more success.

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