Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Sports
Sports

Chelsea Names Spain’s Rafa Benitez Interim Manager

Posted byBy Jacobi Eaves | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Rafa Benitez was named interim first-team manager by Chelsea on Wednesday until the end of the season, according to the team’s website. He plans to meet with his new players on Thursday at their practice facility to begin the transition.

The 52-year-old Spaniard is replacing Roberto Di Matteo, who was fired Wednesday, a day after a 3-0 loss to Juventus left Chelsea’s title defense in question. Di Matteo guided Chelsea to an improbable Champions League title last year, but the team is on the verge of becoming the first defending champion to be eliminated from the group stage.

Chelsea hired Di Matteo on a permanent basis in June, but the team struggled in the Premier League. They have only picked up two points in their last four games to fall to third place.

“The team’s recent performances and results have not been good enough and the owner and the board felt that a change was necessary now to keep the club moving in the right direction as we head into a vitally important part of the season,” Chelsea said in a statement.

Di Matteo took over a Chelsea team that was in disorder after the firing on Andre Villas-Boas in March. As the interim coach for the club he led the team to the FA Cup title, followed by the Champions League title. They beat Barcelona in the semifinals and Bayern in the finals.

Despite Di Matteo’s instant success and promotion this summer, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is not pleased with the third place standing in Group E of the Champions League. They are currently behind Shakhtar Donetsk and Juventus with one match left.

Chelsea is trailing Manchester City and Manchester United in the Premier League after leading for much of the season.

“The club faces a difficult task ahead in qualifying for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League as well as maintaining a strong challenge for the top of the Premier League while competing in three other cup competitions,” Chelsea said. “Our aim is to remain as competitive as possible and challenge strongly on all fronts.”

Chelsea seems to believe Benitez’s defensive approach can salvage the season. Benitez previously coached Inter Milan before being fired in December 2010.

Benitez will make his coaching debut Sunday as Chelsea takes on Manchester City in a home Premier League match.

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top