Rafa Benitez, the Champions League-winning manager who has worked in five countries but never at international level, has publicly declared an interest in succeeding Steve Clarke as Scotland head coach. The 66-year-old Spaniard, recently sacked by Panathinaikos after seven months in Athens, told Talksport he would be “open to the challenge” of taking over a side that limped out of the World Cup at the group stage.
Benitez revealed he had watched Scotland this summer at the finals, where they opened with a nervy win over Haiti before narrow defeats to Morocco and Brazil left them with three points – not enough to progress as one of the eight best third-placed teams from 12 groups. “They achieved what they could achieve,” Benitez said. “I don’t think they could have achieved any more.”
“Rafa Benitez says he is open to replacing Steve Clarke as Scotland head coach after watching them at the World Cup.”
But when Scottish broadcaster Jim White pressed him, asking “That wasn’t a no to Scotland, was it?”, Benitez replied: “No, no, I’m open to international football, to national teams, because I think you can do a different kind of job.” He added that his main driver in his next role would be “the target”, but cautioned he would need “the tools” – a phrase that raises questions about what resources the Scottish FA could provide.
The former Liverpool and Valencia manager is the most high-profile figure to enter the conversation since Clarke’s shock resignation. Benitez’s pedigree is unquestionable: he pulled off one of football’s greatest comebacks when Liverpool overturned a three-goal deficit to beat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final, and he won two La Liga titles and the Uefa Cup with Valencia before moving to Merseyside. However, 16 years have passed since he left Anfield, and his last job ended in dismissal.
Whether the Scottish FA can afford Benitez’s likely salary demands remains an obvious stumbling block. The two-time La Liga champion has never managed a national team, and his comments suggest he sees room for improvement – even as he acknowledged Clarke’s side had reached their ceiling. With Scotland now searching for a new leader, Benitez’s openness offers a tantalising, if perhaps unrealistic, possibility. But as he put it himself, he is ready for “a different kind of job”. The question now is whether the SFA will pick up the phone.