Former Inter Milan and Italy defender Marco Materazzi says Rafa Benitez never learns from his mistakes and he was not surprised by news of his sacking.
Benitez was replaced by Zinedine Zidane on Monday bringing an end to his brief seven month spell at the club.
During his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, there were plenty of reports of fallings out with senior players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Isco and James Rodriguez. And Materazzi believes it is a similar story to one Benitez experienced at Inter Milan.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Materazzi said: “I had already predicted Benitez’s exit. I was only wrong by a few days. You can be the best in the world, but you don’t go far if you don’t have a connection with the players. You cannot succeed if you cannot bond with those who have stronger personalities. They are the ones who have to help you out on the pitch. Madrid are a difficult club and it is not enough to have the president’s backing.”
And he added: “Benitez will never change. He always encounters the same problems. Instead of creating a good relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo, he tried to become close with Gareth Bale. It’s the same story all over again. On his first day at Inter, he talked to Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso and Ivan Cordoba, but completely ignored Cristian Chivu.”
Comment: i’m happy to much of sacking rafael benitez, becoZ benitez does have a good relationship with the senior players such as: cristiano ronaldo, james rodriguez, isco. And then he makes gareth bale an kovacic danilo as his senior’s players.