"Rafael Benitez’s unhappy reign in charge of Real
Madrid came to an end after just seven months
and 25 games when he was sacked and replaced
by club legend Zinedine Zidane on Monday.
Here, AFP Sports looks at what went wrong for
the former Liverpool and Chelsea manager on
his return to the club where he started his
playing and coaching career.


– Dressing room revolts
Benitez was brought in to add discipline to the
Madrid dressing room after club president
Florentino Perez believed his popular
predecessor Carlo Ancelotti’s soft touch was to
blame for a trophyless 2015. However, his
combative style failed to win over some of
Madrid’s biggest stars such as Cristiano
Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos, who routinely
continued to praise Ancelotti long after his
departure.


– Big game failures
To be sacked on a return of 17 wins and just
three defeats from 25 games seems harsh on
Benitez, but nowhere are the demands higher
than at Madrid and Benitez paid for his inability
to produce the results in the big games. Even
aside from the 4-0 humiliation at home to
Barcelona in November, Real failed to beat
Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, Sevilla and Valencia
to fall four points behind Atletico in the title
race.


– Off-field distractions
Quite apart from Madrid’s problems on the
field, Benitez had to front up at press
conferences for a number of his stars’
misdemeanours off it. Benitez offered his full
backing to Karim Benzema despite the
Frenchman facing blackmail charges over a
sex-tape involving international teammate
Mathieu Valbuena.
Meanwhile, Colombian playmaker James
Rodriguez was left out of Benitez’s final game
in a 2-2 draw at Valencia on Sunday days after
being pursued to the club’s training ground by
an unmarked police car and accused of
speeding at up to 200kph (124mph).


– Cup farce
It is a problem routinely faced by cash-
strapped non-league sides, but the richest club
in the world managed to get thrown out of the
Copa del Rey due to an administrative error as
Benitez fielded an ineligible player in the first
leg of their tie at Cadiz last month.
Denis Cheryshev was suspended after an
accumulation of yellow cards whilst on loan at
Villarreal last season, but started and scored
the opening goal. It was the second time a
Benitez side had been eliminated from the cup
in embarrassing circumstances as Valencia
were also thrown out when he was in charge in
2001 for fielding too many players from outside
the European Union.


– Defensive tactics
Even when the results were favourable for
Benitez early in his Madrid reign, he came
under fire from the local media and the club’s
fans for his perceived negative tactics. Creative
players like Rodriguez and Isco were
marginalised, and Benitez could never find the
right balance as when the goals did begin to
flow after the return of Benzema and Gareth
Bale from injury, they conceded 18 goals in his
last 11 games in charge."

He doesn't just have the charisma to handle Real Madrid. Patience is a luxury at the club hence, he was axed by the ever impatient F. Perez. My one pence though....