Factbox on Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez
(Reuters) - Factbox on Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez, who was appointed to replace Steve McClaren on Friday.
Born in Madrid, April 16, 1960
EARLY CAREER
* After a knee injury ends a modest playing career, Benitez begins coaching in Real Madrid's youth section.
* From 1993 to 2001 he coaches Real Madrid B, Real Valladolid, Osasuna, Extremadura and Tenerife.
* Leads Valencia to their first league title in 31 years in his first season in charge in 2001-02.
* They win La Liga again in 2003-04 and beat Olympique Marseille 2-0 in UEFA Cup final for their first domestic and European double.
LIVERPOOL
* Liverpool appoint Benitez as manager in June 2004.
* First season ends in triumph with an unforgettable Champions League final victory over AC Milan when Liverpool overturn a 3-0 halftime deficit and win on penalties.
* 2005-06 - Liverpool beat West Ham United in the FA Cup final, also winning the trophy on penalties.
* 2006-07 - Liverpool reach the Champions League final again but lose to Milan.
* 2009-10 - A poor season ends with Liverpool seventh in the Premier League and they also fail to progress beyond the Champions League group stage.
* June 3, 2010 - Benitez leaves Liverpool by mutual consent and a week later joins European champions Inter Milan.
INTER
* Inter stick with the same treble-winning squad but
injuries begin to bite and their form dips.
* Benitez leaves after a troubled six months in charge despite winning the Club World Cup.
CHELSEA
* Appointed as interim boss of the European champions in November 2012 after Roberto Di Matteo is sacked following their Champions League group-stage elimination.
* Benitez is never popular with fans even though Chelsea beat Benfica in Europa League final.
NAPOLI
* Takes over at Napoli in May 2013 and wins the Coppa Italia in his debut season.
* Napoli finish third in Serie A but are unable to build on their success in 2014-15.
* They lose their Champions League qualifier to Athletic Bilbao and miss out on the lucrative group stage.
* They are beaten in the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia and Europa League and Benitez announces on May 28 that he is leaving at the end of the campaign.
* Subsequent defeat to Lazio in their final game of the season means they fail to secure a place in next season's Champions League playoff round.
REAL MADRID
* Benitez is appointed as Real Madrid manager in June 2015 and wins 17 of the 25 games for which he was in charge, including a 10-2 La Liga victory over Rayo Vallecano.
He suffers a 4-0 home defeat by arch-rivals Barcelona in November and is dismissed in January.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
* He is appointed Newcastle United manager on Friday on a three-year deal.
(Compiled by Mike Collett; editing by Toby Davis)