Napoli and Rafael Benitez - A romance that could last

Head coach Rafael Benitez of SSC Napoli smiles prior to the UEFA Champions League Group F match between SSC Napoli and Borussia Dortmund at Stadio San Paolo on September 18, 2013 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Dennis Grombkowski/Bongarts/Getty Images)

A walk through the streets of Naples today, for those unaware of the lifeblood that pumps the very soul of this city, would inevitably throw up a number of questions. There is a sense of something bigger than the self, something that seems to uplift the spirit, a deep undercurrent of emotion that the uninitiated will mistake for the typical Italian fervour for religion; here, where religion is not so much a personal choice, as it is a birth right.

In a city that may have changed with the times, but never really lost its heart, they worship a God of a different persuasion. He is decidedly mortal, and by God, does he have his flaws! But he is one of their own, the most revered of the fantasisti to have graced this city with their art.

And in his name, the name of Diego Armando Maradona, the Neapolitans have awoken to a summer of great promise and potential. But it has come in the unlikeliest shape and form; that of the rotund and much maligned Rafa Benitez. Not that anyone is complaining.

The Spaniard landed the plum Napoli hot-seat by virtue of his surprisingly good performances whilst in the dugout at Chelsea last season. Third place and a Europa League crown are hardly accomplishments worthy of the tag of being the erstwhile defending champions of Europe, but it was a litmus test of sorts for Benitez himself, one that he emerged from relatively unscathed.

Already despised in Stamford Bridge, courtesy of the many hotly-contested duels between the Blues and The Reds during his time at Liverpool, it took a whole lot of guts for Benitez to play the managerial merry-go-round game that saw him stuck with the tag of “Interim Manager” during his entire time at Chelsea.

It was a move born out of a desperation to re-ignite a career that had promised so much during his time at Valencia, but seemed to be stuck in limbo after a disastrous spell in charge of Inter Milan. Although the Spaniard has picked up trophies wherever his managerial career has taken him, he is considered a bit of a maverick in those esteemed circles.

Benitez is a man with a tactical nous that comes to the fore in the unlikeliest of scenarios, when the odds are stacked against him, but not one who has what it takes to consistently deliver results. Still, thus far, the man has inspired much confidence among the Napoli tifosi; an altogether surprising turn of events.

The Neapolitans are a simple people, one who revel in their spontaneity; in their food and wine and, of course, their football. The city is lined with street corners that pay tribute to their God and saviour, the Argentine who is as much a son of Naples as he is of Beunos Aires. Maradona brought a sense of pride and respect to a tifosi that had previously never even dared to dream of the heights his time at Naples would take them to. Genius often evokes passionate emotions, but nothing in football is quite like the relationship El Diego shares with his subjects in the southern Italian province.

And despite the dizzying heights of expectation, and the sense of nostalgia rampant in Naples today, the citizens have taken to Benitez almost instantly. In a season that was perhaps going to be best remembered for the sale of talisman Edinson Cavani, Benitez’s sharp moves in the transfer market, highlighted by the arrival of a ready-made replacement in Argentine Gonzalo Higuain, together with moves that completed a Real Madrid raid in the form of an under-rated José Callejón and defender Raúl Albiol, have completely changed the morale around the Stadio San Paolo.

Another very impressive addition has been the Belgian Dries Mertens, as Benitez decided to place his trust in the seemingly endless supply of Belgian talent now vying for places in top teams the world over. Pepe Reina’s loan move from Liverpool, of course, sees him reunited with the man who brought him to Anfield in the first place.