Rafa Benitez

Former Newcastle boss taking on tough new task in China

- John Duerden

If Rafa Benitez thought that swapping the northeast of England for the northeast of China was going to make for an easier life, then he may soon be pining for Mike Ashley and Newcastle United. The situation at Dalian Yifang is, to say the least, influx – which is par for the course at a club that has gone through close to 20 coaches in the past decade.

On Monday, July 1, Choi Kang-hee, who took the job earlier this year, left the club due to “personal reasons”. It soon turned out that the biggest reason for his departure was that Benitez was being officially announced as his successor the very next day.

“I’m just really pleased and really excited that someone was really keen to get me, to give me the opportunity to develop a project and, at the same time, with a really good economic proposal,” Benitez said upon his arrival halfway through the Chinese Super League (CSL) season. “You want to do something, build something, leave something behind.

“At the same time, you cannot be lying; it’s good money.”