Jamie Carragher tells Everton to make Rafa Benitez their next manager… with the ex-Liverpool boss an ‘obvious candidate’ to succeed Carlo Ancelotti after he left to re-join Real Madrid
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher says Everton should make a shock move for ex-Reds boss Rafa Benitez after Carlo Ancelotti left the club on Tuesday.
Despite only joining in December 2019, Italian coach Ancelotti has re-joined Real Madrid to replace Zinedine Zidane, leaving a gaping hole to fill at Goodison Park.
And Carragher, who played under Benitez for six years at Anfield and won the Champions League and FA Cup under his stewardship, says a move for the 61-year-old should ‘at least be under consideration’ by Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri.
Rafa Benitez should be under consideration for the Everton job, says Jamie Carragher
Carlo Ancelotti stunned fans by leaving the club on Tuesday in order to re-join Real Madrid
‘Rafa is available, settled in the area and I am sure he is ready if Moshiri is prepared to consider one of the more shocking managerial appointments in Merseyside football history,’ Carragher said in The Telegraph.
‘At the very least, Benitez should be under consideration as Moshiri begins yet another managerial quest. And not for the first time, before the owner decides the right candidate, he has to be clear of the football direction he wants to take.
‘As an outsider looking into any club’s recruitment process, it is confusing and worrying when you hear so many candidates mentioned who are different in terms of their personality and playing style.
‘With Ancelotti, Everton pursued the tried-and-tested, proven experienced manager and stellar name. If that is what Moshiri still wants, Benitez is an obvious candidate.’
Carragher enjoyed the most successful period of his career under six years with the Spaniard
Ex-Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, former Bournemouth coach Eddie Howe and Brighton manager Graham Potter are others in the running for the Everton job.
West Ham boss, and ex-Everton boss of 11 years, David Moyes has also been linked with a reunion at Goodison Park.
Benitez, meanwhile, has been out of work since leaving Chinese Super League club Dalian Professional in January, in order to be closer to his family on Merseyside during the coronavirus pandemic.
He previously managed Valencia to LaLiga and UEFA Cup glory in 2004 before joining Liverpool, where he achieved cult status in his first year by famously winning the club’s fifth European Cup, after a dramatic comeback against AC Milan in Istanbul.
Benitez was most recently in work at Chinese Super League club Dalian Professional
The Spaniard won the FA Cup a year later and finished second in the 2008-09 Premier League, before leaving the club by mutual consent a year later.
He then went to then-European champions Inter Milan, won the Europa League as caretaker boss at Chelsea and was at Napoli for two years.
Benitez had an unsuccessful six months in charge at Real Madrid too, before his popularity soared at Newcastle as he stayed with the club in the Championship, before his frustrations with the board grew and he left in 2019.
