It’s raining in Galicia, with drops running down the windows at Celta Vigo’s recently opened Cidade Deportiva Afouteza training ground.
Bounding into the media room comes Rafa Benitez, still wearing his ‘RB’ personalised shorts and jersey, having just taken training with Celta — his 14th job in almost three decades managing at the top level.
Over that time, Benitez has won 13 trophies with six clubs in three countries, with highlights including two La Liga titles and the 2003-04 UEFA Cup with Valencia, the 2004-05 Champions League with Liverpool and the 2012-13 Europa League with Chelsea.
The 63-year-old took on a new challenge last summer, joining Celta on a three-year contract, and the team from Spain’s far north-west are currently 17th in the 20-team La Liga table, with wobbling champions Barcelona coming to town this weekend.
Benitez warmly welcomes The Athletic to his new workplace for an interview that often returned to one major theme — the importance of timing and opportunity in the career of a coach or manager.
This is an edited transcript of the conversation.
The Athletic: Vigo seems quite like Liverpool — the rain, the river, the port…
Benitez: When I speak with my wife, who is there in Liverpool, I tell her, ‘It’s raining’. And she says, ‘Of…
