Jose Mourinho attacked Rafa Benitez, the Real Madrid coach, after Beniteza s wife joked that her husband cleaned up the mess that Mourinho left behind at his previous clubs.
Rafael Benitez replaced Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid after joining from Napoli earlier this summer. In the process, the Spaniard has now managed a former Jose Mourinho club for the third time, having previously taken charge at Inter Milan and Chelsea FC.
Cleaner of Mourinhoa s mess
Beniteza s wife Montserrat Seara, joked that it seems almost fated that her husband should continue to join clubs managed by the Portuguese manager and clean the mess he makes there.
a We tidy up his messes,a she joked, speaking to La Region.
a If you think about it, of course you end up crossing paths. There are only a few world-class clubs out there.a
‘Benitez destroyed Inter, his wife should take care of his diet than talk about me’
Taking a dim view of the comments made by Benitez’s wife, Mourinho responded in typical outspoken fashion in the post match conference following the pre-season game between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona.
He was quoted saying by the Guardian:
“The lady is a bit confused, with all respect. Ia m not laughing, because her husband went to Chelsea to replace Roberto Di Matteo and he went to Real Madrid and replaced Carlo Ancelotti.
.
a The only club where her husband replaced me was at Inter Milan, where in six months he destroyed the best team in Europe at the time.
a And for her also to think about me and to speak about me, I think she needs to occupy her time, and if she takes care of her husbanda s diet she will have less time to speak about me.a
Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez have a rivalry that goes back to the later’s Liverpool FC days, when the Spaniard often outsmarted the Portuguese in Champions League with an inferior side.
Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool did beat Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2004-05 Champions League semifinal, drawing both group stage games in 2006 Champions League, and winning the FA Cup semifinal in 2006, before the Portuguese was sacked by Roman Abramovich.