Real Madrid seem to be getting closer and closer to appointing Rafa Benitez in place of Carlo Ancelotti, which is a dangerous move.

According to Onda Cero radio station (h/t Sport), the Napoli manager is increasingly likely to take over at the Santiago Bernabeu next season.

Benitez has had a long career and few doubt he has the experience required to take over a side such as Madrid. But in many other areas, he is lacking.

The last time Rafa won a league title was with Valencia in 2004. He took Los Che to the title in the 2001-02 and 2003-04 seasons, which were impressive achievements.

Since then, however, he has failed in the English and Italian top flights.

Many Liverpool fans look back with kind eyes on his era at the club, but it was a flawed period in which Rafa’s weaknesses were exhibited.

Where Benitez impressed at Anfield was in the cups. He helped Liverpool lift the Champions League in 2005 and reach the final again two years later.

However, if you want a good cup manager, look no further than Ancelotti. He too has struggled domestically, but at least he won the title with Chelsea in 2010.

The Italian helped Real Madrid achieve La Decima and win the Copa del Rey last season.

Ancelotti is flawed too, but keeping him would be a better bet than bringing in Benitez. If he learns from his mistakes this season, Ancelotti would be fine to keep steering Madrid’s ship until Zinedine Zidane is more experienced and ready to take over.

He has the support of many fans and players at the club. Marcelo said, per Sport: “I hope he continues with us, he is a great manager and has helped us a lot. We haven’t won anything, but we now have to regroup for next season.”

And according to various reports, he’s not the only one who would like Carlo to continue. Per AS (h/t the Mirror), many of the stars at the Bernabeu feel comfortable with the coach and hope he is still the “Mister” next season. The report reads:

Cristiano Ronaldo, who has always supported Ancelotti, said he was ‘delighted to work with him,’ while Toni Kroos insisted the 55-year-old was a ‘top coach.’

Pepe and Marcelo also backed their manager. Even Gareth Bale, a player who is close to Real president Perez, showed his affection for Ancelotti, saying it was ‘special’ to work with him.

On the other hand, Benitez has a track record of upsetting important players at his clubs.

Look no further than his time at Anfield and how he alienated Xabi Alonso, who went on to enjoy some marvellous years with Real Madrid. Bizarrely, it stemmed from Benitez trying to sign Gareth Barry, a player few would deem anywhere close to the Spanish midfielder.

Alonso told the Sunday People (h/t Sky Sports): “The pursuit of Gareth Barry took some time for me to accept and, in all honesty, it changed the course of my future.”

Benitez also fell out with another Spaniard at Liverpool in Albert Riera. The midfielder said, per the Daily Mail:

When you stop being important for the coach it has to be something personal. If I am doing things badly and you are my boss and you value me, you are going to tell me what I have to do to get back playing. That is what hurts me. It is a lack of tact. It seems strange that being Spanish there should be a problem with communication.

I have been here two years and he has never sorted out a situation with a player by talking to him. He thinks that it is him in charge and he is deaf to everything else. The dialogue is practically nil. This year has been difficult and he has changed nothing. When you see that the boat is sinking and you don’t change anything.

A few months later, Benitez was at Inter Milan, driving a treble-winning side straight into an iceberg. He was sacked after half a season with the team in seventh place.

The Guardian wrote at the time: “The Italian club’s president, Massimo Moratti, is in the process of negotiating the manager’s payoff with the pair’s relationship having fractured beyond repair in recent weeks.”

Defender Marco Materazzi, meanwhile, was also at odds with the Spanish coach. He said, per Goal:

In Madrid [following the 2010 Champions League final, Mourinho] told me that he was leaving. I said to him: ‘Damn you for leaving me with Benitez.’

I did not get on well with Benitez. He made me remove pictures of the most important moments of my career with Mourinho and [Marcello] Lippi from my locker. He thought he knew everything, but he was afraid of his own shadow.

Another club—another falling out. Where next? To Chelsea, of course, which was one of the most ill-advised places for him to go.

The Blues are a topsy-turvy club at the best of times, and with a fanbase that despised him before he arrived, it seemed a foolish choice.

Benitez clashed with senior players such as John Terry, whom he dropped, believing the veteran defender couldn’t handle a full schedule of games.

The Blues centre-back had the last laugh, leading his side to the title this season under Jose Mourinho and then taking a thinly veiled dig at Benitez after the win over Crystal Palace that sealed their triumph.

“One person said I couldn’t play twice in a week. He knows who he is. I’m still here, still fighting,” Terry said on Sky television (h/t the MailOnline).

Napoli too, have been underachieving since he took over. They used to be a thrilling, vibrant team, but Rafa has taken the sting out of them.

The players could be performing at higher levels. It’s not just Benitez’s fault. However, the team are well off the pace in Serie A and failed to reach both the Coppa Italia and Europa League finals.

Real Madrid have a team full of exciting, attacking players, but that is not the football Benitez likes to play. It is easy to imagine the white handkerchiefs being out in force in the stands of the Bernabeu.

Bringing Benitez in for Ancelotti would not be an improvement by any stretch of the imagination. At best, it would be a sideways step; at worst, it would be a disaster.

Given his propensity to fall out with important figures, who’s to say what would happen if he managed to upset Cristiano Ronaldo?

Perhaps Benitez will learn from his past mistakes. But there’s no evidence to show that will be the case.

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