Rafa Benitez open for Scotland job – what will he bring and is he affordable?

Benitez’s Liverpool pulled off one of the most remarkable comebacks in football history for 21 years last May, when the Anfield side fell from three goals down. Beat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final.

Yes, life moves fast.

Benitez moved to Merseyside on the back of stunning success in Spain, winning La Liga twice and the UEFA Cup with Valencia.

He failed to win the Premier League at Liverpool, but his coaching flourished in Europe and established him as one of the continent’s elite managers in the early to mid-2000s.

He consistently led the Reds to the final stages of the Champions League, including another final in 2007.

He also won the Europa League with Chelsea in 2013, as well as multiple domestic cups in England and Italy with Inter Milan and Napoli.

People often appreciate his detailed defensive work above anything else. This is important at all levels of the game, but especially in international football, where there is less time to work on the complex patterns of play in possession.

Liverpool greats Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have often praised Benitez’s tactical nous and described him as the best coach they ever worked under, but it has been a long time since then.

Benitez has had nine jobs since leaving Anfield in 2010, six of which lasted less than a year.

He was admired during his three-year spell at Newcastle but was quickly dismissed at clubs such as Inter, Real Madrid, Everton and Celta Vigo.