Difficult job awaits Benitez at Inter

Ever since Jose Mourinho made his intentions public that he wanted to leave the Serie A and pursue his career at Real Madrid, Inter set out in search of a suitable replacement.

Several coaches of high repute, among whom Fabio Capello, were linked with the vacant post at the San Siro but no deal materialised.

The English FA moved quickly to block Capello's move and at one time, Sinisa Mihajlovic was also being touted for the job before the Serb signed for Fiorentina.

Moratti claimed the club was after an experienced man with a proven pedigree. In the end, Rafa Benitez, so close to joining Juventus last month, was named as Inter's new coach.

The ex-Liverpool mentor inherits a team that has set the standards in Italy these past few years.

His huge task will be that of keeping the Nerazzurri at the top of their game. He has to see that the motivation levels do not dip.

Perhaps, this could be the main reasoning behind Mourinho's decision to leave Inter.

The shrewd Portuguese quit the Italian league on a very high note. He now joins a team that, despite several high-profile signings, has misfired badly and fallen in the shadows of rivals Barcelona. It's hard to reach the top but even more difficult to stay there.

After becoming the first Italian club to win the treble, it is almost comprehensible for Inter to show signs of complacency. But Moratti does not want that to happen even though repeating last season's historic achievements will be almost impossible.

The treble has already proved to be a difficult feat to repeat for Manchester United, in 1999, and Barcelona, last season.

Although there is always a first time, what Moratti and all Inter supporters augur is that the team keeps on challenging.

This year, they can emulate Barcelona's six-trophy haul of 2009 if they lift the Italian Super Cup (vs Roma), the European Super Cup (vs Atletico Madrid) and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Inter have now reached a stage where they need to consolidate what they have achieved so far by remaining perched at the top.

Competition will be fierce so it is up to Rafa to make sure that Mourinho's departure goes unnoticed.

The Spaniard adopts a different approach from the Portuguese. For instance, Mourinho would stick to the same system once he finds the ideal starting XI. Benitez, on the other hand, prefers to rotate.

However, as long as results are forthcoming, these are considered minor details and what Benitez has to do now is to show he's the man in charge. Failure to do so, would imply that what happened at Chelsea after the sacking of Mourinho, could repeat itself at the San Siro dressing room.

The Londoners endured tough times because many reckoned the 'old guard' was still loyal to their former coach.

All that changed, however, when Carlo Ancelotti took over. The Italian led the Blues to a domestic double last season.

Like his predecessor, Benitez, too, joined Inter after winning the Champions League (with Liverpool in 2005), the UEFA Cup (with Valencia in 2004) and the Spanish Primera Liga with Valencia in 2002 and 2004.

His profile looks very similar to that of Mourinho before the latter joined Inter in 2008.

The only major difference is that Benitez failed to win the English Premier League in six years whereas Mourinho prevailed twice in three attempts. That makes Rafa's new job even harder.