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By Lucas Navarrete (@LucasNavarreteM)

For Real Madrid, it doesn’t make much sense to replace Carlo Ancelotti with Rafael Benítez. The Spanish manager has now been appointed in the Spanish capital and therefore Madrid will be coached by a radically different manager with the same core of the project led by Ancelotti.

Benítez has always been known for being a defensive-minded coach and while it would be reasonable to presume that he will adapt his training method and philosophy to the players on Los Blanco’s roster, he will surely ask his players to take care of things they haven’t done in a while. Several players who spent some years playing under Benítez agree on one thing: He doesn’t change his mind easily and that could be a problem given that Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Co. are not used to complete physical training without the ball ever since Mourinho arrived in the club.

20% of Benítez’s physical sessions lie in work without the ball, so the players in Real’s roster better be ready to go through one of the most boring pre-seasons since they became professional football players.

Benítez has been playing under a 4-2-3-1 formation over his last few years as a coach. Again, his reluctance to change his ideas likely mean that Benítez will try to implement that same system in Madrid. Does he have the players to do that? Said 4-2-3-1 formation would not work with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale on the wings and their tendency to forget about any kind of defensive commitment.

Furthermore, Real’s best midfielders – Modric, Kroos, Isco and James -- are way too light to sustain a double pivot on their own without defensive work from the wingers. So Benítez has a very intriguing decision to make. Will he try to play under the same style Carlo Ancelotti implemented even though he probably doesn’t believe in it or should he change the way this squad works? 

Benítez will solve one thing which kept many Real Madrid fans worried during this past season. Ancelotti hardly ever rotated his team and players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Toni Kroos or Isco ran out of fuel in the decisive part of the campaign.

Real Madrid’s lack of depth probably caused this problem, although Ancelotti should have given more rest to some of his key players against manageable opposition. That will not be an issue for Benítez, who likes to rotate his squad every single game. Still, he must be careful, as this policy can ruin a player’s form, as his former player Craig Bellamy explained in his autobiography. 

Benítez’s strong character often clashes with some of his stars. Inter Milan players Samuel Eto’o and Marco Materazzi admitted that they just “did not give their best” when Benítez was their coach, and the Spanish manager did not even make it to Christmas as Inter’s chief. Players with big egos like Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos or Iker Casillas will be even harder to coach, and Benítez must not lose his dressing room if he wants to succeed, so it would be wise to keep these players happy with their minutes and roles in his Real Madrid.

Benítez has a tough task ahead of him. This is arguably the biggest challenge he’s ever faced as a coach, because it will not be easy to earn the fans’ – and his players’-- trust, something that proves Ancelotti’s dismissal was wrong.

Rafa Benítez will be compared with Ancelotti constantly, but it will not be easy for him to match the Italian’s success.