Return for Anfield hero on the cards

Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez could become the next Lazio manager, reports in Italy have claimed.

According to Sport Mediaset, the Spaniard is being considered as a replacement for current boss Edy Reja, who is enduring an increasingly testing relationship with club president Claudio Lotito.

Benitez has been out of work since being relieved of his Inter Milan duties in December of last year, having failed to make an impact during his short spell at the San Siro.

Liverpool had decided to part company with the 51-year-old the previous summer, following a disappointing seventh place finish in the Barclays Premier League.




 

Benitez, however, still has hero status with the majority of the Anfield faithful, having guided Liverpool to a fifth European Cup final victory in 2005.

Liverpool almost repeated the feat two years later - still under the stewardship of Benitez - while the Reds also came agonisingly close to winning the title in 2009.

Shortly after his departure from Anfield, Benitez made a £96,000 donation to the Hillsborough Family Support Group.