Football: Rafael Benítez will be our new manager, claims Napoli president

Rafael Benitez

Napoli hope to confirm the appointment of Rafael Benitez as their new manager next week upon the Spaniard's return from the United States, where the Chelsea interim manager is concluding his short-term employment with the Europa League winners on their post-season tour.

Benítez's agent, Manuel García Quilón, met with the Napoli president, Aurelio de Laurentiis, in Rome on Thursday and is understood to have agreed a two-year contract, possibly with an option for a third, worth around E3.5m (£3m) a season. He would replace Walter Mazzarri, Napoli's manager of almost four years who announced last week he would be leaving the club despite steering them to second in Serie A and a place in next season's Champions League. Mazzarri is expected to take over at Internazionale.

Football: Ivanovic rises high in injury time to seal dramatic Europa League success for Benitez's Blues

They are the first club ever to hold both European crowns at the same time, even if the biggest one, the Champions League is theirs for ten more days only.

With Wednesday night’s victory, Chelsea also become one of only four European clubs to have won all three UEFA titles, including the now defunct European Cup-Winners Cup. Juventus, Bayern Munich and Ajax are the others. Good company, that. Good history, too.

And that means Rafael Benitez is part of Chelsea history now, too, whether the locals like it or not.

The clocks at either end of the stadium had just ticked past 92 minutes when Branislav Ivanovic made the run that will immortalise him in Chelsea's history. The header was weighted with perfection, angled across goal and looping into the net, and it was then that Chelsea knew they had another European trophy to take back to Stamford Bridge and Rafael Benítez's brief and turbulent period in charge was guaranteed its happy ending.

Congrats Chelsea FC