Full name Jorge Jose Benitez Name Jorge Benitez Playing position Role Football player | Years Team Position Midfielder 1969–1973 Racing Club | |
Date of birth (1950-06-03) June 3, 1950 (age 65) Place of birth Gobernador Castro,
Buenos Aires, Argentina Similar People Fernando Belluschi, Adolfo Bautista, Vicente Pernia, Ariel Rojas, Mario Zanabria | ||
Jorge José Benítez (born June 3, 1950 in Gobernador Castro, Buenos Aires Province) is an Argentine former football player and coach.
Nicknamed El Chino ("The Chinese"), Benítez started his career in Racing Club in 1969; in 1973 he was transferred to Boca Juniors, where he stayed until retirement in 1983. A gifted midfielder, he played 305 league matches and scored 40 goals for Boca, being instrumental in achieving the Metropolitano title in 1976 and 1981, the Nacional in 1976, the Copa Libertadores in 1977 and 1978 and the European/South American Cup in 1977.
Since he shared Boca's midfield with talented players such as Trobbiani, Suñé, Potente, Ribolzi, Berta, Zanabria, Brindisi, and Maradona, his place in the team was often compromised.
After retirement, Benítez worked as junior division coach in Boca Juniors, and was offered the post of main coach in November 2004 upon the resignation of (former teammate) Brindisi due to poor results.
Benítez's first achievement was to stabilize the team's performance, and indeed it went on to win the Copa Sudamericana 2004; management was convinced that he was the right man for the job, and extended the term of his contract, instead of going for a big-name coach.
On July 15, 2005, however, Benítez was sacked from Boca Juniors, following a poor performance by the team at the Copa Libertadores, and an incident at a quarterfinals match against Mexican team Chivas de Guadalajara, where the manager was seen spitting at Chivas player Adolfo Bautista which had been caught clearly on tape. After being sacked, Benítez had flown to Guadalajara at a Chivas practice where he sought to formally apologize to Bautista, who ultimately forgave him, but refused to see him. Boca then proceeded to hire former national team coach Alfio Basile for the post.