Amid a torrent of rumours surrounding Rafa Benitez and his managerial future , the Spaniard quietly continued a phenomenal career trend on Thursday with Napoli . He took the Serie A side into the Europa League semi-final with an emphatic 6-3 aggregate victory over Wolfsburg and the impending encounters against Dnipro will be Benitez 's seventh major European semi-final in 12 seasons . Napoli are the fourth club he has taken to the latter stages of a European competition , following spells with Valencia , Liverpool and Chelsea . Rafa Benitez ( right ) celebrates taking Napoli into the Europa League semi-final with striker Gonzalo Higuain . Benitez ( centre ) has reached his seventh European semi-final in only 12 seasons with four teams . Benitez ( right ) guided Liverpool to Champions League glory in 2005 , his first season at the club . Benitez got Liverpool back to the final of the competition in 2007 , where they were beaten 2-1 by AC Milan . 2004 : UEFA Cup winner ( Valencia ) 2005 : Champions League winner ( Liverpool ) 2007 : Champions League finalist ( Liverpool ) 2008 : Champions League semi ( Liverpool ) 2010 : Europa League semi ( Liverpool ) 2013 : Europa League winner ( Chelsea ) 2015 : Europa League semi ( Napoli ) Benitez tasted continental success for the first time with Valencia in 2004 , lifting what was then the UEFA Cup after beating a Marseille side spearheaded by Didier Drogba 2-0 in the final . That achievement , alongside the two La Liga titles he won during his three-year spell at the Mestalla , caught the eye of Liverpool , who swooped to bring the Spaniard in as Gerard Houllier 's replacement . His first Premier League season was one of adjustment but in Europe , Benitez flourished . He recorded his most stunning glory to date , masterminding what on paper was a woefully uninspiring Liverpool team to Champions League glory , overcoming a star-studded AC Milan side that boasted the likes of Cafu , Paolo Maldini , Kaka and Andriy Shevchenko in the final . Benitez maneuvered Liverpool back to the Champions League final in 2007 , eliminating Barcelona on the way with a win at the Nou Camp , only for Milan to avenge their defeat two years prior with a 2-1 victory . The Spaniard manipulated another assault on Europe 's elite trophy the following year but Liverpool were knocked out in the semi-final by Chelsea . Off-field ownership turmoil derailed Benitez 's team and Liverpool have not even threatened to emerge as a challenger for club football 's most prestigious competition since . They were eliminated in the group stage of the tournament in 2010 , where a third-placed finish resulted in demotion to the Europa League . But Benitez guided Liverpool to the semi-finals of Europe 's secondary competition , where a Diego Forlan strike in extra-time at Anfield sent Atletico Madrid to the final , where they beat Roy Hodgson 's Fulham . The Spaniard was sacked as Liverpool manager at the end of the 2010 season and Hodgson replaced Benitez , who ended up at Chelsea as interim manager in 2012 via a short spell at Inter Milan . Benitez won the Europa League with Chelsea , beating Benfica in the final , but his stay at Stamford Bridge was always going to be a short one . Benitez often barbed Chelsea supporters while at Anfield and with Jose Mourinho 's time at Real Madrid grinding to a halt , it was clear who Benitez was keeping the Chelsea hotseat warm for . Now at Napoli , Benitez finds his future at the club in question due to meandering domestic form . Napoli are currently fourth in Serie A , five points away from the top three ( which equals Champions League qualification in Italy ) with seven games remaining until the end of the season , when the Spaniard 's contract expires . Benitez was not a popular choice at Chelsea but he still delivered silverware with the Europa League . Benitez first won the trophy with Valencia in 2004 shortly before moving to Liverpool . Benitez is out of contract at Napoli at the end of the season and has been linked with Manchester City . Benitez has been linked with a return to England with Manchester City , as Manuel Pellegrini has overseen a feeble attempt at defending their Premier League title , while some Liverpool fans even pine for him to return to Anfield . If Benitez does leave Napoli at the end of the season , he will surely have an array of suitors . He has 12 major honours to his name . Few coaches across Europe posses a record as imposing as his .
Rafa Benitez 's contract at Napoli expires at the end of the season . He guided the Italian side to the Europa League semi-final on 12 years . He has taken four teams to a European semi-final inside Thursday .