LISBON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Spaniard Jose Antonio Camacho has been reappointed as Benfica coach and will be officially presented at a news conference on Tuesday, a club source said on Monday.
Camacho arrived at Tires airport near Lisbon on Monday after
the Portuguese club sacked Fernando Santos earlier in the day
following a 1-1 draw at Leixoes in their opening match of
season.
'I am very happy with my return,' Camacho told reporters,
In a statement Benfica said the club had reached an
agreement with Santos to end his two-year contract.
Santos, 52, who took over after Dutchman Ronald Koeman quit
at the end of the 2005-06 season, was the first coaching
casualty of the Portuguese campaign.
Camacho helped the team finish second in the league in 2004
during a previous stint in charge.
The Spaniard, also 52, made his name as a hard-tackling
defender for Real Madrid and Spain in the 1970s and 80s and
started out in coaching in the club's youth system.
He was assistant to both first team coaches John Toshack and
Alfredo Di Stefano in the early 1990s and then enjoyed success
in steering both Rayo Vallecano and then Espanyol to promotion
to the top flight.
Camacho had two brief spells in charge of Real Madrid,
resigning after just 23 days in 1998 following a row over back
room staff and quitting after three league games in 2004
claiming that he could not carry a dressing room packed with
high-profile Galactico players.
He was coach of Spain between 1998 and 2002, guiding the
national side to the quarter-finals of both Euro 2000 and the
2002 World Cup.
Resigning after Spain's World Cup exit at the hands of
co-host South Korea, he then had his first spell in charge of
Benfica, steering the Portuguese side to second place in the
league behind Porto before leaving to take charge at Real.
Last year he formed part of Juan Palacios's candidature to
become Real Madrid president, but lost out to Ramon Calderon in
a controversial and bitter election campaign.
