Marco Materazzi says Rafa Benitez afraid of his own shadow, made him toss Mourinho picture

Rafa Benitez's brief stint as Inter manager in 2010 was doomed as soon as his treble-winning predecessor, Jose Mourinho, said that Benitez wouldn't do better than him and that Rafa's trophies belonged to him. This came after reports that Benitez made the club take down pictures of Mourinho, which former Inter defender Marco Materazzi now confirms.

From Goal.com:

"Mourinhowasnumber one.His secretwas tomake theplayers feelinvolved in the project," he explained on television programUndici. "InMadrid[during the 2010 Champions League final],hetold me thathe was leaving.I saidto him: 'Damn youfor leaving mewith Bentez.'" [...]

"I did not get onwell withBenitez.He made me remove pictures of the most important moments of my career with Mourinho and [Marcello] Lippi from my locker," he said."He thought heknew everything,but he was afraidof his own shadow."

Well, Jose Mourinho would argue that it's actually his shadow that Benitez is standing in and afraid of, but Materazzi --- who can be prone to exaggeration -- makes his point. It should also be noted that Materazzi and Mourinho were so close that the two shared a good cry when Mourinho left for Real Madrid, something that probably didn't happen when Benitez was sacked just before Christmas, only six months into his two-year contract.