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          Rafa Benitez brushes off suggestions he's too defensive for Real Madrid

          • Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondentMay 29, 2015, 04:45 AM ET

          Outgoing Napoli coach Rafa Benitez has denied he is a defensive manager, amid doubts over whether his style would be suitable to take over at Real Madrid.

          Benitez was famous for his tactical and cautious approach to games when in charge at Liverpool and Chelsea, leading some to wonder how he would handle a Madrid squad with attacking galacticos including Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and James Rodriguez

          Blancos president Florentino Perez is known to like his teams to play fantastic attacking football, while the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu crowd is known for its tendency to get impatient when the side is struggling to break down so-called weaker opposition.

          The ex-Madrid youth team player and assistant coach, who is widely assumed to be Perez's first choice to replace Carlo Ancelotti in the Bernabeu hot-seat, told a news conference that it was not true his team's only played defensive football, pointing to his current team having scored over 100 goals in all competitions this season.

          "In Spain they still say that, while here [in Italy] they accuse me of being too attacking," Benitez said. "But it depends on your team, in Napoli we have a lot of quality in attack, so we go that way. The key is to adapt to the squad you have."

          Benitez was careful not to say anything about the Madrid job, even under repeated questioning from visiting Spanish journalists, while hinting that he already knew where he would be working next season.

          "The most important today is this, then I will think about my future," he said. "I understand the pressure of the Spanish media, and I will give my maximum wherever I have to work from Monday. I am young, motivated and with a capable coaching staff."

          After Benitez left Liverpool in 2010, his wife and children have continued to live on Merseyside, leading to some suggestions that he would prefer to work next in England, with Manchester City and a return to Anfield being spoken about in the British media. However, the Madrid-born 55-year-old reminded reporters he had links to other cities too.

          "A few weeks ago I spoke with my wife when we had the chance to stay, but I could not convince her," he said. "Thinking about the future, I am very excited, but [for now] I want to focus on what this team [Napoli] needs. My family is not just in Liverpool, but also in many other cities... You know where I come from..."

          One of those questioning whether Benitez would be the right man for Madrid is ex-Liverpool winger Ryan Babel, who published a series of cryptic tweets about his former manager.

          Babel left Liverpool in 2011 after making 91 Premier League appearances for the club, scoring 12 goals.