Former Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez has been unveiled as the new boss of Italian side Napoli just days after Walter Mazzarri quit the club in order to take over at rivals Inter Milan.

The 53 year old endured a difficult spell in Italy when he took over from Jose Mourinho at Inter but will be hoping for more success with a team that finished second in the table and will be competing in the Champions League next season.

Rafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez has been appointed as the new manager of Napoli on a two year contract. [Reuters]

Benitez managed to enhance his reputation during his interim spell at Chelsea as he helped the club win the Europa League and qualify for the Champions League thanks to a third placed finish.

He will now hope that he can challenge for the title with Napoli who were Juventus' closest rivals for much of the season but still ended up well short as Antonio Conte's side clinched a second successive title.

Benitez confirmed that he had been handed a two year contract on his official website, where he also revealed how much he is looking forward to helping the club achieve success.

"Now that the agreement is confirmed, I can say I am very happy and very satisfied for having committed to a great club with an illustrious heritage like Napoli," said Benitez.

"I understand the history of the city and how the club forms a fundamental part of the culture and traditions of Naples. I must confess that I am extremely excited because I can share my passion for football with the fans of Napoli; it is proven that they are very, very special. "

"I look forward to experiencing each and every one of the fans of Napoli and their strong support for this project that we will begin.

"I'm happy to become a member of that great family of Naples and thus we can share the triumphs together. We will begin from the start as we mean to go on and we will fight from the beginning to achieve success for the fans of SSC Napoli."

It was also confirmed that physical trainer Francisco de Miguel Moreno and goalkeeping coach Vicente Javier Valero Berchili, who worked with Benitez at Liverpool, Inter and Chelsea, would be joining as part of the back room staff at Napoli.

The Spanish boss will be hoping that he can deliver an elusive league title at Napoli who have not been crowned champion since 1990, though they did win the Coppa Italia in 2012.