Moratti admits Capello was never a serious candidate to replace Mourinho

Inter president Massimo Moratti has declared he only briefly considered England manager Fabio Capello as successor to Jose Mourinho before appointing Rafael Benitez.

Capello, was linked with the post this summer before he inked a fresh contract with the Three Lions which tied him to the post until Euro 2012. This speculation had reportedly kicked the Football Association into gear before the disappointment at World Cup 2010.

It was reported that even before Mourinho was hired by Moratti to coach Inter, Capello was on his wish list as well.

Moratti insisted he had only toyed with the idea before deciding ex-Liverpool boss Benitez was the man to follow Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho.

"Capello was a realistic hypothesis that lasted two-and-a-half days, the time over a weekend which ended on the Monday," Moratti told Sky Italia.

"He wasn't in competition with Benitez, it was realistic but then it turned out not to be. I didn't touch anything, there was a question which was then rescinded by itself."

The Inter patron also heaped praise on Benitez and was convinced he is the man to sustain the San Siro side's stunning Trebel success.

"Benitez is one of the coaches who had a certain type of international experience, I heard great things about him and we went straight for him," Moratti said.

"We also considered alternatives because it was a difficult decision. Benitez is very professional, works very hard and has similar work systems to Mourinho, studying the games and opponents.

"He guarantees serious work and, I hope, good results. On a human level he's educated, courteous, likeable, not too insistent even when talking about signings.

"Mourinho was insistent on signing Quaresma but that didn't go well and he eased off after that."