What does Manuel bring to the table?
Incoming
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini stamped his authority on the squad
even before his official arrival at the club thanks to the signing of Jesus
Navas from Sevilla. A nifty winger, Navas will form part of Pellegrini’s new
City as they strive to clamber back to the top of the Premier League above
their near neighbours Manchester United, also undergoing a journey into the
unknown without their mainstay Alex Ferguson in charge of team affairs.
A
former Chile international, Pellegrini had to work hard to overcome adversity
in his homeland when first taking on the coaching role at Universidad de Chile.
The club were relegated in his first season as head coach and he had to switch to
Ecuadorian side LDU Quito to finally forge a reputation as a top-level boss. He
won the league title with Quito in 1999 and several South American clubs sat up
and took notice of his work.
San
Lorenzo in Argentina was his next stop and he led them to their first international
title when clinching the Copa Mercosur; the Clausara (closing) league title
also came their way in 2001.
Buenos
Aires giants River Plate took Pellegrini as their head coach in 2003 and they
soared under his stewardship, thanks in a large part to the form of emerging
forward Andres d’Alessandro. However, when German Bundesliga club Wolfsburg
pinched d’Alessandro for around 9m euros, the team’s form faded and ‘The
Engineer’ Pellegrini quit his post.
Despite
that setback, Villarreal were interested in taking him as their next coach and
he duly signed in 2004. It was the Chilean’s first step into European football
as a player or coach and it was deemed a gamble in some circles for the La Liga
side to install him in the role.
He
swiftly dismissed all doubts with an astonishing first campaign in Spanish
football, leading Villarreal to third in the league and therefore qualifying for
the Champions League. For a small town team it was a remarkable achievement and
much of the credit was handed to the new man at the helm. Pellegrini’s cool,
calm demeanour and commitment to attractive football led to plaudits from
journalists and fans alike.
The
following year the Spaniards reached the Champions League semi-finals and ended
seventh in La Liga. Villarreal finished fifth and second in the league in next the
two seasons, as a team led by Pellegrini and marshalled in the middle of park
by the slow-burning midfield maestro Juan Roman Riquelme tore opposition sides to
shreds.
Real
were suitably enamoured with the Chilean to take him to Madrid, but he lasted
only a solitary year in the hot-seat, having finished runner-up to Barcelona in
the title race.
He
set about the task of putting that experience behind him by joining Malaga in
2010 and leading them to the Champions League quarter-finals this past season,
after a highly commendable fourth spot in La Liga the previous year.
Now,
‘The Engineer’ is back in the big leagues having been hired to fix the mechanism
at Manchester City. Roberto Mancini’s poor communication issues with several
players were well-documented, as was the fact that his tactical choices this
past campaign often bordered on the outrageous.
The
59-year-old from Santiago will look to heal any rifts in the dressing-room
while building an attacking team to entertain the watching public and to win
football matches. His intelligence, knowledge and philosophies bear similarities
to Arsene Wenger and with the correct players at his disposal he could well
develop an invincible team of his very own.
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