Pep’s managerial success a real shock, admits old pal Pellegrino
MAURICIO Pellegrino has admitted he did not expect former team-mate Pep Guardiola to be so successful as a manager.
The pair, who won the La Liga title playing alongside each other at Barcelona during the 1998-99 season, will be in opposing dugouts this evening when Pellegrino’s Southampton attempt to end the unbeaten record of Guardiola’s Premier League leaders Manchester City.
While Pellegrino has yet to lift silverware as a coach, Guardiola has an extensive medal collection, picking up three Spanish league titles, three Bundesliga titles and two Champions League trophies during prosperous spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
“I never imagined that he could achieve something like he did,” said Pellegrino, who joined Barca on a season-long loan from Argentinian club Velez Sarsfield.
“But when I arrived, Pep was one of these players always looking for new ideas, asking how we were training in Argentina.
“And he had a good reading of the pitch and it’s something that after (he finished playing) he translated much better off the pitch.”
Barca’s 1999 title success proved to be the final of Guardiola’s six La Liga wins as a player with the Catalan club before he moved on to Italian sides Bres- cia and Roma before eventually hanging up his boots following brief spells in Qatar and Mexico.
For Pellegrino it was his introduction to European football and he went on to enjoy a productive six-year stay at Valencia, winning two league titles and the 2004 Uefa Cup, as well as playing in two Champions League finals.
The 46-year-old former centre-back retains fond memories of his single campaign playing with Guardiola at the Nou Camp under manager Louis van Gaal.
“We were team-mates, and I think we had a beautiful moment together,” Pellegrino added.
“We won the league, for me this experience in Barcelona was good because I discovered a lot of things in European football.
“My career in Europe started in Barcelona, I’ve always got nice memories of this moment.”
Meanwhile, Guardiola will give Eliaquim Mangala the chance to prove he has a longterm future at City.
The much-maligned defender, who spent last season on loan at Valencia, seemed set to leave the Etihad in the summer as City tried to sign West Brom’s Northern Ireland ace Jonny Evans.
Neither eventuality occurred, and Mangala, who struggled to make an impact after his £42m move to City in 2014, was restored to the first-team squad. Now with John Stones out injured and captain Vincent Kompany unlikely to play every one of City’s 11 fixtures over the next five weeks, 26-yearold Mangala is set to feature.
Guardiola said: “He’s a player with a lot of experience. I’m impressed with his behaviour in training. He didn’t play regularly until now but he always accepts that and he is always helping.
“He has specific qualities and in this league it’s important. We are going to use him. We believe we need him. He’s a player for us and he is going to stay here.”