Pellegrino pledges ‘attractive football’ at Southampton
Southampton have appointed former Argentina international Mauricio Pellegrino on a three-year contract, having seen off competition from Crystal Palace and other clubs across Europe for a manager they believe fits their criteria perfectly.
The 45-year-old came through interviews with the club as their preferred candidate following the sacking of Claude Puel and they wanted him in place for the beginning of next week so that he can begin pre-season. Pellegrino, who took Alaves to the final of the Copa del Rey last season, is happy to work in the Southampton structure where the manager has parity with other key departments such as medical and recruitment.
Announcing the appointment, the club’s executive director, Les Reed, said that Pellegrino believed that Southampton had the quality to play “exciting, attacking football, taking the game to our opponents by playing a high-intensity game”. Attractive football was something that Puel was too often accused of neglecting during his season in charge.
Reed said of the interview process: “Mauricio impressed us with his depth of knowledge, motivation and ability, communicating this in a professional and passionate way.
“He has an excellent understanding of the ‘Southampton Way’, and his style of play and aspiration matches the philosophy, culture and ambition of the club. We firmly believe Mauricio is the right person to help us take the next steps. He knows our players and believes we have a great squad that, with some fine-tuning, will be able to deliver continued success.”
Reed added that Pellegrino would continue the club tradition of developing academy players into the first team.
Pellegrino said that he was “delighted”. He added: “The club has a great reputation for having a strong and stable structure, competing in the Premier League and playing attractive football. I think my philosophy and the culture of the club will work well together.” There will be obvious comparisons with another Argentine, Mauricio Pochettino, now one of Europe’s leading managers, who was appointed by Southampton under the Nicola Cortese regime in January 2013 and led Tottenham Hotspur to second place in the Premier League last season. Unlike Pochettino when he arrived in England, Pellegrino speaks fluent English from his brief time as a Liverpool player and then later as an assistant to Rafael Benítez at the club.
Pellegrino will be part of the discussion on whether the club agree to sell their sought-after Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk, who is now fit again after a considerable injury lay-off. Owner Katharina Liebherr and chairman Ralph Krueger have said that Van Dijk is not for sale. That may change depending on whether the club feel they have an adequate replacement.