KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON
Betis coach Pellegrini prepares for Celtic in his usual ice-cool style
SEVILLE just doesn’t do cold. Even with thundery showers forecast for Andalusia this week, the mercury could still hit 28 degrees. An early evening kick-off tomorrow will offer little respite for Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic players.
Yet, no matter the heat and humidity inside the Estadio Benito Villamarin, regardless of how this intriguing opening group match plays out, the coolest man in the building will still be sat in the home dugout.
Hell will freeze over, you suspect, before Manuel Pellegrini rants and raves at a referee, an opponent or the media.
The 67-year-old Chilean has long had the respect of his peers but has never shown any inclination to emulate some of their less desirable traits. This Charming Man, as he became known to Manchester City supporters, has always done things his way; Low-key, low on headlinegrabbing language yet highly authentic.
Given he has won titles in three different countries — Ecuador, Argentina and England — Pellegrini (below) has no need to shout from the rooftops about anything.
There are certainly no shortage of confidantes who will gladly talk of his qualities on his behalf.
‘The way that Manuel approaches his work is very methodical,’ said long-time friend and fellow manager Arturo Salah. ‘He is not prone to outbursts or losses of temper. He tries to explain things in a rational way.’
This approach can be traced back to Pellegrini’s training as a civil engineer alongside Salah in Santiago.
Having graduated, he put his degree to good use in the mid-1980s, helping with the rebuild required after a large number of buildings had been damaged by earthquakes.
‘Manuel’s mind was very suited to engineering,’ added Salah. ‘I think that is why he went into coaching.’
A one-club player, he once described himself as a ‘mad dog’ of a defender with Santiago’s Universidad de Chile, the institution where he studied.
After a playing career that also brought 28 caps, he began coaching with Universidad before making his name in the 1990s with Palestino, O’Higgins and Universidad Catolica, winning the Copa Interamericana and Copa Chile with the latter.
He moved across the border to Ecuador to manage LDU Quito, leading them to the Serie A title and the knockout stage of the Copa Libertadores. That achievement brought him to the attention of South America’s giants.
He would move to Argentina in 2001, first with San Lorenzo, then with River Plate, taking both to the title.
By 2004, his name was on the lips of many European clubs. Small but ambitious Villarreal took a gamble, which paid handsome dividends.
The Chilean took a club which had been in the top flight for just five seasons in their history into Europe in five straight seasons. They reached the UEFA Champions League semifinals on their very first appearance in the competition in 2005/06 and beat Gordon Strachan’s Celtic in Spain in 2008-09 before losing in Glasgow.
Pellegrini’s Yellow Submarine became world-renowned for their bright-coloured shirts and the team he moulded around its stars — Juan Roman Riquelme, Diego Forlan and Marcos Senna.
Asked to recall if Pellegrini even lost his cool, Senna said: ‘It was very rare. I can only recall one time, at half-time of a game when he got a little angry at the team because of a poor performance.’
Pellegrini showed enough in his time there to merit a move to Real Madrid in 2009. He signed Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso and the team amassed a then club record 96 points. Incredibly, they still fell three points short of Barcelona and the axe was wielded.
Malaga were the beneficiaries. He led them to fourth in 2011/12 and the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in his final season in charge in 2012-13.
City saw his calm as the perfect antidote to the chaos of the latter days of Roberto Mancini.
With Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure and Edin Dzeko scoring freely, City netted 151 goals in all competitions on their way to winning the Premier League and League Cup in his first season. In doing so, he became the first manager from outwith Europe to win the English title.
Over the next two seasons, City finished in the top four and reached the Champions League semi-final, adding a second League Cup in 2016.
‘He made a big impact,’ said former City midfielder Samir Nasri. ‘He is like an Arsene Wenger type of manager. He can get really upset. For example, if he gave you his trust but you didn’t give it back. But, usually, he is really calm.’
He seemed, then, the natural fit for Betis last year after forgettable spells with Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune and West Ham.
The side from Seville have known little but tumult in their 113-year history. Their 1935 title win remains their only one. They’ve been relegated three times this century alone with the Chilean the 23rd man to occupy the hotseat in that time.
With the club now having emerged from a period of ruinous financial management, though, there is finally a sense of stability. Last season’s sixth-place finish replicated their final standing in 2018 — the best since they claimed fourth in 2005.
The Engineer has now been solving problems for longer than he cares to remember. He’ll stay calm and carry on doing that for a while yet.