Pellegrini Manchester bound

By Tom Kingston
Updated: 15 May, 2013

After weeks of speculation, today’s news that Manuel Pellegrini has agreed to leave his Malaga post at the end of the season, will have come as no surprise to the football world.

With rumours surrounding Roberto Mancini and his reign at the Etihad eventually leading to the sacking of the Italian, the Pellegrini to Manchester link has really started to pick up the pace.

The majority in the English media have since cast eyes on Pellegrini and in a few tabloids this week they aren’t exactly singing his praises but undermining him from his time at the Real Madrid is very narrow-minded.

He’d be the first to admit that things didn’t work out in the Spanish capital but he has worked wonders before and since his time at the Bernabeu. He helped nurture talents such as Santi Cazorla and Pepe Reina in their early days at Villarreal who are now plying their trade at top clubs in the Premier League.

Not to mention the emergence of the Argentinian legend Roman Riquelme at the yellow submarine.

Those who argue that Pellegrini has not won anything, are not exactly true. As way of background on the Chilean coach, he has won league titles in Ecuador and Argentina in addition to the Intertoto Cup with Villarreal in 2004.

In his time in Argentina, he single handly transformed San Lorenzo side who went on to win their first ever league title under the guidance of his management.

And all of this is before we even mention what is perhaps his biggest achievement to date at current club Malaga,where he has achieved more than expected considering the financial restrictions placed on the Andalucian outfit.

Pellegrini, classed by many as a tactical genius, has a calm, collected and sensible approach which has him highly regarded around Europe and world football by many. He almost made headlines in the Champions League this term almost outfoxing Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund; classed as the extreme underdogs, Malaga were within touching distance of a Champions League semi-final place at the expense of the German giants.

Due to their predicament off the pitch, Pellegrini has worked his magic showing off another of his strengths, togetherness.

So what can the Chilean offer at Man City? Well, despite the cries of negativity amongst many in England, I have to say I can only draw on the positives, in abundance. Pellegrini, who has adapted the nickname ‘The Engineer’ due to his studies at the end of his playing career in South America has his teams playing in a comfortable but entertaining manner.

Roberto Mancini looked defeatist, disjointed and distant from his players. With Pellegrini and the system’s he adopts with his sides, you can tell the players look comfortable in their roles and his methodical approach has earned him top praise over his managerial career. Adopting transitional formations it is hard to know how his team are going to line up, but be sure of one thing, it works. Flexibility has to be paramount in the modern game, tactics and philosophies are ever changing.

Manchester City fans should be excited about their potential new man, calm and composed he will no doubt bring assurance to disperse the current storm that surronds the club.

The likeable character that he is, will project onto the pitch and into the staff at the club, a perfect mix. Manuel doesn’t do broken relationships, according to sources something that Mancini expertised in.

Who knows, this could be the catalyst to the sky blues attack on the Premier League title next season.

Having harnessed many attractive attacking talents over the years, the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini could help them attract players to more importantly, gravitate a more sustained challenge in the Champions League competition. Without name dropping any specific targets, you will have probably seen a few potential targets banded around in the media over the last couple of days, all positive ones.

Can’t say I’d be too disheartened with the appointment if I was a Manchester City fan. The future can now again look bright for a club who has really been a bit stale of late, the signs are all there for this to fit into place.

Pellegrini Manchester bound

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