Manuel Pellegrini

Manuel Pellegrini
Pellegrini as manager of Real Betis in 2022
Personal information
Full name Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti[1]
Date of birth (1953-09-16) 16 September 1953 (age 71)[1]
Place of birth Santiago, Chile
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
Real Betis (head coach)
Youth career
Audax Italiano
Universidad de Chile
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1973–1986 Universidad de Chile[3] 315 (7)
Total 315 (7)
International career
1986 Chile[3] 1 (0)
Managerial career
1988–1989 Universidad de Chile
1990–1991 Palestino
1992–1993 O'Higgins
1994–1996 Universidad Católica
1998 Palestino
1999–2000 LDU Quito
2001–2002 San Lorenzo
2002–2003 River Plate
2004–2009 Villarreal
2009–2010 Real Madrid
2010–2013 Málaga
2013–2016 Manchester City
2016–2018 Hebei China Fortune
2018–2019 West Ham United
2020– Real Betis
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈnwel peleˈɣɾini]; Italian: [pelleˈɡriːni];[4] born 16 September 1953) is a Chilean professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Real Betis. As a coach, he has managed clubs in Spain, England, Argentina, Chile, China, and Ecuador. Pellegrini has won national leagues in four countries.

Pellegrini moved to Europe in 2004 to take the manager's post at Spanish side Villarreal. Under Pellegrini, Villarreal achieved a third-place finish in La Liga in 2004–05, a Champions League semi-final in 2005–06, and broke the big two in 2008 with a second-place finish in La Liga in 2007–08.

Pellegrini's consistent record at Villarreal attracted the attention of Real Madrid and he was appointed manager there in 2009. He amassed a total of 96 points, a club record until it was surpassed by José Mourinho in the 2011–12 season, but lost the title to Barcelona by three points. He was dismissed after one season and later lamented the Galácticos policy employed at Real, which prevented him from building a balanced team.

Pellegrini took up the manager's role at Málaga in November 2010. He led Málaga to a fourth-place finish in his first full season and to qualification for the UEFA Champions League. He made it to the quarter-finals of the 2012–13 Champions League, becoming the only coach to take two teams to the Champions League quarter-finals in their debut seasons in the competition. On 22 May 2013, Pellegrini confirmed he would leave Málaga at the end of the 2012–13 La Liga season. On 14 June 2013, he was appointed manager of Manchester City,[5] and won the Football League Cup and Premier League in his first season as manager, in the process becoming the first manager from outside Europe to manage a team to the English Premier League title. The title winning season was also noted for goal scoring prowess, with Manchester City scoring 151 goals in all competitions – an English football record.[6] Pellegrini also managed to take Manchester City to their first ever semi-final in Champions League in 2015–16, which was his last season, after finishing in fourth-place with 66 points.[7] He managed Hebei China Fortune from 2016 to 2018 before leaving the position in May. He was appointed as manager of West Ham United in May 2018 and lasted 18 months in charge, before he was sacked in December 2019 after a poor run of results.[8] On 9 July 2020, Spanish club Real Betis announced that he would manage the side for the 2020–21 season.[9]

  1. ^ a b "Pellegrini: Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti: Manager". BDFutbol. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Manuel Pellegrini". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Pellegrini, Manuel". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  4. ^ Luciano Canepari. "Pellegrini". DiPI Online (in Italian). Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  5. ^ Hunter, Andy (14 June 2013). "Manuel Pellegrini confirmed as Manchester City manager". The Guardian. London.
  6. ^ "Manchester City need two more goals to erase United's record feat of 143 goals during Busby Babes days". The Daily Telegraph. 17 April 2014. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Manchester City failed to reach their first Champions League final after an uninspiring semi-final second-leg display at 10-time winners Real Madrid". BBC Sport. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  8. ^ "West Ham manager Pellegrini sacked". BBC Sport.
  9. ^ "Manuel Pellegrini appointed Real Betis manager". BBC Sport. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.