Just that result would be the biggest embarrassment Real Madrid had experienced in years, maybe throughout its history. The final was Betis 2-0 with both goals from the resurrected Willian Jose, a player with experience at Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Wolves. Physique He didn't have the depth to compete over LaLiga's full schedule, so he directed his focus on Europe. 66,04 Villarreal: 1 Juli 2004 . [68], Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of English football championship winning managers, "Pellegrini: Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti: Manager", "Manuel Pellegrini confirmed as Manchester City manager", "Manchester City need two more goals to erase United's record feat of 143 goals during Busby Babes days", "Manchester City failed to reach their first Champions League final after an uninspiring semi-final second-leg display at 10-time winners Real Madrid", "Manuel Pellegrini appointed Real Betis manager", "Pellegrini no para: Ahora es elegido ex alumno distinguido de la PUC", "El da que Ivn Zamorano gatill el retiro del ftbol de Pellegrini", "Pellegrini, el hombre al que retir Zamorano", "Jesus Navas can be the saviour of new-look Manchester City", The silent forging of success, Manuel Pellegrini, "Real Madrid appoint Manuel Pellegrini as head coach", "Manuel Pellegrini's nightmare becomes Real as Madrid begin blame game", "Real Madrid clear the way for Jose Mourinho", "Manuel Pellegrini is proving to Real Madrid he is one of the world's top coaches", "Chelsea's veteran stars had better beware, Manuel Pellegrini is a man who likes to build teams his way", "Former Real Madrid Coach Manuel Pellegrini Has Mexico Offer", "Manuel Pellegrini agrees to coach Malaga in La Liga coup", "Soccer-Malaga lose to Espanyol with Pellegrini looking on", "Pellegrini leads Malaga to dramatic debut win", "Malaga owner blames racism for Champions League exit", "Man City target Manuel Pellegrini announces he will leave Malaga", "Manuel Pellegrini: Malaga roundabout named after club's former boss", "Manchester City have verbal agreement with me, says Manuel Pellegrini", "Manuel Pellegrini appointed Manchester City manager", "Manchester City appoint Chilean as manager", "Manuel Pellegrini set to become fourth South American to manage in the Premier League", "Man City best in world, says Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood", "Man City 50 Blackburn: Gary Bowyer hails 'best in world', "Jose Mourinho's is right Manchester City have a duty to win title", "Premier League review: Man City landmark and did Suarez dive? He dedicated the trophy to the team's staff, the coaches and even the cooks. "They make the difference. Such an approach over the course of a lifetime has not only fulfilled him, it has helped win football games. Losing? News . His performances in the 2016-17 campaign . So you must know the personalities. You must think like an engineer. Pellegrini's abilities on the pitch are outstanding. ", In Manchester, he won with an explosive attack that reached 100 goals faster than any team in Premier League history. Pellegrini has a vision of what he wants his teams to look like on the field -- backs filling spaces vacated by wingers, constant movement in the penalty area. He doesn't feel the pressure to hurry. Pellegrini is enjoying the ride. As a young manager in South America, he won the Copa Sudamericana, the Ecuadorian title, the Argentina Clausura. It gave Barcelona a lead it never relinquished. He found time to earn a degree in civil engineering, and then work for years in that profession, even as he was embarking on coaching. [54], On 19 May 2018, Hebei China Fortune confirmed Pellegrini had left the club. It is the sole blemish on Pellegrini's career, the one stop where his methodology didn't work. Betis did manage to win the Spanish championship in 1934. Pellegrini wins with stars. Once he understands what he has, he works out how everyone will contribute. Nearly everyone, it seems, is rooting for him to take Betis somewhere special. It isn't that a pitch like this will damage our team. [23], Two years after his promotion in the senior team, he was called back in the U21 squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship on home soil. "In how I want my team to play, I try to reflect the admiration I have for artists and art," he says. The Spanish daily Marca named this match "Alcorconazo" and went on to make many teasing references to Pellegrini. [57] In his first game as West Ham manager, on 12 August, the team lost 40 away to Liverpool. Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti is a Chilean professional football manager and former footballer and is the head coach of Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune. During the 201617 season, Pellegrini became the youngest player to have a hand in 10 goals in a single Serie A campaign, having registered six goals and four assists by 10 April 2017. That difference? Villarreal . "Players who don't play too much, it's natural that they become dissatisfied," Joaquin says. He isn't hurried, but his clock is ticking. "We controlled the game, fullbacks overlapping all the time. Over three seasons, Pellegrini lifted City to a level at which Guardiola would be a reasonable fit. Ia adalah lulusan akademi sepak bola Roma, bergabung dengan klub tersebut sejak tahun 2007. Once he understands what he has, he works out how everyone will contribute. [9], Born in Santiago,[1] to Italian parents, Pellegrini attended the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in Santiago,[10] where he graduated in civil engineering in 1979. After trampling through its group, it will be seeded for the knockout stage. In Pellegrini's 34th season, he might be a better manager than ever, which is not something that might have been said before about anyone else. He was born in Santiago in Chile. However, in the first Premier League game of the season, Pellegrini suffered a heavy 50 defeat against his former club, Manchester City. It didn't matter that those 96 points were the most ever recorded by a second-place team in the history of any of Europe's top five leagues. In 1990, Arturo Salah was appointed as the manager of the Chile national team, and he hired Pellegrini as his assistant coach and manager of the under-20 team. [33][34] In October 2018, a roundabout in Malaga was named in his honour. His sale to Vfl Wolfsburg, however, proved a tough hurdle for Pellegrini to overcome and his team struggled to defend their status as Argentine champions in the 2003 Torneo Apertura. In his second season at West Ham, his last Premier League stop, he was sacked before Christmas. But that streak ended with a season-defining 2-0 loss to Guardiola's Barcelona -- with Messi, Xavi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic --- in Madrid. The club progressed to the knockout stage unbeaten, winning three and drawing three in the group stage. Despite losing Cristiano Ronaldo for nearly two months, it was one of Real Madrid's most productive in its history: a club record of 96 points in LaLiga, including a run of 12 wins in a row from January to April. On 10 August 2012, Pellegrini publicly stated his desire to stay at the club despite its ongoing financial problems and the loss of key players such as Santi Cazorla and Jos Salomn Rondn. Former Barcelona executives Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, the chief executive and sporting director, respectively, were stalking Guardiola. [citation needed], In the 1970s, Club Universidad de Chile was going through one of the most unsuccessful periods in its history, having not won the national Copa Chile championship since 1969. Hired in 2009, Pellegrini was already the 10th Real Madrid manager of the 21st century. "For me, maybe 90% of being a successful manager is the way you manage the group. For nearly a month, he immersed himself in the tactics and strategies of the English game at the esteemed Lilleshall National Sports and Conferencing Centre in Shropshire. Pellegrini has won at historically undersized clubs, like Villarreal and Malaga. So what happened at West Ham? [67] As of 26 September 2022 he was under investigation by HMRC for tax evasion. Liverpool, Tottenham put on a show as Klopp goes overboard, Bundesliga title twists, Haaland scores No. [28], Regarded as a promising young player, from a tactical standpoint, Pellegrini's natural role is that of a central midfielder, who can be deployed in any position in a three-man midfield, although he is also capable of playing as an attacking midfielder and as a defensive midfielder. No! "You immerse yourself in reading, in art, in the beach." [25], In June 2021, he was included in Italy's squad for UEFA Euro 2020 by manager Roberto Mancini. [8] In terms of the transfer agreement, Roma retained a buy-back-clause which afforded the club the opportunity to re-purchase Pellegrini at a future stage. Maintaining such a scoring rate would see them surpass the 143 scored by Manchester United's "Busby Babes" in the 195758 season. On 1 June 2009, a Villarreal executive announced that Pellegrini would no longer continue at the club. "Because I don't know what will happen tomorrow.". He visits art museums wherever he travels, took a managerial job in China so he could immerse himself in that culture, flew to Spain for a day while living in Manchester to swim in the Mediterranean. His tranquility seems preternatural; Iglesias, who has been playing for him since 2020, says he has never heard him raise his voice. City had won its first Premier League under Roberto Mancini. . When you make a decision in a tense moment, you must be cold, not hot. Pellegrini was already a mid-life manager -- at 49, almost as old as Pep Guardiola is now -- when he, when he won Argentina's Clausura while at River Plate. Pellegrini is nicknamed "The Engineer," for the obvious reason that he is, in fact, an engineer. [65], On 9 July 2020, it was announced that Pellegrini would become the manager of Real Betis in La Liga ahead of the 202021 season, replacing Alexis Trujillo who had served as an interim coach following the dismissal of Rubi the previous month. But he saw it. Years after Lilleshall, he described taking the course as the best decision he'd ever made. He hasn't won the Champions League. By 2001, Pellegrini was managing Argentina's San Lorenzo, his seventh club. Those are his priorities, as urgent as preparations for his next opponent. The recommendation paid dividends as Pellegrini led San Lorenzo to victory in the Argentine Clausura and the Copa Mercosur, South America's UEFA Cup equivalent. "I am not trying to demonstrate anything," he says. In 2005-06, Villarreal won a Champions League group that included Manchester United and Benfica. Mlaga then beat FC Porto 21 on aggregate in the round-of-16. After a hectic Christmas period, City's form showed no signs of abating. Manuel Pellegrini: 'England is the best league but the best football is played in Spain' Sid Lowe The former Manchester City manager will renew acquaintances with United when he leads out Real. "Manuel explains to each player inside the changing room what his role will be, and why he is important. In Pellegrini, they have found their lodestar. ", "UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season 2020/21", "Lorenzo Pellegrini Wins September's Goal of the Month Presented by Crypto.com", "Lorenzo Pellegrini Wins January's Goal of the Month Presented by Crypto.com", "Lorenzo Pellegrini Wins March's Goal of the Month Presented by Crypto.com", "2021/22 Europa Conference League Team of the Season", "Lorenzo Pellegrini named UEFA Europa Conference League Player of the Season", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lorenzo_Pellegrini&oldid=1152445314, UEFA Europa Conference League winning players, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles using Template:Medal with Runner-up, Articles with Italian-language sources (it), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:54, 29 April 2023 (UTC). When can Manchester City win the Premier League title? On 31 May 2009, after the last La Liga match for Villarreal, Pellegrini said: "Nobody from Real Madrid has spoken with me. [26] Pellegrini, however, eventually signed for La Liga club Mlaga on a three-year contract, their coach Jesualdo Ferreira having been dismissed. [61] West Ham finished in 10th position in the Premier League in Pellegrini's first season in charge; their first top-ten finish since 2016. [51] Pellegrini left Manchester City with the fifth-highest win percentage in Premier League history. [19], Later that month, he was included in the Italy under-21 squad for the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship by manager Luigi Di Biagio. Nearly everywhere he has gone, Pellegrini has been successful. Abdullah al-Thani, a Qatari sheikh, bought the club with the intent of challenging Real Madrid and Barcelona. If there's a problem inside a club, he'll often start by doing nothing. Manuel Pellegrini, surnomm El Ingeniero ( l'ingnieur ), n le 16 septembre 1953 Santiago au Chili, est un footballeur international chilien devenu entraneur. He just gave everyone their opportunity.". He has his acknowledged classics, his underrated gems, the one or two noble failures. "You win the game when you let the good players play," Pellegrini explains. [20] On 18 June, he scored the nation's first goal at the tournament, netting from a bicycle kick in a 20 win over Denmark. I try to improve every day.". Done. ", And yet, Joaquin adds, Pellegrini has evolved since Malaga. And then -- and this is the crucial step -- he makes that clear. After being released by Real Madrid, on 22 July 2010, Pellegrini received an offer from the Mexico national team; Javier Aguirre resigned following the 2010 World Cup loss in round 16 in South Africa. They are organized and mobile, confident enough to be creative, aware of their talent. And I brought it back to South America, and I kept working on it." [6] He then enjoyed a brief spell with the U20's in 2015 before making his U21 debut against France on 2 June the following year. Under Pellegrini, Villarreal achieved a third-place finish in La Liga in 200405, a Champions League semi-final in 200506, and broke the big two in 2008 with a second-place finish in La Liga in 200708. One game early in Pellegrini's tenure stands out by its sheer illogic. "The small spaces, the possession, the moving, that all started when I was in England. "Engineering orders your mind," Pellegrini says. "Very, very important for my career," he stresses. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [citation needed], In July 2009, Pellegrini competed in his first cup for the club as manager, the Peace Cup 2009. He was confident that his managerial future would be far from Chile. Since crossing the Atlantic in 2004, he has worked at six European clubs. It works at small clubs, where there is little expectation of achievement, and maybe even better at the biggest clubs. "Manuel explains to each player inside the changing room what his role will be, and why he is important. MILAN (AP) Roma moved up to fourth place in Serie A on Monday after grinding out a 1-0 win at bottom club Sampdoria, where former president Massimo Ferrero was escorted out of the stadium by security. His way to sort it out is to wait until exactly the right time. "But when they started working that way and they liked it, everything changed.". While he was away, his club had played three games and lost them all. It will do damage to football. Pellegrini brought calm and simplicity. In his case, Europe meant an obscure Spanish city of 50,000, a club that had debuted in LaLiga only five years before, and a salary that was less than a third of an offer he had on the table from Mexico. I would have kept playing two more years. He had terrible luck.". Lowry, a renowned British artist Pellegrini admired. But unlike many managers, he won't demand that they play in a favored formation, or rely on a predetermined strategy. The next season, with everyone gone but Isco, he tightened his formation into a tidy 4-4-2. [45] On 24 January 2015, Pellegrini's men were knocked out of the FA Cup, after a 20 loss to Championship team Middlesbrough. 2013- Manchester City Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti atau biasa dikenal dengan Manuel Pellegrini lahir pada tanggal 16 September 1953 di Santiago. 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. Manuel Pellegrini: The shots that made the Manchester City manager bulletproof. Of the 20 matches, only two were draws, against Southampton and Blackburn Rovers, in the FA Cup both of which ended 11. Years after Lilleshall, he described taking the course as the best decision he'd ever made. "I think," he says, "he's the best in the world. Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti (lahir 16 September 1953) adalah mantan pemain sepak bola asal Chili yang saat ini merupakan manajer Real Betis DanielKucing. Have you seen Pellegrini lately? It didn't matter. Last winter, Betis traveled to Rayo Vallecano for a Copa del Rey semifinal. And he'd like to get to the Museo de Bellas Artes to see paintings by Zurbaran and Goya. He was ready to learn if he could compete with the best in his profession. [18] As Pellegrini stood on the rutted, poorly groomed field before the game, he felt his anger rise. [13] He made 34 appearances across all competitions for the campaign, scoring eight goals registering seven assists, before re-signing for Roma at the end of the season. If there's a problem inside a club, he'll often start by doing nothing. Joaquin, the captain and a childhood supporter, cried from the joy. Manuel Pellegrini is a Soccer Player, zodiac sign: Virgo. [27], On 6 October, Pellegrini scored in a 21 home defeat to Spain in the semi-finals of the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals. The Betis manager has a Europa League match on Thursday, Girona at the weekend, and training sessions between. He made his first appearance for the senior side in an 80 victory over San Marino in an unofficial friendly match on 31 May 2017, coming on as a half time substitute for Daniele Baselli. At the time Wimbledon were five points adrift at the bottom of League One and playing in the fourth round for the first time in the clubs history. The Beticos are among the most fervent fans in Europe, responding to even incremental gains with an outpouring of emotion. Lowry, a renowned British artist Pellegrini admired. He's one of the few managers who is able to gain respect from even the most intractable talents. [37] Pellegrini was quoted saying he was "delighted to accept this hugely exciting opportunity. In his first season in charge of the club, Villarreal qualified for the UEFA Champions League after finishing third in the league and reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup. "We played amazing football, attacking football," right back Pablo Zabaleta says. Pellegrini's first Villarreal team didn't win a game in LaLiga until its sixth attempt. Manuel Luis Pellegrino Ripamonti (Santiago, 16 de septiembre de 1953) es un entrenador, exfutbolista e ingeniero civil chileno.Actualmente entrena al Real Betis de la Primera Divisin de Espaa. At four of them, he has the highest winning percentage of any manager in their history. He has done it in unique fashion, too. It makes us calm. [9], His son, Manuel Pellegrini Pucci, is a traumatologist who works in the medical staff of Audax Italiano since 2022. "I've never had a problem," he says. As Pellegrini stood on the rutted, poorly groomed field before the game, he felt his anger rise. He had talented players --- the young Declan Rice, Javier Hernandez, Arnautovic -- but couldn't piece them into a coherent whole. "But when they started working that way and they liked it, everything changed.". [44], On 29 October 2014, City were defeated 20 by Newcastle United in the League Cup, thus failing to defend their title. For nearly a month, he immersed himself in the tactics and strategies of the English game at the esteemed Lilleshall National Sports and Conferencing Centre in Shropshire. In 1988, his first season as a manager after 13 years there as a player, he enrolled in a coaching course in England to get a step ahead. [56], On 22 May 2018, Premier League club West Ham United appointed Pellegrini as their new manager on a three-year deal contract. "It's impossible for me to explain this . ", It's part of his philosophy of treating his adults like adults. Others extol the way he conducted himself at Manchester City. Pellegrini brought calm and simplicity. Ugly football depresses him. He led Mlaga to a fourth-place finish in his first full season and to qualification for the UEFA Champions League. In the decade preceding Pellegrini's arrival, Betis sacked its manager on average every year. "Let's enjoy the moment," he said. It didn't matter. Lorenzo Pellegrini ( Italian pronunciation: [lorntso pellerini]; [2] [3] born 19 June 1996) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and is captain for Serie A club Roma. , Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, Quique Setin o Manuel Pellegrini dentro de sus casi 4.000 piezas periodsticas, entre las que se incluyen temas tan dispares como el 'caso Lopera', noticias del mercado de fichajes, la . He manages happy teams that find ways to win. - Real Betis vs. Sevilla (Sunday 3 p.m. It gave Barcelona a lead it never relinquished. Everything he would do, he points out, he is doing already. "You immerse yourself in reading, in art, in the beach." Across all circumstances, maybe nobody has. [36] On 14 June 2013, Manchester City confirmed Pellegrini's appointment as their new first-team manager on a three-year contract. But Real Madrid came calling. He knew how to take individuals and make them into a group. He had talented players --- the young Declan Rice, Javier Hernandez, Arnautovic -- but couldn't piece them into a coherent whole. [citation needed], Pellegrini was capped once by the Chile national team,[11] starting in a 11 friendly draw away to Brazil on 7 May 1986. By 2001, Pellegrini was managing Argentina's San Lorenzo, his seventh club. Real Madrid lost to a Segunda B team. Manuel Pellegrini is a Chilean professional football players turned manager. In 2019, they finished 15th, playing in their usual dismal style. He knows what's happening. Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini had two players in tears at the club's training ground five days before the Premier League opener at Newcastle. "We were used to chaos," says goalkeeper Joe Hart, now at Celtic. These examinations revealed evidence of a fracture to the . He brought in big names -- van Nistelrooy and Isco, Nacho Monreal and Santi Cazorla. Guardiola pronounced himself a "huge fan.". "Every year I start from zero," he says. He was ready to learn if he could compete with the best in his profession. A former central defender in his youth, he is also an effective ball-winner, which enables him to break down possession, while his vision and technical skills allow him subsequently to carry or distribute the ball and provide assists for his teammates. They are organized and mobile, confident enough to be creative, aware of their talent. Nevertheless, given the squad full of marginal talents Pellegrini inherited at Betis, he might be in the process of creating the capstone of his career. Pellegrini is an academy graduate of Roma, having joined the club in 2007, and made his senior debut in 2015. He is most known as the captain and attacking midfielder for Roma, a popular Serie A club. ", He observes the game with his arms folded, gesturing only occasionally. Somehow, that team finished third, behind Barcelona and Real Madrid. Joaquin, the captain and a childhood supporter, cried from the joy. "You win the game when you let the good players play," Pellegrini explains. [55] Pellegrini's last match in charge of Hebei was a 21 win over Chongqing Dangdai Lifan. "I always try to live as though I have just one day left," he says. The understated Pellegrini wasn't a perfect fit for the Bernabeu, but who is? It gave him a bridge from South America exactly when he needed it. Lorenzo Pellegrini (Italian pronunciation: [lorntso . Then it grinds them up and spits them out regardless. "It's a club I will never forget," he says. Klopp has called him "one of the most successful managers on the planet." Real Madrid have the best guitarists, but if I ask them to play the piano they won't be able to do it so well. During the three years he spent at Manchester City, revving the engine for Pep Guardiola, he won the Premier League and two League Cups. We didn't win the Champions League because we didn't have a squad properly structured to be able to win it."[24][25]. In the end, Malaga -- Malaga! It's hard to tell. During his stint with the team, they won their first international title at Copa Mercosur. He inherited a team that had finished 13th, and he couldn't do markedly better, finishing 10th in his only full season. He describes Villarreal C.F. Just that result would be the biggest embarrassment Real Madrid had experienced in years, maybe throughout its history. Pellegrini makes no excuses. On 22 May 2013, Pellegrini confirmed he would leave Mlaga at the end of the 201213 La Liga season. Impact Pellegrini managed to make the bench and log some minutes despite a late illness and looked reasonably energetic given the circumstances. Nevertheless, given the squad full of marginal talents Pellegrini inherited at Betis, he might be in the process of creating the capstone of his career. It gave him a bridge from South America exactly when he needed it. [28] On 11 November 2010, he made his Mlaga debut as coach against Hrcules in a 32 victory in the Copa del Rey at La Rosaleda stadium, which led them to the round of 16 after the teams had drawn 00 in the first leg at Estadio Jos Rico Prez two weeks previously,[29] and continued his winning start as new coach of Malaga by beating Levante 10 in his league debut four days later. That started while he was at Universidad de Chile. Asked where Pellegrini fits in the managerial pantheon, Unai Emery spreads his arms wide, a shoulders-shrugged emoji come to life, as if to make it clear how simple the answer is. With his guidance, Mlaga entered the Champions League qualifiers for the first time in the club's history. That's a locura-craziness. "If I needed to change my style of life and care about only football," he says, "I could not be a successful manager.". Born in Rome, Pellegrini, who had suffered from arrhythmia as a youngster, joined the youth academy of local side Roma at the age of nine. He's one of the few managers who is able to gain respect from even the most intractable talents. In the changing room at halftime, he quietly suggested overlaps and underlaps, urging backs to fill vacated spaces. UEFA Europa Conference League Team of the Season: UEFA Europa Conference League Player of the Season: This page was last edited on 30 April 2023, at 08:08. [6] Pellegrini also managed to take Manchester City to their first ever semi-final in Champions League in 201516, which was his last season after finishing in fourth-place with 66 points. Now Pellegrini is winning at Betis, a club so steeped in failure that its motto in the Andalusian dialect is manqu pierda. [citation needed], In 1998, Pellegrini had a brief spell back at Palestino before he was bought by Ecuadorian club LDU Quito. And yes, they. In his second season at West Ham, his last Premier League stop, he was sacked before Christmas. Real Madrid was matched in the first round of the Copa del Rey against the local team, AD Alcorcon, which played in Segunda B, the third level of Spanish football. "Players who don't play too much, it's natural that they become dissatisfied," Joaquin says. Pellegrini was contrite but not regretful. Lorenzo Pellegrini. He didn't have the depth to compete over LaLiga's full schedule, so he directed his focus on Europe. . Somehow, that team finished third, behind Barcelona and Real Madrid. "The small spaces, the possession, the moving, that all started when I was in England. Pellegrini commented, "I am proud to manage Manchester City FC and am therefore very pleased to have agreed to this contract. It's hard to tell. Nationality: Chile. He made no dramatic player moves, performed no drastic stylistic makeover, but lit a spark and led the club to fifth place. "He has a way of bringing out the best in every player," says the recently retired Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain, who was two years into his European career when he played for Pellegrini at Real Madrid. Pellegrini should become, at 60, the oldest man to win the league title for the first time since Joe Fagan in 1984 - although Fagan, at 63, had been part of the Liverpool coaching staff for 28 . - Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.), Like all successful football managers, Pellegrini is fully consumed. "The idea is always the same," says Joaquin, who played for him at Malaga and now at Betis.