 | Born: September 16, 1953 Birthplace: Santiago, Chile Previous Clubs: Universidad de Chile; Palestino; Chile Under-20; O'Higgins; Universidad Católica; LDU Quito; San Lorenzo; River Plate; Villarreal Honours: Copa Interamericana: 1994; Copa Chile: 1995; Campeonato Ecuatoriano de Fútbol: 1999; Argentina Clausura 2001, 2003; Copa Mercosur: 2001; UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2004 |
2009/10 Spanish Primera División Record
GP 21 | W 16 | D 2 | L 3
One of the most well-respected coaches in Spain, Pellegrini built his reputation in Chile and Argentina before making his name in Europe with Villarreal. The Chilean coach was then announced as the manager of Real Madrid in June 2009, to the surprise of many.
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The Chilean is well respected in La Liga.
A largely unknown coach before his arrival in Spain, the man labelled 'El Ingeniero' (The Engineer) has said he doesn't believe in ''projects of more than three years" so the Madrid role may suit him well.
As a player, Pellegrini does not possess much of a CV. A strong centre-back for Universidad de Chile, he spent 13 years at the club, with a lone Copa Chile victory his only reward.
As a coach, he was unable to bring trophies to the club either and stayed for only half a season before moving to various smaller clubs, before eventually taking charge of Universidad Catolica in 1994.
Winning a Copa Chile and a Copa Interamericana with the club, he chose to continue his career abroad and signed for Liga de Quito, where he won the league title and reached the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores.
A move to Argentina saw more success with San Lorenzo and River Plate, as he claimed Clausura titles, and attracted the attention of various European outfits - Villarreal being one.
The Spanish side took a gamble in appointing a virtual unknown outside of South America, but it paid off as he led them to third place in the league and the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in his first season.
While league form dipped the following season, he led them to a semi-final spot in the Champions League in 2006 where they were knocked out by Arsenal. And the next year, Villarreal finished second in La Liga behind eventual champions Real Madrid.
For a club who had only been in the top division four seasons when he took over, this was impressive and Pellegrini rightly received plaudits for his successess in leading the side so well on a shoe-string budget.
The Chilean's clashes with Juan Roman Riquelme, prior to his exit, have showed that the 55-year-old has a strong character and leadership skills, which may serve him well in the Bernabeu dressing room.
But while he is the second most successful South American club coach in Europe over the past 25 years, the feeling is that he will face far tougher tests at Madrid than ever before.
