Real Madrid yesterday presented new coach Manuel Pellegrini as the figure to reinvigorate the club following its first trophyless season for three years.
New club president Florentino Perez presented the 55-year-old Chilean to the media at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, one day after the former Villarreal coach agreed a two year deal to join the Spanish powerhouse.
Perez introduced Pellegrini as a coach who will bring elegance and possession soccer to Madrid.
Pellegrini, who led Villarreal for five seasons, called the move an “important step” in his career.
Perez, who returned to the presidency after three years away, is the club’s third president since January. Pellegrini will be under pressure to achieve some early success for Perez, who has vowed to build the “best club of the 21st century.”
The Chilean, a qualified civil engineer, replaced Juande Ramos on Monday as Real’s seventh manager in the past decade.
He was named on the day that Perez began his second term in charge of Real, one of the world’s most successful clubs but which finished last season without silverware and amid a cloud of corruption involving its former president, Ramon Calderon.
The Champions League will be the main objective next season for Pellegrini and Real, whose last European title was in 2002.
That was during the first term of Perez, from 2000 to 2006, when Real team earned the nickname Los Galacticos, winning the Primera Liga twice as well as the European Champions League with such stars as Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo, David Beckham and Michael Owen.
Perez has not mentioned any names regarding top signings but Spanish media speculate that Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso are both in his sights for next season.
Known for his attention to detail and careful planning, those around Pellegrini describe him as intelligent, religious and reserved.
“He takes care that the players are happy and relaxed so that they can perform well,” said Mario Lepe, the captain of Chile’s Catholic University team, who Pellegrini coached from 1994 to 1996.
In presenting Pellegrini to the press yesterday, Perez described him as “an intelligent professional, a worker, well-balanced ... who always tries for elegant and tasteful football.”
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