Manuel Pellegrini facts for kids
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Pellegrini as manager of Real Betis in 2022
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Manuel Luis Pellegrini Ripamonti | ||
| Date of birth | 16 September 1953 (age 71) | ||
| Place of birth | Santiago, Chile | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
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Current team
|
Real Betis (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Audax Italiano | |||
| Universidad de Chile | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1986 | Universidad de Chile | 315 | (7) |
| Total | 315 | (7) | |
| International career | |||
| 1986 | Chile | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1988–1989 | Universidad de Chile | ||
| 1990–1991 | Palestino | ||
| 1991–1992 | Chile (assistant) | ||
| 1991 | Chile U20 | ||
| 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 is a Chilean football manager and former player. He was born on September 16, 1953. He is currently the head coach of Real Betis.
As a coach, Pellegrini has worked with teams in many countries. These include Spain, England, Argentina, Chile, China, and Ecuador. He has won national league titles in four different countries.
In 2004, Pellegrini moved to Europe to manage the Spanish team Villarreal. Under his leadership, Villarreal finished third in La Liga in 2005. They also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League in 2006. In 2008, Villarreal finished second in La Liga, which was a big achievement for the club.
Pellegrini's success at Villarreal caught the attention of Real Madrid. He became their manager in 2009. His team earned 96 points in the league, a club record at the time. However, they finished second to Barcelona. He left after one season. Pellegrini later said he found it hard to build a balanced team at Real Madrid. This was because of their "Galácticos" policy, which focused on buying many famous players.
In November 2010, Pellegrini became the manager of Málaga. In his first full season, he led Málaga to a fourth-place finish. This allowed them to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. He guided Málaga to the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2013. This made him the only coach to take two different teams to the Champions League quarter-finals in their first time in the competition. He left Málaga in May 2013.
On June 14, 2013, Pellegrini was named manager of Manchester City. In his first season, he won the Football League Cup and the Premier League. He was the first manager from outside Europe to win the English Premier League title. Manchester City scored 151 goals that season, which was an English football record. In 2016, his last season, he led Manchester City to their first-ever Champions League semi-final.
After Manchester City, he managed Hebei China Fortune in China from 2016 to 2018. In May 2018, he became the manager of West Ham United. He stayed there for 18 months before leaving in December 2019. On July 9, 2020, the Spanish club Real Betis announced that Pellegrini would be their manager for the 2020–21 season.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Manuel Pellegrini was born in Santiago, Chile. He studied civil engineering at university and graduated in 1979. He started playing football in the youth teams of Audax Italiano. Later, he played professionally as a defender for Club Universidad de Chile. He spent his entire playing career with this club. He played 451 games and scored seven goals in the Chilean Division 1. One of his goals was against Colo-Colo, their biggest rival.
In 1979, his team, Club Universidad de Chile, won the national Copa Chile championship. This was their first major win since 1969. They also earned a spot in the 1980 Copa Libertadores tournament.
Pellegrini played one game for the Chile national team. This was a friendly match against Brazil in 1986. He stopped playing football in February 1987. He decided to retire after a game where a younger player, Iván Zamorano, jumped higher than him to score a goal. Pellegrini realized he couldn't keep up anymore.
After retiring, Pellegrini used his engineering skills to help rebuild areas in Chile. This was after a big earthquake in 1985.
Managerial Journey
Early Coaching Years
Pellegrini began his coaching career with Universidad de Chile in 1988. He left mid-season to study football coaching in Europe. His old team was relegated to Division 2 that year. However, they won the Division 2 championship in 1989 and returned to Division 1.
In 1990, he became an assistant coach for the Chile national team. He also managed the under-20 team. From 1990 to 1992, he managed Palestino. Then, he coached O'Higgins for a year.
In 1993, Pellegrini became the coach of Universidad Católica. This is one of Chile's most popular clubs. He led them to win the Copa Interamericana in 1994 and the 1995 Copa Chile in 1995.
After a short return to Palestino in 1998, he moved to Ecuador to manage LDU Quito. He led them to a national title in 1999. His success there caught the attention of other South American clubs.
Success in Argentina
In 2001, Pellegrini joined the Argentine club San Lorenzo. He helped them win their first international title, the Copa Mercosur. He also led San Lorenzo to win the Argentine Clausura league title.
From 2002 to 2003, Pellegrini managed another Argentine club, River Plate. He guided them to win the Clausura championship in 2003. He then left the club.
Villarreal's Rise to Fame
Pellegrini took over as manager of Villarreal in Spain on July 1, 2004. In his first season, Villarreal finished third in the league. This allowed them to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The next season, they reached the semi-finals of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, but lost to Arsenal.
Villarreal continued to perform well under Pellegrini. They finished fifth and then a historic second place in the league. He led them to the Champions League knockout stages again. They faced Arsenal once more in the quarter-finals and were defeated.
Villarreal extended Pellegrini's contract until 2011. However, in June 2009, it was announced he would leave the club.
Managing Real Madrid
On June 1, 2009, Pellegrini became the manager of Real Madrid. He signed a two-year contract. He was very proud to lead "perhaps the most important club in the world." During his time, Real Madrid bought famous players like Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Xabi Alonso.
In October 2009, Real Madrid was surprisingly knocked out of the Copa del Rey by a smaller team, Alcorcón. In March 2010, they were also eliminated from the Champions League by Lyon.
Pellegrini's Real Madrid team earned 96 points in La Liga. This was a club record at the time. However, they finished second to their rivals, Barcelona, who had 99 points. On May 26, 2010, Real Madrid decided to let Pellegrini go.
Pellegrini later said he felt frustrated at Real Madrid. He felt he couldn't build the team he wanted. He explained that the club bought many star players, but not always the right players for specific positions.
Málaga's European Adventure
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After leaving Real Madrid, Pellegrini signed a three-year contract with Málaga in Spain on July 22, 2010. He officially became their new coach on November 5. His first game was a 3–2 win against Hércules in the Copa del Rey.
In his first full season, he led Málaga to a club-record 58 points. They finished fourth in the league. This meant they qualified for the Champions League for the first time ever. Málaga did very well in the Champions League. They went through the group stage without losing a game. They then beat Porto in the round of 16. They were eventually knocked out by Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-finals after a very close match.
On May 22, 2013, Pellegrini announced he would leave Málaga at the end of the season. Málaga finished sixth that year. In October 2018, a roundabout in Malaga was named in his honor.
Leading Manchester City to Glory
On June 14, 2013, Manchester City confirmed Pellegrini as their new manager. He signed a three-year contract. He was the first Chilean manager in the Premier League.
Manchester City had a strong season under Pellegrini. They had big wins against teams like Newcastle United and Manchester United. They also went on a 20-match unbeaten run across all competitions. Many people called City one of the best teams in the world.
Pellegrini won the Premier League Manager of the Month award for December 2013. By January 2014, City had scored over 100 goals in just 34 games. This was the fastest any Premier League team had reached 100 goals.
On March 2, 2014, Pellegrini's Manchester City beat Sunderland 3–1 in the 2014 Football League Cup Final. This was his first major trophy in European football. On May 11, Manchester City became Premier League champions. They beat West Ham United 2–0. This made Pellegrini the first non-European coach to win the English league title.
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In the 2014–15 season, City were knocked out of the League Cup and FA Cup. They also lost in the Champions League round of 16 to Barcelona.
On August 7, 2015, Manchester City announced that Pellegrini had signed a one-year contract extension. On February 1, 2016, the club confirmed that Pellegrini would leave in June. Pep Guardiola took over as manager for the next season. Pellegrini left Manchester City with one of the best win percentages in Premier League history.
Later Coaching Roles
On August 27, 2016, Pellegrini became the manager of the Chinese Super League club Hebei China Fortune. He left the club on May 19, 2018.
On May 22, 2018, Pellegrini was appointed as the new manager of West Ham United in the Premier League. His first win with the club was in an EFL Cup match in August. West Ham finished 10th in the Premier League in his first season. This was their first top-ten finish since 2016.
West Ham spent a lot of money on new players under Pellegrini. However, they had a difficult start to the 2019–20 season. They were knocked out of the EFL Cup by a lower-league team. He was sacked by the club on December 28, 2019, after a series of poor results.
Current Role at Real Betis
On July 9, 2020, Pellegrini became the manager of Real Betis in La Liga. Under his leadership, Real Betis has achieved great success. They have qualified for European competitions five seasons in a row. These include the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League. In 2025, they reached a European final for the first time in Betis's history in the UEFA Conference League.
Betis also won their first trophy in 17 years by beating Valencia in the 2022 Copa del Rey final. This was Pellegrini's first major trophy in Spain after many years of managing there.
Managerial Style
Manuel Pellegrini is known for his attacking style of play. He is also praised for his calm personality and how well he manages his players. His Manchester City team was known for scoring many goals in different ways. People described their style as "death by beautiful geometry" because of their clever passing and movement.
Honours
Player
Universidad de Chile
- Copa Chile: 1979
Manager
Universidad Católica
- Copa Chile: 1995
- Copa Interamericana: 1993
LDU Quito
- Serie A: 1999
San Lorenzo
- Primera División: 2000–01
- Copa Mercosur: 2001
River Plate
- Primera División: 2002–03
Villarreal
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2004
Manchester City
- Premier League: 2013–14
- Football League Cup: 2013–14, 2015–16
Real Betis
- Copa del Rey: 2021–22
Individual Awards
- Miguel Muñoz Trophy: 2007–08, 2021–22
- Premier League Manager of the Month: December 2013, January 2014, December 2014, August 2015
- La Liga Manager of the Month: March 2025
- Málaga Provincial Council: Gold Shield
Images for kids
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Pellegrini as manager of Real Betis in 2022
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Pellegrini as manager of Real Madrid in 2009
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Pellegrini as manager of Málaga in 2012
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Pellegrini as manager of Manchester City in 2013
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Pellegrini as manager of Manchester City in 2016
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Pellegrini as manager of West Ham United in 2019
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Pellegrini with the Premier League trophy on Manchester City's victory parade, May 2014
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See also
In Spanish: Manuel Pellegrini para niños
