Florentino Perez had to settle for a similar visage, if not the real man. Arsene Wenger’s lookalike will be Real’s new manager.
Manuel Pellegrini presently at Villareal will be installed tomorrow as Real’s manager marking the first substantive move on Perez’s part since his takeover. Villareal have become familiar to Arsenal fans over their years through regular CL encounters and the transfer of icon, Robert Pires. The managers are constantly compared. Both are considered masterful tacticians, keen purveyors of football talent, and good at adhering to strict budgetary limits. This of course, while at Villareal. The sky is the spending limit at Real if reports are to be believed.
Pellegrini transformed Villareal from a small club to a Liga contender with CL aspirations since his arrival in 2004. This year the club finished fifth to achieve a Europa spot.
Pellegrini also becomes the first Chilean born coach to manage Real. He and Jorge Valdano, a former manager, now Real’s director of football will be given the task of revamping the team in a major way. Valdano has been outspoken in his criticism of Juande Ramos and players like Royston Drenthe, Rafael Van Der Vaart, Fernando Gago, and Fabio Cannavaro.