Manuel Pellegrini has stunned fans with a sublime piece of skill on the touchline during Real Betis’ 3-0 win over Elche on Monday, with the Chilean boasting talent even at the age of 68.
As they say, form is temporary but class is permanent. And Pellegrini has delivered the perfect evidence to support the claims with an outrageous touch in his own technical area.
The ball was cleared and headed straight for Pellegrini who was out barking orders on the touchline, and the Betis manager brought the ball down and controlled it with ease. The crowd erupted as the Chilean brought out his skill set, and even his own bench looked on in shock.
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Pellegrini was a centre-back in his time as a player, sticking with Universidad de Chile for his entire 13-year professional career. The former defender made over 300 appearances for the Chilean side, and retired with one cap for his national team.
It’s management that Pellegrini is most known for though, as after learning his trade in Chile, Ecuador and Argentina, the boss moved to Spain to take charge of Villarreal. Pellegrini has since managed the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City, and was most recently in England with West Ham United before David Moyes took over.
Pellegrini is a Premier League winner with City, and the highly respected boss has been managing Betis since 2020, and ended their long wait for trophy success last season. However, he’s proven that although he never quite made it to the top as a player, he still had plenty of skills in his locker.
Last season, Pellegrini ended Betis’ 17-year wait for a trophy as they beat Valencia in the final of the Copa del Rey. They’ve started La Liga in fine form during the current campaign too, cruising to a 3-0 win over Elche.
As a result, they lead La Liga alongside both Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, who also won 3-0 on the opening day of the season. Betis narrowly missed out on a Champions League spot last season, and will be looking to go one better this time around.
Last campaign they had the help of Arsenal loanee and Betis fan Hector Bellerin though, and the Spaniard is still desperately trying to re-join the club. Arsenal are holding firm to their valuation, but Bellerin is still looking for a way to escape London.
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