With Mauricio Pellegrino being named as Southampton manager, I thought it would be best to ask the ask the question – Who is Mauricio Pellegrino and what’s his story so far?
Pellegrino was born on the 5th of October 1971 in Leones, Argentina. He was primarily a central defender back in the day, and he played for several clubs during his playing career.
The Argentine came through the ranks at Velez Sarsfield to make his professional debut in the Primera Division in his home country of Argentina, aged 18. Pellegrino spent a grand total of 12 years at the club, nine of which came as a first team player, as the club enjoyed what was defined as their golden era in the Primera Division. Velez Sarsfield won four league titles and the Intercontinental and Libertadores Cups during Pellegrino’s time at the club.
In the 1998/1999 season, he would join Barcelona on loan and help Louis Van Gaal’s side clinch the La Liga title.
After winning the La Liga title in 1998/1999, Pellegrino joined Valencia under Rafa Benitez. It was at the Mestalla where would have his best years, winning two more La Liga titles and also lifting the UEFA Cup. During his time at Valencia, Pellegrino missed the last penalty in the 2001 Champions League final, subsequently gifting the trophy to Bayern Munich.
Pellegrino’s time in Valencia would come to an end in January 2005, when manager Claudio Ranieri froze him out of the side.
In January 2005, the defender was reunited with former manager Rafa Benitez at Liverpool, signing a deal to keep him with the Reds until the end of the 2005/06 season. He made a total of 12 appearances on Merseyside for the half of season he was there, but his performances weren’t deemed good enough to warrant a contract extension.
Following his release from Liverpool, Pellegrino headed to Deportivo Alaves but was unsuccessful in his bid to help them from their relegation to the Segunda Division in 2006. After the drop, the centre back hung up his boots from professional football aged just 32.
After retiring, Pellegrino kept in good contact with Valencia and whilst he studied his coaching badges, he took control of the club’s youth team for two years.
In 2008, he would rejoin former manager Rafa Benitez once again, taking up a role as a first team coach at Anfield during his final two years at Liverpool. Pellegrino would follow Benitez to Inter Milan in 2010, but would be his assistant manager, rather than just a first team coach for the Italian side.
However, he was dismissed after Benitez resigned from his position as manager in December 2010.
On the 7th of May 2012, Pellegrino was appointed as the manager of Valencia – his first job at the helm of a club. He replaced Unai Emery who left at the end of the 2011/12 season. However, was sacked just eight months later after a 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid, which left his side underwhelmingly low in 12th place. His record at Valencia was as follows:
- Played – 21
- Won – 10
- Drawn – 4
- Lost – 7
- Win Ratio – 47.62%
Following his time at Valencia, Pellegrino returned home to Argentina to take charge Estudiantes in April 2013. Despite this though, he was then again was sacked by club president Juan Sebastien Veron on the 14th of April of 2015, after two years in charge. He finished his time with Estudiantes with a record of:
- Played – 95
- Won – 39
- Drawn – 30
- Lost – 26
- Win Ratio – 41.05 %
Following his sacking, the tactician had another year of managing in Argentina. This time, he took charge of Independiente from the 4th of June 2015 to the 10th May 2016. He left Independiente with a record of:
- Played – 41
- Won – 21
- Drawn – 13
- Lost – 7
- Win Ratio – 51.22%
Pellegrino once again returned to Spain and to a former club in Deportivo Alaves, after they won promotion back to La Liga. Over the last season, the Argentine guided Alaves to 9th place and to the Copa Del Rey final against all the odds. Having to sign 18 new players for the Alaves squad along the way, he was a huge success. He left his position as manager at the end of the season just gone, before being appointed Saints boss. He left Alaves with a record of:
- Played – 47
- Won – 18
- Drawn – 17
- Lost -12
- Win Ratio – 38.3%
Pellegrino will come into the Saints job looking to better last season’s 8th placed finish and appearance in the EFL Cup final, as well as bring in a style of play that will score more goals and excite fans.
