The engineer, who has reached 25 years of management abroad, does not exceed 50% performance in the 23-24 academic year. This Sunday the Seville derby takes place.
A classic is always special. Even more so if it is a crossroads as effervescent as the Andalusian derby. This Sunday, Betis and Sevilla meet at the Benito Villamarín stadium (3:00 p.m. Chile time), which means a new opportunity for Manuel Pellegrini stay with this confrontation against the archrival. The national coach failed to beat those of Nervión in the Spanish league leading Beticos. A pending task.
“I’m trying to win as many important games as possible, have the best possible campaign throughout the season and, if we beat Sevilla, even better. But it wouldn’t change to win both games against Sevilla and be 15th or 16th,” the Chilean said in the preview.
Towards the home stretch of the Hispanic championship, The objective set by the green and white store is to qualify for a European Cup, something that has become a habit since the arrival of Pellegrini. Today it appears seventh in the standings with 48 points, in the qualifying zone for the Conference League, the third club competition on the Old Continent. Specifying their presence in next year’s UEFA tournaments would be a reward for partially concealing a campaign of varying complexities.
Whether due to the composition of the workforce or the results obtained, Betis’ 23-24 season was the most difficult of the four that Manuel Pellegrini has managed. So much so that certain questions about its continuity began to arise, despite the romance that developed with the fans.
The concrete is that Betis had four competitions on the horizon for the current campaign. Unfortunately for their pretensions, they were excluded prematurely in three: in the 32nd round of the Copa del Rey (in January), in the Europa League group stage (December) and in the Conference League playoffs (February).
If it’s numbers, the Engineer’s card has 43 matches played in all competitions, with the following record: 17 wins, 13 draws and 13 defeats, with 64 goals for and 50 against. This gives a performance of 49.6%.
If we review his four seasons at Heliópolis, the current one is the one with the lowest performance for the coach. In 2020-21, he had 57.4% in 43 games. Then, in 2021-22, he recorded 59.5% in 56 games, adding the Copa del Rey title. For the next one, 2022-2023, he obtained 55.1% in 49 matches, with the semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup in between.
Birthday
This scenario occurs precisely during Pellegrini’s stay at Betis, as he experiences a special year in his history as a coach. In 2024, it celebrates nothing less than its “silver anniversary”, 25 years of uninterrupted achievement abroad.
It started in 1999, when he joined the bench of the University Sports League of Quito. his first step in the former footballer’s prolific career abroad.
He has performed in five countries. Besides Ecuador, he was in Argentina (San Lorenzo and River Plate), Spain (Villarreal, Real Madrid, Málaga and Betis), England (Manchester City and West Ham United) and China (Hebei Fortune). In 10 clubs, he won nine titles, his time at City being the winningest, with three trophies: two League Cups and a Premier League. The only country where he didn’t win something was China, precisely where he didn’t complete his contract.
At 70 years old, the strategist is still relevant, so much so that his name has emerged as a possible card for the best clubs in Italy, in addition to the succulent offers from Saudi Arabia. Before the match against Celta on Friday 12, Pellegrini spoke about his future: “Many parties are involved and Ramón Alarcón (the CEO of Betis) must also speak on behalf of the club. We will see how the season ends and we will prepare for the next one.
He has a contract until 2026 and whoever wants to take him will have to pay his exit clause from the institution.
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Source: Latercera

I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.