Manuel Pellegrini’s time at Man City will be fondly remembered by the fans, owners and players, but he has the chance to really provide a lasting memory.
With the impending arrival of ‘Pep’ Guardiola, Pellegrini’s time in Manchester is coming to a close, but not before he attempts to win more silverware to add to the Premier League and League Cup won with the club in 2014.
And in that regard, the 62-year Chilean faces arguably the biggest, toughest and most important period in his City career. The following two weeks will not only go a long way to shaping the rest of the Manchester side’s season, but also has the potential to shape his legacy at the club long after he has gone.
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Starting with the FA Cup clash against Chelsea, City then have a long trip to Kiev in the Champions League, the League Cup Final against Liverpool at Wembley and then a trip to Anfield in the league itself, all to negotiate in a 10-day period. Four competitions, three tough opponents but only one aim – win them all.
That of course will be a hard task, the demands of a highly successful side like City the by-product of said success. And neither has he been helped by the English FA, the game against Chelsea moved to late Sunday afternoon for TV purposes. just three days before the game in Kiev.
As has been consistent with his time in Manchester however, the Chilean expressed his concerns on the matter with his usual air of dignity and good nature. Of the clash, he said “The FA must protect teams playing in Europe as everyone wants good results. I thought it was logical to play one day before”, a true enough statement expressed in his own collected manner.
The gentleman of the Premier League, the Chilean boss continues to carry himself with pride, remaining cool and calm despite the intense scrutiny of managing a club of City’s stature. Even the news of Guardiola’s impending arrival was handled with an air of grace and self-respect, the decision to announce the arrival himself consistent with a man full of pride.
Of all the games and competitions, you feel the FA Cup will be the one sacrificed in order to give them a greater chance of success in the others. Domestic matters have never really been too much of a problem for Man City under Pellegrini, a first and second place in the Premier League over the previous two seasons almost part of the course for his high-scoring City side.
But it’s no secret that the club have massively under-performed in the Champions League, this season the first they’ve made it out of the Group Stage in three attempts, albeit playing in some very tough groups along the way.
The ultra-attacking style of Pellegrini may often pay dividends in the Premier League but can become exposed by some of the better and more savvy sides across Europe. Of the four competitions they are fighting for this season, you get the impression that the 62-year-old Chilean will want a run in the Champions League the most, a victory in the whole competition the ultimate sign-off.
City have really failed to make much of an impression in Europe since their purchase by the Abu Dhabi Group in 2008, so Champions League success would be a real ‘icing on the cake’ for Pellegrini before he leaves.
Kiev might not be the strongest side left in the competition, but the vast distance City will have to travel for the first-leg – sandwiched in between two domestic cup games – makes it a tough prospect and will get full focus from the City boss.
Ultimately it will be the club’s success or failure in the Champions League this season that will provide the greatest legacy for Pellegrini, but he still has the other domestic competitions to juggle. The one-off nature of the League Cup Final will be hard to predict, but having been the first competition the Chilean won at City, he would dearly love to add another one to the collection.
And crucially, after a week of cup action, City must then travel to Anfield for a mid-week clash under the floodlights, a top-four finish the very least he must get from the league campaign. Obviously the Premier League crown is the ultimate aim, but City could face more challenges from below. Guardiola taking over the reigning champions would be marvellous, but a club not in the Champions League would be almost unthinkable.
Just one Premier League crown and one or two League Cups would not be much of a return for three years at the Etihad, so if he is to remembered as more than just ‘a gentleman with your Nan’s haircut’ at City, the next sequence of games will go a long way to helping shape his legacy in the ever growing record-books at the Etihad.
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