LONDON: Manuel Pellegrini had no sooner brought Manchester City their fourth English league title on Sunday than he was plotting the acquisition of more silverware – and the Chilean wants to do it in style, too.
The first manager from outside Europe to win England’s most prestigious trophy, Pellegrini was tossed in the air in celebration by his players after their 2-0 win over West Ham United sealed the title.
Those same players, described by some as millionaire mercenaries attracted to the Etihad Stadium by Abu Dhabi oil money alone, queued up to pay fulsome tribute to their manager.
“I’m so happy for the manager because it’s his first title in Europe. He remained calm. It was a pleasure to work for him,” said Samir Nasri, who scored the opening goal.
“It’s not just winning titles that is important, but it’s the way you win them,” Pellegrini told reporters in the post-match media conference. “It doesn’t matter who you play, maybe it’s easy to score a goal and then go behind the ball.
“We have players to play on the counter-attack, they are fast and technical, but again, I’m not criticising the way other teams play, but if it was me, I wouldn’t be happy to win in that way. The fans enjoyed the whole season – we broke the records for the most goals scored by any team in England. It is the way we must play with the quality of players we have.” (AFP)
