Manuel Pellegrini: ‘England is the best league but the best football is played in Spain’

“I t was tackles and muddy pitches and heads crashing together,” Manuel Pellegrini says. “And that’s the football that fans like.” The first time he came to England was to complete his coaching qualification; it would need 15 years for him to return, taking on the man who had taught him then, and 26 to win the league there; now he’s there again for a night, back to the country where it all began and one of the nine cities across five countries and three continents he has made home since leaving Santiago. Thirty-five years have passed, much has changed, but don’t bet on this being the last.

The Real Betis manager hasn’t come to reminisce, although the memories are fond, if some a little fuzzy, and being 69 doesn’t mean stopping. The former Manchester City manager takes on Manchester United in the Europa League last 16 with a Betis team that come from drawing with Real Madrid, are three points off the Champions League places and hold the Copa del Rey – the club’s first trophy in 17 years. He has won a Premier League he says can never be taken away, even if it is, but that cup may be his greatest achievement since setting out for Shropshire. This would be even bigger.

It was a different time, a different place, a different football too, and it formed him. Somewhere is a photo: Pellegrini with Bobby Robson near a 19th-century country lodge. It’s recognisably him even though it is 1988, Robson is England manager and Pellegrini a recently retired Chilean centre‑back, largely unknown and still unsure that choosing coaching over engineering is a good idea. He came to Lilleshall, the Football Association’s school of excellence, attending classes from Alex Ferguson. Few names stuck, but he remembers that one well, although he