Pellegrini gets vote of confidence

by Michelle Fortune , 11 March 2010

Real Madrid's under fire coach Manuel Pellegrini has been given the vote of confidence by director general Jorge Valdano following the club's Champions League exit to Lyon.


Despite spending over £200million on players in the summer, including £80m on Cristiano Ronaldo, the Spanish club were knocked out of the competition at the last 16 stage for the sixth successive year.

Pressure has been growing on Pellegrini but Valdano insists that the La Liga outfit are not on the lookout for a new manager.

"We will respect him because we believe in his work, although we know that the coach of Madrid is always accompanied by controversy," Valdano said.

"He has a contract for next season and the plan is that he will continue being our coach. The season hasn't finished and there are still things to fight for.

"I've suffered like all Madrid fans. We had high hopes but we couldn't overcome an opponent who made the game very hard for us and who overcame the difficult situation they faced in the first half.

"In the second half there was tiredness, although we wanted to win. This mixture of tiredness and our own ambition made us lose the game and the tie."

Subscribe to Setanta

Setanta Sports broadcasts exclusively live coverage of the best premium football, rugby and motorsport including Barclays Premier League, Rugby World Cup 2011, French Top 14, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, League of Ireland, Rabobank Pro12 and Golf from around the World.

Edit Web Part Contents