The story appears on

Page A16

May 23, 2018

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Sports » Soccer

Pellegrini named Hammers coach

WEST Ham United has appointed former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini as its new manager on a three-year deal, the English Premier League club announced yesterday.

The 64-year-old Chilean left Chinese Super League outfit Hebei China Fortune on Saturday and replaces David Moyes, who quit the club last week after guiding it to a 13th-placed finish in the league.

“I am excited about this project... West Ham had a difficult season and I hope next season we are going to play football that will delight the fans,” Pellegrini told the West Ham website.

“I know that this league is very good and it’s not easy to do it, but I think that working together with the owners, the technical staff and the fans, we have an important power and can think about reaching important targets.”

West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan said the club was looking forward to working with one of the “most respected” coaches in the world.

“It was important that we appointed someone with knowledge and experience of the Premier League, who already has an understanding... of West Ham United and our ambitions.”

Former Villarreal, Real Madrid and Malaga boss Pellegrini returns to England two years after leaving City, which he led to the EPL title and a League Cup triumph in 2014.

Sullivan said the appointment was made bearing in mind the demands of fans for attacking football. Under Pellegrini, City scored an English-record 151 goals in all competitions in his debut campaign in 2013-14.

“Manuel brings a reputation for attacking football and getting the best out of his players,” Sullivan added. “We believe he will attract new talent to the London Stadium as well as improving the current squad.”

Pellegrini led City to another League Cup triumph in 2016 before making way for current boss Pep Guardiola.

One of Pellegrini’s challenges at West Ham will be to deliver the sort of football that will keep fans happy at London Stadium, the club’s unpopular home since it left Upton Park in 2016.

Supporters have become increasingly disenchanted with the club’s main owners, Sullivan and David Gold, this season and protested at some home games.

Things reached a head in March when some fans invaded the pitch during the 0-3 home defeat by Burnley.

Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund brought Swiss coach Lucien Favre back to Germany yesterday in the hopes that he can revitalize the club’s aspirations as a Bundesliga challenger.

The former Borussia Moenchengladbach and Hertha Berlin coach, who spent two seasons at French team Nice, signed a deal through June 2020.

“He’s highly regarded by us for the technical qualities that he demonstrated in impressive style many times,” Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said of the 60-year-old Favre.

Described by Dortmund as a “fastidious coach,” Favre is highly regarded in Germany for his team-building skills, tactical moves and his ability to get the best out of individual players.

Favre enjoyed success with Nice, finishing third with the team in 2017 and coming close to clinching a Europa League spot last season. He saved ‘Gladbach from relegation in 2011 before establishing the side among the contenders for European qualification in the seasons that followed. Favre previously led Hertha to fourth place.

He will take over from Peter Stoeger, the ex-Cologne coach who stepped in for half a season after Peter Bosz was fired. Stoeger led the team to UEFA Champions League qualification despite inconsistent results.




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend