Saturday, July 19, 2008

Pellegrino Pleased With Anfield Return

Mauricio Pellegrino, who played at Anfield for a brief spell as a defender, has returned to Liverpool as a first team coach.

The Argentine had a brief and fairly forgettable experience on Merseyside in 2005 towards the end of an established career in which he played for an unbreakable Valencia side as well as Barcelona.

Having retired in 2006, he has been called upon by Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez for a third time. The tactician favoured him at Valencia, then brought him to Anfield and will now be requiring his services in a coaching role.

"I am really proud and pleased because for me it is a nice opportunity to work for this club again," Pellegrino told Liverpoolfctv.

"Rafa has shown his trust in me once again and I'll try to do the best for the club and do my best to repay him.

"It was a surprise to get the call because I was training with the youth team in Valencia and studying to finish my qualification to become a professional trainer.

"But when Rafa got in touch I knew I had to act quickly and after I had talked to my family and they told me they understood, it was a great opportunity that I could not turn down.

"I will try to do as much as I can for this club and I hope to enjoy working with the Liverpool players.

"It has changed a lot since I was last at Liverpool.

"There are maybe 15 new players but the medical staff and people who work in Melwood are the same.

"There's still the likes of Gerrard, Carra, Sami, Alonso and Finnan - but the rest are new faces.

"It's a different sensation for me. My work has changed completely, my role at the club is very different and every day I am thinking about how I can improve our team; whereas before, when I was player, I would just focus on what I was doing in the session."

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