Manuel Pellegrini was interviewed for the manager’s job by Liverpool in the summer of 2010, but overlooked in favour of Roy Hodgson.
Pellegrini is set to become Manchester City coach, replacing the doomed Roberto Mancini, but the Chilean could already have worked in England had Liverpool not abandoned their interest him.
Goalkeeper Pepe Reina, who worked with Pellegrini at Villarreal, spoke to former Anfield managing director Christian Purslow about his old coach as the club searched for a successor to Rafa Benitez.
Purslow met Pellegrini for talks at Heathrow Airport and, in his autobiography, Reina writes: “Pellegrini had just lost his job at Real Madrid despite doing a really good job there and giving Barcelona a run for the La Liga title.
“He was available and we needed a manager. For me, it made perfect sense. I said so, telling Purslow that Pellegrini was the right man. It wasn’t just because I knew him. It was more about the style of football that he plays, getting teams to attack all the time.
“Pellegrini has an attacking mentality and, when Purslow asked me about him, I said, ‘He’s a great manager and a great man in the dressing room’. He would never sit deep and just accept being put under pressure by opponents.
“I know that the club spoke to Pellegrini a couple of times when they were looking for a new manager because he told me.
“He called me and asked me what the mood was like in the dressing room, what the players were thinking and so on. I really hoped that he would get the job.”
Reina added: “The only slight concern I had was that he didn’t have any experience in English football.”
Pellegrini’s arrival at City will add spice to the Manchester derby.
His Villarreal side controversially knocked Everton – managed by new United boss David Moyes – out of the Champions League qualifying round in 2005, 4-2 on aggregate.
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