Manuel Pellegrini: The Engineer of Real Betis
Known as ‘The Engineer’ because he holds a degree in Civil Engineering, Pellegrini has been in charge of Real Betis since July of 2020. At age 71, the Chilean is the oldest coach in LALIGA EA SPORTS history, having beaten the record held by Helenio Herrera from 1981.
Pellegrini stands out for his vast experience, and he is the foreign coach with the most LALIGA EA SPORTS games managed, having reached 512 matches. He reached this tally by coaching several Spanish clubs, namely Villarreal CF, Real Madrid, Málaga CF and now Real Betis.
Under Pellegrini’s leadership, Real Betis have qualified for European competitions in four consecutive seasons and they also lifted the Copa del Rey in 2022. However, he still hasn’t won a league version of ELGRANDERBI, despite coaching in nine so far, with a record of five draws and four defeats against Sevilla FC.
In fact, they are the only team he has not managed to defeat on more than two occasions of all those he has faced. The positive for the Chilean is that he is only two wins away from equalling Lorenzo Serra Ferrer as the coach with the most games won in the history of Real Betis.
García Pimienta: The new leader at Sevilla FC
For García Pimienta, this is his second ELGRANDERBI in charge at Sevilla FC, and he has already won one. When these sides met at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán earlier in the season, it finished as a 1-0 Sevilla FC victory. The coach only arrived at the Andalusian institution in June of 2024, and the 50-year-old Catalan is looking to lead the club into a new era.
His experience in LALIGA EA SPORTS before this job was earned at UD Las Palmas, who he led to promotion and then coached into the top flight. They played some great football and achieved some excellent results, earning praise from the likes of Toni Kroos. Sevilla FC also admired his talents, and brought him in during the summer.
His coaching style was forged at La Masia, given that he coached almost all of FC Barcelona’s youth teams over several years. That included the B team at FC Barcelona, who he managed 102 times.
Different teams but similar styles
Both Pellegrini and García Pimienta are faithful to the 4-2-3-1 formation and they have proven to be coaches who want their teams to dominate through possession and pressing in the opposition half. This season, Real Betis are the sixth-top team for possession in the division, while Sevilla FC are seventh. As such, ELGRANDERBI could be defined by which team wins that battle for the derby ball.