MANUEL PELLEGRINI is nicknamed The Engineer. He has a degree in the subject from his native Chile and, a measured man, can occasionally be drawn into admitting his academic background has points in common with the profession into which he moved. Pellegrini, 55, was appointed head coach of Real Madrid earlier this month, chosen, once Arsène Wenger said no, by the president, Florentino Perez. Pellegrini will need armour in his new job. Perez sacked many coaches when he was president of Real Madrid in the first half of the decade.
Two and a half months ahead of the new season, Pellegrini is excited by the team being assembled for him. Kaká, the leading scorer in the 2007 Champions League, is on board, signed from Milan. So is Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored more goals than anybody in the Champions League and English Premier League of 2008. David Villa, the most prolific scorer at Euro 2008, will officially join in July. That's a startling front three for a Real Madrid already strong enough to have finished runners-up in the last Spanish domestic season.
"A very good team is being established and it makes sense that the best players now want to come to Madrid," said Pellegrini. He has a small input into who follows Villa, Ronaldo and Kaká and will be concerned that the balance of the side is addressed.
Real Madrid have lost a senior central defender, Fabio Cannavaro, in the summer and his usual partner in the back four, the Brazilian-Portuguese Pepe, will spend much of September suspended, serving out a long ban for a hot-tempered attack on various opponents in a match against Getafe towards the end of a tense 2008-09 campaign. Madrid were hard to defeat last season in La Liga but were often poor in Europe. They were often dull, too, which is what neither Pellegrini, nor his boss, want to hear said of them from now on.
Ronaldo, Kaká and Villa offer many individual strengths in attack. Ronaldo's range of goals has been startling over the past two seasons at Manchester United: from long distance, dead-balls, headers and virtuoso runs. His position has evolved from orthodox winger to central striker, though with Villa up front with him, he may operate as something in between. Kaká prefers a role just behind the front, so logic points Pellegrini towards an attacking triangle, Kaká posted at the back apex of a pyramid in which Ronaldo is advanced to his right, Villa to his left.
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Madrid are interested in recruiting two attacking full-backs. Their last successful teams in the Champions League - they have not reached the quarter-finals since 2004 - featured Roberto Carlos charging down the left flank, and some nostalgia for his sort of energy lingers at the Bernabeu. Maicon, the Brazilian right-back from Internazionale, is well regarded but pricey. Sergio Ramos, the incumbent, is Spain's first choice in the role but may be moved to centre-half, a position he knows. Pellegrini is understood to admire Gael Clichy, of Arsenal, at left-back. Felipe Luis, of Deportivo La Coruña, is also on the Madrid radar.
The midfield needs an overhaul. Xabi Alonso, a regular for his country, is targeted by Madrid to add subtlety. A period of adjustment is inevitable for Madrid and their coach. The question is: how much patience will the new ensemble get from the top?