After parting company with Claude Puel earlier this month, Southampton announced Mauricio Pellegrino as their new manager on a three-year deal.
The 45-year-old Argentinian links up with Saints after guiding Alaves to a ninth place finish in La Liga last season, while he also led the Spanish club to their first ever appearance in the final of the Copa del Rey, losing 3-1 to Barcelona.
Speaking to the club’s official website, vice-chairman Les Reed outlined what style of football and overall philosophy Southampton fans can expect under the new boss:
“Mauricio believes with the quality we have we can play exciting, attacking football, taking the game to our opponents by playing a high-intensity game. He will continue to develop and introduce young players whilst building on the core of experience that we have in the squad.”
The History
Born in Leones, Argentina, Pellegrino spent a significant period of his playing career in his homeland for Velez Sarsfield before moving to Europe to join Barcelona on loan. He also had spells at Valencia, Liverpool and Alaves.
After retiring in June 2006, Pellegrino joined the coaching set-up at Valencia, managing the ‘B’ side, before returning to Liverpool as a first-team coach during Rafael Benitez’s reign.
Pellegrino then followed Benitez to Inter Milan, but left the club when the Spaniard was dismissed in December 2010.
His first management role came at Valencia, taking charge on a two-year deal ahead of the 2012/13 season.
But with Valencia sat in 12th place in December 2012, Pellegrino was relieved of his duties, returning to his homeland to take charge of Estudiantes in April 2013.
He spent two years there and a further year in charge at Independiente before moving back to Spain to guide newly-promoted Alaves to a successful season in the top flight last term.
The Prospects
Given that Pellegrino generally favours a 4-2-3-1 formation, which was used in 22 of Alaves’ 38 league matches last term, there may not be a dramatic change in Southampton’s tactical approach from that under Puel – initially, at least.
The Frenchman played with a back four throughout last season, switching between 4-1-2-1-2, 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 systems.
But Pellegrino is tactically very flexible, with adaptability a key mantra of the former Liverpool defender.
Pellegrino operated with a five-man defence in eight matches last term, including a famous 2-1 away win at Barcelona when he opted for a 5-4-1 system.
That defensive approach was favoured in tougher away matches, with a four-man backline generally seen in home fixtures.
The main strength of Alaves last season was their defence. They conceded just 43 goals – a record bettered only by Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal.
Interestingly, there wasn’t much difference between their defensive record home and away, with seven clean sheets coming in front of their own fans compared to five on the road.
They conceded 21 goals at home, with 10 of those coming in heavy defeats to Barcelona and Real Madrid, while they only shipped 22 in away matches.
That defensive record was comparable to Southampton’s last season, who kept eight shut-outs at home and six on their travels, conceding 21 times at St Mary’s and 27 on the road.
Only three teams managed more clean sheets than Saints’ 14 last term, and Alaves’ defensive record under Pellegrino suggests the Southampton backline could again provide a good source of defensive returns this season.
With Pellegrino switching between four and five-man backlines, the Alaves full-backs spent plenty of time operating as wing-backs, making them key attacking outlets.
First-choice left-back Theo Hernandez and right-back Kiko Femenia were among the top five for key passes for Alaves last year, which could potentially be good news regarding the prospects of Cedric Soares and Ryan Bertrand – providing they remain at St Mary’s.
Cedric was ranked in the top four for successful crosses and key passes among Fantasy Premier League (FPL) defenders in 2016/17 and certainly has the quality in the final third to thrive.
But while the outlook looks very positive regarding the prospects for Saints defenders, Alaves worryingly displayed some of the same attacking failings that blighted Puel’s time on the south coast.
Alaves had the joint-fourth worst goalscoring record, registering just 41 goals, and managed the fifth fewest shots in La Liga.
Their tally of 19 goals at home was the second worst in the division, and very similar to Southampton last term, who managed just 17 goals at St Mary’s, with only Sunderland (16) scoring fewer on home soil.
Pellegrino only started with two forwards on four different occasions last season, so it’s likely he’ll operate with a lone striker.
Manolo Gabbiadini and Charlie Austin are expected to vie for that one spot, although the Italian did feature many times in a wider role back in his homeland – something to consider for the new Saints boss.
Pellegrino liked his defence to sit deep, soaking up the pressure, so he generally favoured a fast counter-attacking approach, which could be more suited to the mobility of Gabbiadini.
At Alaves, Pellegrino decided not to use an out-and-out number 10, with a secondary striker preferred. However, with the talents of Dusan Tadic and Sofiane Boufal at his disposal, he will be expected to change that policy.
Out wide, Pellegrino’s wingers were relied upon to primarily whip well-placed crosses into the box, although they at times played narrower to allow the full-backs to raid forward.
Alaves’ top scorer only netted seven times in the league last season – the same number that Redmond reached to lead the charts for Southampton.
That is a concern, although the fact Austin was injured for much of last season and Gabbiadini only arrived during the January transfer window do provide mitigating circumstances.
It’s worth noting that Alaves didn’t provide a huge attacking threat from set-plays, scoring just nine goals via this method, with only two sides having a worse record in La Liga.
Saints also struggled for goals from set-pieces last term, scoring just eight, again perhaps indicating that it’s the full-backs who look set to provide the strongest options from the defence.
One of Pellegrino’s main strengths is his meticulous planning on the training ground, along with his ability to make tactical tweaks during matches.
He is known to spend days preparing his plans, providing his players with the information to make them feel comfortable changing formations during the 90 minutes if required.
He can favour a “high press”, but should the situation require his side to limit pressure from inside his own half, he will do just that.
Game-planning to counter the strengths of opponents is a key part of Pellegrino’s thinking, so he’ll need to quickly become aware of how all 19 Premier League teams like to set up.
Southampton’s fixture list over the first few months (SWA, WHM, hud, WAT, cpl, MUN, sto, NEW, WBA, brt, BUR) looks tailor made for investment, particularly in their backline.
Cedric and Bertrand look of real interest then, while Fraser Forster should be a strong option in goal.
Virgil van Dijk will also be a factor, providing he also remains at St Mary’s and is fully fit by the time the new season starts. But with plenty of transfer speculation regarding several Saints players, the personnel we have to choose from may well change by the time we approach Gameweek 1.
With Alaves one of the big success stories in La Liga last season, finishing 24 points above the relegation zone, Pellegrino will hope he can improve on Southampton’s disappointing total of 46 points last term.
From a Fantasy perspective, it’s likely we’ll be able to rely on Saints defensive assets once again under the new boss, particularly given the kind opening schedule, but caution is advised before investing in attacking options.
New additions may well be needed in order to make Southampton attackers appealing options, with pre-season matches hopefully providing indication as to whether we can trust the likes of Redmond and Gabbiadini after they frustrated during the final months of 2016/17.
Following a disappointing campaign under Puel, Southampton will hope the appointment of Pellegrino will propel the club back to the heights reached under Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman.
For now, we should expect Saints to again be a well-organised side, capable of maintaining their strong defensive record.
But the new boss will have to place extra focus on how his team can be more effective at the other end of the pitch.
