Manuel Pellegrini is a man constantly under pressure at Real Madrid. This pressure intensified after the 1-0 Champions League defeat to Lyon on Tuesday.
The trouble is that Real's squad is so expensively assembled that the convenient solution to the club's ills is to replace the coach. Get rid of Cristiano Ronaldo because the team often play better without him? Never. Sell Karim Benzema because he hasn't made the expected impact since joining from Lyon? No way. Instead of attempting to build a team with more equilibrium, it is easier just to replace the coach.
This is hardly fair on Pellegrini, whose side are just two points behind leaders Barcelona at the top of La Liga, but it is a reality. The Chilean must be worried, especially as he was not president Florentino Perez's first choice of coach last summer. The former politician wanted Arsenal's Arsene Wenger or Inter Milan's Jose Mourinho, but was unsuccessful in his attempts to lure them to the Bernabeu.
The key for Pellegrini is whether Perez listens to the Madrid media, who like to go for his throat after the slightest bump in the road.
Real have shown more cohesion in recent weeks and are right in the hunt for La Liga. But that embarrassing Copa del Rey defeat to Alcorcon earlier in the season still rankles with many. The Lyon defeat has also ensured an uncomfortable week for Pellegrini, as Real showed little against an OL team that look a pale imitation compared to recent years.
The trouble with Perez's galactico policy is that it makes the coach far more expendable than the players. The Real Madrid job is difficult enough without speculation about the coach's future every day in the feverish Madrid media.
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