Real Madrid line up Mourinho as Pellegrini sacked

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MADRID: Real Madrid have sacked coach Manuel Pellegrini and will appoint Jose Mourinho to replace him once they have reached agreement with Inter Milan about ending his contract with the Serie A club. "I am ready to admit to some mistakes but the hiring of Jose Mourinho, one of the world's best coaches, is an opportunity that this Real Madrid, which always fights for excellence, could not afford to miss," Real president Florentino Perez told a news conference on Wednesday. "We are absolutely convinced that we need a fresh impulse and that a coach like Mourinho can be the person to take charge of the squad for the next few years," he added. Pellegrini left Villarreal to join Real last June and become the cornerstone of Perez's big-money bid to bring trophies back to the Bernabeu. The construction magnate invested a quarter of a billion euros ($307 million) in players, including a record 94 million on Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo. Pellegrini was charged with rebuilding the nine-times European champions and making them into a team capable of challenging Barcelona while entertaining a hugely demanding and impatient fan base. But Real were dumped out of the Champions League by Olympique Lyon, humiliated by third-tier Alorcon in the King's Cup and ended the season three points behind La Liga champions Barca. Portuguese Mourinho has made no secret of his wish to coach Real and will join the La Liga giants having led Inter to three major trophies last season, the Champions League and Italian league and cup double. The former Porto and Chelsea coach said on Wednesday that it would be "impossible" for him to stay at Inter.

[Andy]