Although Florentino Pérez couldnâÂÂt wait to sling Manuel PellegriniâÂÂs hook as soon as he began his tenure at Castle Greyskull - mainly because he failed to either look or sound like Arsene Wenger or Rafa Benitez - the Real Madrid big cheese must have appreciated PellegriniâÂÂs tender approach to dealing with the press, his own players and, most importantly of all, opposition managers.
Whilst José Mourinho is proving himself to be a snarling, sneering bull in a dynamite shop, Pellegrini faced all his media commitments with the docile expression of a cow contemplating the mechanics of an iPad.
Last season, only a newspaper minion with a tape recorder would go along to the ChileanâÂÂs chats with journalists - sometimes just the recorder went, come to think of it - because everyone knew that Pellegrini was diplomatic, honourable and generous with his thoughts.
All this added up to the Madrid manager being considered insufferably dull by the Spanish football press and as much use for a good quote as Guti discussing Goethe.
Pellegrini: less of a 'character' than Mourinho...
To be fair, Mourinho was doing reasonably well in managing not to upset anyone in Monday afternoonâÂÂs press conference by playing down the following dayâÂÂs 'Meelan' match-up by shrugging âÂÂwin or lose, Wednesday will still be the next day.âÂÂ
But then, in a subsequent interview with Spanish TV channel TVE, the Madrid manager continued a spiky, Serie A-inspired spat with opposition coach Massimiliano Allegri which dates back to the Milan bossâ previous spell as Cagliari manager.
âÂÂWhat rivalry can there be between a double Champion of Europe and a coach playing his third Champions League game?â scoffed Mourinho modestly. If it is possible to scoff modestly, that is.
This is just one tasty morsel of âÂÂmorboâ surrounding the Champions League clash. Mourinho doesnâÂÂt just have âÂÂpreviousâ with Allegri but also with the referee, Pedro Proença, who sent the Madrid coach off three times whilst he was knee-high to Xavi and managing in the Portuguese league. And then thereâÂÂs the figures of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho and Robinho to be thrown into the mix too.
Although the three points are not that vital to either side, the match is a more useful gauge to check on the progression of MourinhoâÂÂs Madrid than the recent thrashings of Málaga and Deportivo. Especially Deportivo.
It will be an especially big test for the back four - with Alvaro Arbeloa taking the place of the injured Sergio Ramos - although Paolo Maldini can already see an improvement in a notoriously shaky area for Madrid. However, the former Milan man says that they still have some way to go before reaching the heights of his defending heyday.
âÂÂIf Tassotti, Baresi, Costacurta and myself went for a coffee today, weâÂÂd all go in a line, guarding the space without thinking about it,â said the dreamy defender warning Marca readers never to go to Starbucks at the same time as himself and his buddies.
Real Madrid are going into TuesdayâÂÂs clash in top spot in their Champions League group and in la Primera too after VillarrealâÂÂs failure to beat Hércules on Monday night in a brilliant 2-2 game where not even the general idiocy of the referee could ruin it. Well. Maybe he did just a little bit.
Realising that the players, crowd and viewers at home were thoroughly enjoying an open, end-to-end encounter, Muñiz Fernández then managed the match like youâÂÂd expect anyone sporting half of ton of hair gel and with zero communication skills - appallingly. Hence the man-in-the-middle decided to send off three players and ponce about the pitch flashing his cards like a bit of a t*t.
âÂÂThe referees are a lot calmer (in England),â noted former West Brom midfielder Borja Valero after the game, one of the trio to see red. âÂÂTo get sent off there you have to have committed a serious foul or tried to.âÂÂ
Villarreal proved that they didnâÂÂt quite have the bottle to knock Real Madrid off their perch in Spain, on Monday night. Time will tell whether Milan manage it in the Champions League on Tuesday.
