What Marcelo Bielsa has achieved in just two seasons in charge at Elland Road is nothing short of remarkable. He has taken a middling club with high ambitions, one that struggled and limped to 13th place in 2017/18, and totally turned around their fortunes.
Last season, Bielsa’s first one in charge, the Whites were nearly-rans and ended up losing out in the Playoff Semi-Final to Derby County. This season the cantered to the Sky Bet Championship title with a 10-point gap to their nearest challengers, West Brom.
Everything about Leeds United has improved, both on and off the field. Bielsa didn’t just bring the football, no, he brought more than that. He brought ideas and an ethos and it was these that the Whites had been missing the most.
It has been a testament to Bielsa’s skills and knowledge as a coach that he has been able to squeeze EVEN MORE out of a group of players who looked last season like they had given all that they could. Still, Bielsa found that little more that they had and brought it to the fore.
After 740+ games, 16 long and torturous years and 15 managers, Leeds United are back in the Premier League. Whites fans cannot wait, even neutrals will be intrigued to see Bielsa pit his wits against some of the world’s best players.
Over in his native Argentina, here’s what the reaction has been from Presión Alta, a magazine-style video programme from TyC Sports:
⚽ 𝖡𝗂𝖾𝗅𝗌𝖺, 𝖾𝗅 𝖼𝗎𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗈 𝖡𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝖽𝖾 𝗅𝖺 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗆𝗂𝖾𝗋 𝖫𝖾𝖺𝗀𝗎𝖾 ⚽
.@hugorbalassone: "Bielsa se siente en un plano de igualdad con Klopp, Pep y Mourinho" pic.twitter.com/Cm9dCxNOAA
— ⚡ Presión Alta ⚡ (@presionalta) July 22, 2020
Here sporting reporter Hugo Balassone compares the arrival of Bielsa in the Premier League as the Beatle that completes the famous quartet. He said of this arrival: “Bielsa feels on [an] equal footing with Klopp, Pep [Guardiola] and Mourinho.”
I’m not sure about Marcelo Bielsa being a Beatle but, I’ll tell you something and I hope you’ll understand – it will be interesting to see how his football style fits into the Premier League next season.
