{"id":48773,"date":"2022-03-03T08:45:24","date_gmt":"2022-03-03T07:45:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/?p=48773"},"modified":"2022-03-02T17:36:33","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T16:36:33","slug":"tough-times-could-follow-bielsa-departure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/tough-times-could-follow-bielsa-departure\/","title":{"rendered":"Tough times could follow Bielsa departure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marcelo Bielsa was the loveable eccentric who couldn\u2019t be harnessed, stepping into the fire pit of bombastic instability. It was 2018 and the Argentine, known affectionately as \u2018El Loco\u2019, turned up in West Yorkshire as the poetically uncharacteristic choice to resurrect Leeds United, English football\u2019s greatest basket case of the 21st<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

After 14 years outside the Premier League, punctuated by financial struggles ands administration, Leeds were crying out for quiet competence; a guide through choppy waters. Bielsa was as far from the right fit on paper; a man who does things his way, prioritising principles above anything, even what most people would call success. He is known as \u2018El Loco\u2019, the crazy one, because he is unorthodox in almost every sense; his tactical approach puts intensity to shame, he demands almost impossible levels of physical fitness, all the while never committing to anything he doesn\u2019t agree with. It was this commitment, some would say stubbornness, that ultimately proved his undoing.<\/p>\n

He can stay for years, or days; the risks of working with Bielsa is bending everything to his approach and suddenly trying to pick up the pieces once he\u2019s gone. That is something so pertinent right now, after the club parted company with him as they flounder towards an unlikely relegation. American Jesse Marsch, the former RB Salzburg and Leipzig coach, is in, somewhat after the lord mayor\u2019s show.<\/p>\n

Leeds felt the rewards of Bielsa; in each other, the club and the manager found an understanding. Constantly berated and dismissed from sections of the outside world, they complimented each other from day one. Angus Kinnear, Leeds\u2019 managing director, tells the story of their first meeting, when he flew to Buenos Aires for talks and Bielsa knew everything, instantly. He\u2019d watched and obsessed over video after video of Leeds and their Championship rivals and formulated a plan for Elland Road. It was vital that everybody bought in, but given the club\u2019s proximity at the heart of conversation in the city and the fans\u2019 desperation for good times to roll again, that wasn\u2019t going to be a problem.<\/p>\n

His first game, against a Stoke City side battered and bruised after relegation from the Premier League but brimming with expectation of an immediate return, turned intrigue into belief. The way a squad of players barely touched in the transfer market embodied Bielsa\u2019s high energy approach spoke volumes; that day, a love affair which eventually resulted in promotion back to the top flight, the proverbial reawakening of a giant, and city streets being named after the master behind it all, was born.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t all plain sailing; Leeds had been warned that \u2018Bielsa burnout\u2019 was a thing; that his methods would be so demanding, players would almost literally collapse in trying to keep up. It had happened in his previous roles, even at places who love him as Leeds now do, like Newell\u2019s Old Boys, his true home, and Athletic Club in Spain. His first season ended in playoff semi final defeat to Derby County, a club with whom he\u2019d been in hot water after \u2018spygate\u2019, when he sent a staff member to their training ground incognito to report back on Frank Lampard\u2019s methods. Given his history of short chapters, there was an assumption that he would leave after that.<\/p>\n

But he stayed and Leeds went again, this time successfully. Their Premier League exile was capped at 16 years and, with Bielsa at the helm, there was a belief that they would be challenging at the top end of the table rather quickly. That hypothesis was backed up by a ninth-placed finish; Leeds ripped through teams and unsettled the establishment against a backdrop of debate as to whether Bielsa should reign in his approach. There were heavy defeats along the way, but a half-baked Bielsa was never going to work.<\/p>\n

What he did with players who were already at Leeds or playing elsewhere in the Championship \u2013 like Jack Harrison, Patrick Bamford and Kalvin Phillips, who became an England regular under his stewardship \u2014 is the best way of measuring his legacy. They were the backbone of his team throughout his three-year reign, added to by star quality like Brazilian winger Raphinha, but injuries to Phillips and Bamford in particular, robbed Bielsa of key components of his philosophy. Leeds have paid a hefty price for a lack of recruitment in the summer, too.<\/p>\n

There were faults with Bielsa, but his impact at Leeds and connection with the fans made up for them. Support for the decision to sack him has been sparse, and there is an overarching sense of grief surrounding the club at the moment. It wasn\u2019t because he guaranteed them success; in fact, it was arguably the opposite. Bielsa\u2019s track record for trophies is not much to write home about, but football is so heavily dominated by a few clubs these days, that silverware cannot be the only metric for whether a manager is doing well or not. Bielsa gave Leeds a team that entertained and grew organically, all while mingling with supporters from his home in Wetherby, There was an ability to relate to him; he cared for the community.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t how it was supposed to end. Leeds have a job on their hands to avoid the drop and whether they do or don\u2019t, the decision to move on from Bielsa will be scrutinised. He is a tough act to follow in more ways than one, and that is about to become clear to everybody.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marcelo Bielsa was the loveable eccentric who couldn\u2019t be harnessed, stepping into the fire pit of bombastic instability. It was 2018 and the Argentine, known affectionately as \u2018El Loco\u2019, turned up in West Yorkshire as the poetically uncharacteristic choice to resurrect Leeds United, English football\u2019s greatest basket case of the 21st century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643],"tags":[272,76],"class_list":["post-48773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sport","tag-featurehome","tag-premier-league"],"yoast_head":"\nTough times could follow Bielsa departure - Colossus Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"26\/01\/18 Test - Posts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/tough-times-could-follow-bielsa-departure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tough times could follow Bielsa departure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"26\/01\/18 Test - Posts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/tough-times-could-follow-bielsa-departure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colossus Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SportsBigger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-03-03T07:45:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/2HMXGEJ-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1809\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Harry De Cosemo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/harrydecosemo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ColossusBets\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Harry De Cosemo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/tough-times-could-follow-bielsa-departure\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/tough-times-could-follow-bielsa-departure\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Harry De Cosemo\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/94dd728157baaf683f9e5ca63e63fecb\"},\"headline\":\"Tough times could follow Bielsa departure\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-03-03T07:45:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/tough-times-could-follow-bielsa-departure\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":934,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"FeatureHome\",\"Premier League\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2022\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/tough-times-could-follow-bielsa-departure\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/tough-times-could-follow-bielsa-departure\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tough times could follow Bielsa departure - 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