When Leeds United were promoted to the Premier League in the spring of 2020 against a backdrop<\/p>\n
of pandemic-infused chaos, it was very poetic. Society was on its knees at the time, but Leeds<\/p>\n
partied long into the nights as they got lighter. After 16 years of emblematic hardship and struggle,<\/p>\n
they were back in the top flight where even those who felt begrudgingly about that fact could admit<\/p>\n
they deserved to be.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At the heart of their near-two-decade struggle were financial issues which stemmed from poor<\/p>\n
decision-making by owners who passed the club around like a hot potato. But their recovery became<\/p>\n
reality because of the current custodian, Andrea Radrizzani, his director of football Victor Orta and<\/p>\n
CEO Angus Kinnear. With them in charge, there was genuine belief that Leeds\u2019 top flight return was<\/p>\n
just the first step on a longer, more successful journey.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Marcelo Bielsa, the enigmatic, loveable but idiosyncratic coach, was the real reason for that.<\/p>\n
Everybody knows his story by now; his methods are so intense and so demanding, that they either<\/p>\n
work or they don\u2019t. In getting Leeds to the Championship play-offs during his first season, and then<\/p>\n
promoted the next, with swathes of support from a city and a region reborn behind him, he\u2019d<\/p>\n
proven that Leeds was a place he could call home. With the Argentine at the helm, bringing status<\/p>\n
and global appeal to the club as well as his philosophy, there was expectation that went with the<\/p>\n
hopes and the dreams. Not only had he proven he could mould the squad he inherited, with recently<\/p>\n
departed Kalvin Phillips proving the best example, but he attracted talented players too, like<\/p>\n
Brazilian forward Raphinha.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Looking back now, though, it is easy to see how key Bielsa was to that optimism. In many ways, it<\/p>\n
lived and died with him, at least in that form. When Leeds embraced their strengths and went toe-<\/p>\n
to-toe with the Premier League\u2019s elite to secure a top half finish in the 2020-21 season, progress was<\/p>\n
obvious. It felt as though, so long as he stayed and the trajectory was positive, the likes of Phillips<\/p>\n
and Raphinha, by now full internationals, could fulfil their ambitions at Elland Road. But when<\/p>\n
injuries and form began to become problematic and relegation slowly became more of a genuine<\/p>\n
possibility, everything unravelled. Bielsa\u2019s sacking was met with mourning, and the ill-feeling almost<\/p>\n
took the club back into the Championship, but for final day survival with victory over Brentford.<\/p>\n
With Phillips now gone to Manchester City and Raphinha seemingly destined for either Chelsea,<\/p>\n
Arsenal or, if they can somehow raise the funds, Barcelona, the buzz of the Bielsa era is coming to an<\/p>\n
end symbolically. Where there were hopes of a return to European football a year ago, now there is<\/p>\n
a growing sense that survival again next season will be seen as a positive. It isn\u2019t that Jesse Marsch,<\/p>\n
Bielsa\u2019s replacement, is a bad coach – he has made his mark with a number of signings already – but<\/p>\n
he is effectively starting from scratch, replacing a hero with a new way of working, and the jury is out<\/p>\n
on whether that will succeed, especially now he is likely to be going into next season without his two<\/p>\n
best players.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So the question remains, where next for Raphinha? He has certainly shown his quality and deserves<\/p>\n
to step up to the next level. He arrived from Rennes as a player with a big reputation in France and<\/p>\n
Brazil, but was something of an unknown quantity to the average Leeds fan. It didn\u2019t take him long<\/p>\n
to showcase his ability and become the team\u2019s talisman in an attacking sense; he never shirked<\/p>\n
responsibility, with three goals and nine assists in his first season turning into 11 goals and three<\/p>\n
assists in his second. When the team needed him front and centre last season, as Phillips and Patrick<\/p>\n
Bamford struggled for fitness, he delivered. There was never any doubt over his commitment, and<\/p>\n
although it is clear that his time in Yorkshire is almost up, the manner of his embrace with<\/p>\n
supporters after the Brentford game suggests he will leave will good relationships in tact.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It feels as though, if he had his way, Raphinha would be heading to Barcelona. That would explain<\/p>\n
the delay in a decision, with two London clubs making serious inroads with Leeds. The bright lights of<\/p>\n
Camp Nou are hard to resist for any Brazilian forward given what has gone before, particularly one<\/p>\n
whose name begins with R. But the financial difficulties the club are facing seem to be much worse<\/p>\n
than anybody is willing to accept or comprehend, not least the president Joan Laporta. With time,<\/p>\n
Chelsea and Arsenal will come more into play, and it could come down to a choice between them.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, both have already added to their attacks. Raphinha would certainly thrive alongside<\/p>\n
Gabriel Jesus at Arsenal, while he could find himself creating a new look attack alongside Raheem<\/p>\n
Sterling at Stamford Bridge, subject to completion of the latter\u2019s move from Manchester City.<\/p>\n
But whatever happens, Raphinha will get a chance at a top club, playing European football. It is the<\/p>\n
right time for him to move, even if it does leave Leeds at something of a crossroads.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Leeds United were promoted to the Premier League in the spring of 2020 against a backdrop of pandemic-infused chaos, it was very poetic. Society was on its knees at the time, but Leeds partied long into the nights as they got lighter.<\/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":[],"class_list":["post-50363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\n