Former Italy and AC Milan manager Arrigo Sacchi has hinted that Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa was misunderstood while in charge at Marseille.
Bielsa signed a two-year deal at the French club in the summer of 2014 and took them to the summit of Ligue 1 before Christmas. Marseille faded in the second half of the season and ended up finishing fourth.
Just one game into his second term Bielsa resigned over conflicts with the club's management, stating that there were changes made in his contract.
Now in an interview with Eurosport, the legendary former coach Sacchi has given his opinion on Bielsa's time at Marseille.
"In my opinion people had an understanding of what he would bring to OM," he said. "Unfortunately, many journalists are only interested in selling more newspapers. 'If a coach wins, he must be good.' I don't agree.
"That's not how it works. If you think like that, you don't refine your culture, your ability to know whether you won with merit or not."
Leeds' Bielsa is famed for improving the fitness of his players and asking them to cover great distances in games with his pressing style. It appears that Sacchi was of a similar ilk after dealing with one player who was struggling to keep up in training.
"A player once told me that we were working too hard and that he wasn't having fun," he said. "I told him that you don't get a lot out of doing little and that if he gave it all then people would remember it for the rest of their lives.
"I haven't been coaching for 25 years now and every time I go somewhere I'm asked for a photo or an autograph. It's because I've managed to give them something. Don't forget that football is the most important of the least important things."
Since 1980, Bielsa has managed 13 clubs, including Leeds, Newell's Old Boys, Argentina, Chile, and Athletic Bilbao, among others.
