The heart of football will return to its spiritual home on Saturday in Marcelo Bielsa’s eyes though he knows thousands will still be aching from Leeds United’s weekend demolition.
The Whites return to a capacity crowd at Elland Road for the first time in 533 days with Everton the visitors this weekend and a crucial chance for redemption.
When he was asked about the return of fans en masse last week, the Leeds boss painted a clear picture of the pain he knew supporters felt with defeats.
When United go down by another four-goal margin at the home of their most hated rivals, Bielsa knows it will take some time for that wound to heal.
Asked how he felt about capacity crowds returning, he said: “Very happy. Without the public, who's the main destination, it's not the same.
“It's the public, those who assist the game, they are a special category because they generate a link between what's happened.”
Bielsa has not been shy of speaking out about the way football is going as a business. He has always distinguished between those who enjoy football from an armchair, whoever the teams, and those who go home and away, with their working week living or dying by a Saturday result.
Few will enjoy the return of full crowds more than him. Leeds supporters on the terraces are, for him, the heart of football and surely the inspiration his side needs to return to winning ways.
“It's not the same, the spectators who like what they see on the pitch and those fans who suffer for the result,” he said.
“That segment of the public in football is irreplaceable. You can find people anywhere in the world who want to see a Premier League game, but there isn't five million people who suffer when Leeds lose or get excited beyond belief.
“The heart of football is the genuine fans of Leeds United and the spectators of the world is what sustains the business, but those who suffer or get excited beyond belief for the results is what football is.”
