Marcelo Bielsa did not make any rash promises on being installed as Leeds United’s 21st managerial rethink since dropping out of the Premier League 14 years ago, though he did come up with a vote of confidence for his native Argentina at the World Cup.
“I think we’ll see the best of Argentina from the next game onwards,” the former manager of Athletic Bilbao and Marseille said. Bielsa confessed he might not be the best person to judge, given that when he was in charge of Argentina in 2002 when the side did not make it out of the group stage, but he sent his best wishes to the squad currently struggling in Russia.
“I firmly believe in the quality of the players and in Lionel Messi’s leadership,” he said. “I believe they will learn from their first two games and take positives from them. I rate the backroom staff and leadership team highly and I am sure the players will find a way out of this difficult situation.”
Bielsa has worked with some of the world’s best players, though for his first job in England he has agreed a two-year contract at a somewhat lesser level. The 62-year-old is hardly the most garlanded of managers and, though his reputation for ideas and innovation is immense, he does not have a track record of winning prizes. The Olympic gold medal he helped Argentina win in 2004 still stands as his most solid achievement, and though he took Athletic Bilbao to two cup finals he lost them both.
In his last job at Lille he was relieved of his duties after just 13 games in charge, something he described as the lowest point of his managerial career. “My self-esteem really suffered,” he explained. “I was removed from my position with the team in 19th place, though we had only played 20% of the matches for which I was contracted.”
Perhaps understandably, given that he only lasted just over a year in his previous job at Marseille and the rate at which his new club have been going through managers, Bielsa was reluctant to set promotion as a first-season target. “I don’t want to predict the future, I don’t think it is a good idea to be making great statements of intent when I have only just met the players,” he said.
The new Leeds manager has been hailed as a coaching genius by Pep Guardiola, among others, and Mauricio Pochettino regularly cites him as a formative influence, though he modestly disputes the amount of influence he has had on either. “I don’t want to be accused of false modesty,” he said. “But I have studied both their styles quite a lot. Guardiola is the best manager in the world and his ideas are his own. Pochettino too has built his own career and developed a unique style. I don’t see too many of my own ideas there.”
One handicap Bielsa will have to overcome is the language barrier. His introductory press conference at Elland Road was conducted through an interpreter and lasted well over an hour. “If you struggle with a particular language you are bound to find it more difficulty to get your ideas across to the players,” he admitted. “Words are so important. I actually spent 15 years trying to learn English as a kid, because my mother thought it was important. She might have been right, but now I will have to start again.”
The inevitable question of a manager with an enormous reputation turning up at Elland Road was actually asked by a Spanish journalist. “Revie or Clough?” The man known as El Loco, not entirely to his liking, broke out in a broad smile. “I would prefer to lose rather than cheat, if that is what you are asking,” he said. “I like beautiful football better than pragmatic football, and if you can play well you have more chance of winning things.”
