If there was one moment which summed up Marcelo Bielsa’s current stance on Kiko Casilla it came late in Leeds United’s win at Southampton, immediately after the second goal.
While everyone was losing their heads on Tyler Roberts’s behalf, such was the collective outpouring of emotion, Bielsa was making sure his goalkeeper felt encouraged.
It was Casilla who had triggered the counter-attack which opened up the opportunity in the first place with a long, accurate drive forward into the right channel for Raphinha.
Bielsa was calling to the Spaniard, pointing to the channel in front of him, where Raphinha had received the pass, and shouting ‘very good’ with his thumbs up.
Bielsa is an intelligent man. He is well aware of the trials and tribulations Casilla has been through across the past 18 months or so.
The head coach knows how divided the fan base is on the goalkeeper, he knows how controversial Casilla has proved in the media coverage around every match he plays.
And yet, Bielsa has stood by his man at every turn. Apart from the rise of Illan Meslier to number one status, ahead of Casilla, Bielsa has backed the number 13.
There was plenty of criticism about for Casilla after the FA Cup exit at League Two Crawley Town and Bielsa was vociferous in his support of the goalkeeper.
The team selection on Tuesday night was out of the blue. There had been no indication of what was coming, nor of Casilla getting both of the final matches this season.
While Bielsa acknowledged it had been a tough year for Casilla, there was no real rationale revealed by the Argentine in any of his interviews before or after the match.
It’s likely, as with many of the players in this group, Bielsa would be happy for Casilla to carry on beyond the end of this season with the Whites, but the ball, you suspect, is in the player’s court.
He is away from his homeland, the vast majority of his family and barely playing any football to make up for those sacrifices.
Whether he stays or leaves, Bielsa knows this is a footballer whose confidence needs building and he went out of his way to ensure, from a long distance away, Casilla knew he had done well.
That kind of outward praise is not always visible or audible from Bielsa during matches. Most of Bielsa’s comments in a match are corrections, calls for more movement or more effort from his players.
Casilla is well aware his head coach has his back.
