Gracias Marcelo!

To most people outside of Leeds, the outpouring of emotion following the departure of Marcelo Bielsa after three and a half years as manager, may have seemed over the top, they didn’t really get it. But then for the duration of Bielsa’s time at Leeds, most people outside of Leeds didn’t get it.

As neutrals they enjoyed the goal laden games since the club returned to the top flight but to many he was the spying, non-English speaking coach with a ridiculous style of play that explained his lack of trophies through his managerial career.

But to Bielsa, trophies weren’t important. To Bielsa, the building blocks that put a club into a position to challenge for trophies was important. He was not a man to splash the cash on Championship proven performers, to offer a short team boost to the top of the league, but no long term benefits. No Glenn Murray’s, no Dwight Gayle’s, promotion was to be achieved by completely overhauling the culture of the club, and developing a playing style.

When Bielsa was appointed as Leeds manager in 2018 they were coming off the back of their eight season in the Championship, eight seasons which had seen a couple of brief flirtations with the play offs as the only hint of promotion. The 2017/18 season had seen the club start brightly under Thomas Christensen but end up 13th after a dubious spell with Paul Heckingbottom at the helm. The fan base was disillusioned with the football which was dull, the board who appeared reluctant to spend money and the transfer business which had proven to be mixed at. best.

When the team kicked off the Championship season of 2018/19 under Bielsa the only addition to the squad that had struggled the previous season was Barry Douglas, a left back from Wolves, while Ronaldo Vieira, the player of the season had been sold. A squad that had finished 13th and not strengthened could never be promotion contenders, but behind the scenes the work to transform the club had started.

Upon arrival Bielsa split the players into three groups, the ones he wanted to keep, including the likes of Adam Forshaw, Luke Ayling, and despite a rumoured sale for £500k to Nottingham Forest, Kalvin Phillips. Mateus Klich was in the maybe group, while a number of players were told they were no longer required, 20 players leaving eother on loan or permanently. Once the squad had been trimmed, Bielsa set about the culture and playing style. Double and triple sessions became the norm, players staying over at the training ground, and strict diets as even the leanest of players were forced to cut weight. The result was a tremendously fit group of players who were in a position then to implement the high intensity, high energy Bielsaball. Litter picking around the training ground, charity work and gifts for children attending the game were other Bielsa ideas in order to connect the players and the fans.

A lot of hard work had gone on in the summer but as Leeds welcomed promotion favourites Stoke to Elland Rd on the opening day of the season there was hope more than expectation that Leeds would be successful. The Stoke game changed everything! A team containing ten players who had played the previous season, plus Douglas, took Stoke apart and ran out 3-1 winners, a score line that flattered the Potters. The crowd were treated to a performance of passing and moving, of playing out from the back, of rotation in wide areas, of committing bodies into attack, of high intensity pressing, of one on one duels all over the pitch - the crowd left knowing not that Leeds would be successful under Bielsa but knowing that they would be treated to some fantastic football that season.

In footballing circles, Bielsa was revered as one of the greatest coaches in the world, a former manager of Argentina, of Chile, of Lazio and Bilbao. Managers of this stature, think Mourinho, Klopp etc come with a level of arrogance.In Wetherby where Bielsa set up home in a modest little flat rather than a luxurious hotel, he was more normal than arrogant. Shopping in his local Morrison’s, walking the couple of miles to and from training in all weathers, planning his tactics in Costa Coffee, Bielsa was visible and approachable and almost embarrassed by the attention he received. The dignified way he conducted himself off the pitch just added to the admiration from Leeds fans. There were no airs and graces to Bielsa, turning up at the Leeds Centenary dinner in his club training gear amongst all the tuxedos …. More than likely as it was an interruption to his hours and hours of studying football which occupied his time, getting changed would have reduced that time even more.

On the pitch Leeds were continuing to entertain. The attractive style which was born in the Stoke game continued, and the team suffered defeat only once in the first 12 games. The star of the early season form was undoubtedly Kalvin Phillips. The local lad who had been in and around the team for 3/4 years had never fully proven himself to any of the managers or the Leeds crowd and had been touted for a summer move with many fans of the opinion that the £500k on the table from Nottingham Forest should be taken. However, Bielsa identified at his first meeting with the Leeds board that Phillips was a player he wanted. Installing him in the CDM role, Phillips was instrumental in the early games and quickly became the most vital cog in the Bielsa machine.

At the turn of the year Leeds were clear promotion contenders when the Spygate story broke. On the eve of their game with Derby, Leeds were accused of sneakily watching the Derby training session that week. Stoked up by Frank Lampard and a borderline racist media, every man and his dog were bought out to comment on how

appalling Bielsa’s behaviour was and how disrespectful it was to English football. The spy gate saga epitomised Bielsa’s time at Leeds. Bielsa was and is a football obsessive, his pre match planning is meticulous, his decision to view Derby training was an indication of his anxiety, an anxiety to ensure that he hadn’t missed anything in his preparation rather than the underhand, improper way of gaining an advantage that the British press would have you believe. Bielsa like the man he is, instantly admitted the accusation and then spent an extended press conference explaining himself - no hiding, no blaming, an admission and an explanation. If the Leeds fans love of Bielsa could have grown, it did so at this point as they became protective of man they knew to. E so decent as he came under attack from the media.

The fans, the players, the manger and the board had become United under Bielsa, ‘side before self’ becoming the motto. This unity propelled them towards the end of the season, still in promotion contention. However, a disastrous Easter weekend that saw defeats to Wigan and Brentford ultimately saw them finish in 3rd place and a tie with Derby in the play offs. An away win in the first leg and a 1-0 lead approaching half time had fans dreaming of Wembley. However for all Bielsa’s work on culture, fitness, and style, one thing he can’t account for his individual errors. Mistakes from Casilla, Cooper, and Berardi cost Leeds as they somehow contrived to lose the tie and face a tenth season in the Championship.

Leeds fans feared Bielsa would return to Argentina after the play off defeat. However, he had been touched by the way he had been welcomed to Leeds and the bond he had established with the club and the fans. He resolved to have another go at promotion and set about refining his approach in order to go one step further the following season. After collecting this Fair Play award after allowing an Aston Villa goal the previous season, he oversaw the departure of fans favourite Pontus Jansson & replaced him with Brighton youngster Ben White on loan. Phillips, now an England international agreed to stay for another season and Helder Cost joined from Wolves.

The 2019/20 season will long be remembered as the Covid season as the worldwide pandemic saw the season suspended from three months between March and June. For Leeds, the season prior to the suspension saw them establish themselves at the top of the table for the second season in a row. The football was still as thrilling and promotion looked a near certainty as the season rolled into January. However, four defeats in five games (the only win coming in a 3-2 win having been 2-0 down) saw tension rise around the squad as the worry developed that Leeds may blow promotion for the second season in a row. However, Bielsa kept calm, kept faith in his players and style and saw his team record five straight

wins with five clean sheets before the season ground to a halt.

Despite being away from home, and away from his family as the country went into lockdown, Bielsa remained focused on promotion and set about preparation for when the season resumed. His unique approach to fitness and training enabled his side to tackle the resumption of the season with an advantage over their competitors. Although a defeat to Cardiff in the first game back was a blow, three wins and a draw from the next four games kept them on track for a top two finish as they travelled to Swansea with four games left. A tense afternoon in South Wales ended with the stand out player of the second part of the season, Pablo Hernandez netting a winner in the final minute and promotion for the first time looked like it was certain. The following game saw the most tense of victories over Barnsley before a West Brom defeat the following day secured promotion back to the top flight for Leeds for the first time since 2004. The scenes at Elland Road as fans, players and then Bielsa himself celebrated promotion will live long in the memory, videos of players chanting Bielsa’s name as he arrived at training were unique. In the eyes of Leeds fans he had not only achieved the unthinkable by gaining promotion, he had done it with a beautiful style of play and with an honesty and dignity rarely seen in modern football. Seven wins and a draw in the last eight games putting paid to any Bielsa blow out narratives that were so prominent from the media.

A short pre season allowed little time to prepare for the Premier League campaign. Rodrigo, Koch, Llorente and Raphinha were added to the existing squad as the club aimed to ensure Premier League survival. A positive but ultimately fruitless trip to Anfield was followed by wins over Fulham and Sheffield Utd as the club made a steady start to the season. A Patrick Bamford hat trick in a 3-0 win at Aston Villa was one of the highlights of the first half of the season. The club reached the halfway point, not mathematically safe but in a good position to stay up and they had done it without compromising their style of play. A couple of heavy defeats were inevitable and they duly arrived but in every game Bielsa’s Leeds went toe to toe with their opponents and won admirers for their attacking and entertaining play. The second half of the season saw Leeds overachieve, something that would have future consequences for Bielsa. A win with ten men at Man City, a comfortable win at Leicester and a home demolition of Spurs were the highlights of a run that took the team to a ninth place finish.

The 2021/22 season was seen by the board as one of consolidation. They had spent big the previous season but had this time kept signings to just Junior Firpo and Dan James, with an eye on a more substantial spend the following season. Bielsa was always happy to keep a small squad - and this squad seemed tight even for him, but as is his way, no fuss was made and be set about the season in his own unique style. However, this season proved more of a struggle for Leeds as a combination of teams working out how to counter their style, and a succession of injuries to key players including Cooper, Bamford and Phillips saw the club linger around the bottom reaches of the league.

A tough run of fixtures in February ultimately led to Bielsa’s downfall. A high scoring draw at Villa was followed by heavy defeats to Everton, Liverpool, Man Utd and Spurs. Coupled with rival teams picking up points led the board to get itchy feet and sack Bielsa as manager. Most fans were angry with the decision and nearly all were emotional at his departure. While Bielsa may or may not have kept Leeds up, an easier run of fixtures and players returning from injury suggested he would have done, the point most fans felt was that after all he had achieved, he deserved the opportunity to do that and to depart in the summer with a proper send off.

News of his departure and even his replacement was leaked immediately after the Spurs game in a manner that a man with his record and reputation did not deserve. However, as is the mark of the man there were no comments in the press, no visible anger at the way he had been treated, all we saw of him prior to his departure back to Argentina was signing autographs and posing for pictures with small groups of fans gathered outside his flat, and paying visits to the people who had helped him during his time in Leeds.

Bielsa arrived at Leeds known only to a few, but he has departed loved by many. He achieved something that had felt impossible in returning Leeds to the Premier League and he had done it with a style, a dignity and an integrity that were pure. Bielsa will forever be ingrained in the history of Leeds Utd, and no matter what the future holds, success or failure, it is a period of time that will never be repeated.

Gracias Marcelo