Andrea Radrizzani throws Victor Orta ‘under the bus’ to Sky Sports as Leeds United sale to 49ers goes through – Phil Hay
Andrea Radrizzani threw Victor Orta “under the bus” as much as anyone at Leeds United ever has as his time in charge of the club officially came to an end, in the view of Phil Hay.
The Italian gave an exclusive interview to Sky Sports on 18 July, the day after his sale to 49ers Enterprises received EFL ratification to signify the start of the new era with Paraag Marathe now chairman.
Radrizzani, now at Sampdoria in Serie B, told Kaveh Solhekol that “unconditionally following” the Spanish former sporting director was “dangerous” while questioning the now-Sevilla man’s player recruitment criteria, and stating he was “very confused” not to see Jesse Marsch follow Marcelo Bielsa’s style after Orta handpicked the American manager from Red Bull Salzburg.
Speaking on The Square Ball on Monday (18 July, 3m) the Athletic journalist reacted to the Radrizzani interview to say: “I think probably as close to Orta being thrown under the bus by anyone at Leeds as we’ve seen.
“I was going back through some of the interviews that I’ve done with Radrizzani over the years, one in 2018 when Bielsa came in in that summer and then again last summer after they avoided relegation, and I think the fact that Orta came up as a point of discussion in both of them tells you it’s been a burning issue right the way through.”
Easy to say now
If Radrizzani apparently shared most of the concerns about Orta’s work that the Leeds United supporters did, and loudly made known on a regularly basis, then maybe he should have done something about it before 2 May this year.
It would be unfair to assess Orta’s entire body of work at Elland Road as a disaster, as it was him who brought Bielsa to the club, and he clearly hit on the likes of Raphinha and, until recently, Illan Meslier.
But the succession from the Argentine boss went about as badly as it could have, with the avoidance of relegation on the final day a year earlier only delaying the apparently inevitable for Marsch.
Radrizzani said he wanted to remove the first of four first-team manager’s this season prior to the World Cup break but was “persuaded to hold” which was a “huge mistake”.
It was clearly Orta he was referring to, whose backing of the American and his eventual replacement Javi Gracia, despite results, was what ultimately did for him.
Spending a club-record fee on a project in Georginio Rutter during the January transfer window when the club was already heading towards a relegation they wouldn’t escape was an almost clichéd Orta move, and wasn’t what Marsch needed before he was sacked just weeks later.
It is easy for anyone to look back with hindsight and point to the series of errors that led to the drop, and neither the man at the top or his right hand man can escape blame, as Radrizzani was in charge and could have made a change earlier.
Marathe and the 49ers will need to provide far greater stability, although his own involvement in the delayed sale agreement after relegation was a misstep itself, but the framework is now finally in place to move forward into the new era.
It is also easy for Radrizzani to swoop in and give his side of the story to the media now, when he was too often otherwise engaged with Sampdoria during the key period before the deal was reached, and if Orta were to give his own interview he would no doubt have another perspective.
In other Leeds United news, two important players have had bids rejected for them and now want to leave the club this summer.