Marcelo Bielsa ally makes ‘brutal’ Leeds United admission as ‘best’ claim made
Leeds United have become a topic of discussion for one Marcelo Bielsa ally away from Elland Road.
Bielsa served as the manager of the West Yorkshire outfit for almost four years between 2018 and 2022, leading them to Premier League promotion as Championship winners in 2019-20.
The Argentinian tactician is still revered at Elland Road, while it appears people who worked with him also look back at their time with the Whites fondly.
Diego Bermudez was among those who were a part of El Loco’s backroom staff, functioning as an analyst for Leeds between 2019 and 2022 before linking up with him in the Uruguay national team.
Diego Bermudez reflects on Leeds United
Looking back at his time at Elland Road, Bermudez described football in the Premier League as “rapid”, but admitted that he felt a “brutal sense of belonging” in West Yorkshire.
The analyst went on to describe the Leeds faithful as one of the best supporters in the world, while also expressing his delight at helping them earn promotion to the Premier League in 2020.
“Leeds have one of the best fans because it is one of the few big cities that only has one team”, Bermudez told Spanish daily La Voz de Galicia (10 February, page 7).
“Furthermore, they had not played in the Premier League for many years, first we promoted them and then made the top ten [in the Premier League].”
Marcelo Bielsa missed at Elland Road
Hiring Bielsa as the manager while Leeds were in the Championship was seen as a massive coup by Andrea Radrizzani and Victor Orta.
The efforts evidently paid off as the master tactician led the Whites back to the Premier League 16 years after they dropped down to the Championship.
In their first season back in the top flight, the 69-year-old led them to a respectable ninth-placed finish, with lots of fans and pundits surprised by what Leeds had to offer.
The Elland Road outfit gave defending champions Liverpool a run for their money at Anfield in their opening game of the 2020-21 season.
Those are times that Leeds fans look back at fondly.
There are no doubts that Bielsa would also be delighted with his spell in England, having managed 170 games for Leeds – the most he has done for any club.
While Leeds have had four permanent managers since Bielsa’s departure in February 2022, he is still missed at Elland Road.
Daniel Farke is the man tasked with what Bielsa did four years ago – take the club back to the Premier League, although some argue the German has a better squad at his disposal.