Marcelo Bielsa likens Kalvin Phillips to Diego Simeone in rare interview
Marcelo Bielsa has compared Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips to Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone.
The Leeds manager rarely gives personal one-on-one interviews (with Matias Almeyda), but made an exception to talk to Adam Carruthers from Astro Sport.
In their conversation which lasted a little over nine minutes, Bielsa said that Phillips reminded him of Simeone during his playing days.
He said, “In Newell’s Old Boys, he plays in the same position as Franco and Martino, in the national team from Argentina he plays like Simeone and Almeyda.
“From Chile he plays like Medel, I have managed different players in this position with the same quality of Phillips, in this moment Phillips is at a big level in this position around the world.”
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Simeone was managed by Bielsa before he inspired the now two-time La Liga winning manager to get into coaching.
El Loco has given a number of head coaches like Simeone, Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino the guidance to become managers and they’ve all been successes in their own right.
It’s no wonder why he’s regarded as one of the most influential coaches of all time.
He’s also managed a number of quality midfielders during the years he’s spent in the game, and Phillips is certainly held in very high regard.
The fact that he’s mentioned him in the same breath as Simeone who was a world-class midfielder in his heyday, shows just how highly the Yorkshire Pirlo is rated by Bielsa.
Phillips’ game has certainly been elevated by the Leeds boss since he took over the job in 2018.
He transformed the 25-year-old’s game from being a box-to-box midfielder to becoming one of the best deep-lying playmakers in the Premier League.
He proved his worth on the international stage as well, starting all games for England at Euro 2020 and guiding the Three Lions to the final of the competition.
We cannot wait to see him back in action and hopefully he gets to play a few pre-season games before the new season begins.
In other Leeds United news, Journalist: If Leeds can sign this player, he would be one of the signings of the summer in PL