MOT View: Leeds would be well-advised to heed ‘unsustainable’ warning from ex-Bielsa player
Leeds United fans will be the first to tell you that there is nobody quite like Marcelo Bielsa.
The Argentine, with his quiet demeanour and obsessively meticulous style of analysis, is a truly unique managerial entity, and has already brought great success to Elland Road.
Of course, securing promotion back to the Premier League this summer would be the icing on the cake, but it could also prove to be a necessity if the Whites are to ensure Bielsa stays in Yorkshire next season.
The Express have already reported that Real Betis are eyeing up a potential swoop for the 64-year-old, and fresh comments from former player Aritz Aduriz come with a warning that the Whites would be well-advised to heed.
The 39-year-old played under Bielsa at Athletic Bilbao, and has lavished the manager with praise – but also suggested that his demanding methods are not sustainable.
Speaking to SoFoot.com, he said: “[Bielsa] is the manager who probably taught me the most.
“With him, I progressed a lot, but I also suffered enormously. He’s so demanding, so extreme, that he manages to bring stuff out of you you didn’t even think was there. He definitely helped me go up a level. Thanks to him, I became a different player.
“Bielsa isn’t crazy, he’s a football genius.
“The problem is that his hardline approach, pushed to the extreme, cannot be kept up forever. At one point, it becomes unsustainable”.
And this is something that we’ve seen time and time again over the course of his career.
The South American has an average tenure of just 1.66 years per club, as per Transfermarkt, and he’s already well past that Elland Road.
In fact, his time at Leeds is already the second longest managerial reign of his career, stretching across 91 matches.
By the end of the season, assuming we go up without needing the play-offs, he will be just 13 games off his own personal record, set during his time with Marseille.
Why he doesn’t last for long periods of time is difficult to say for certain, but the intensity of his methods, as pointed out by Aduriz, is very probably a factor.
We wouldn’t change Bielsa for the world, but sometimes you have to wonder how long his time with the Whites can actually last.
Hopefully, with our full support and some success in the near future, Leeds can be the club where the boss finally breaks the habit of a lifetime and sticks around for a long time.
In other Leeds United news, MOT Tactics: Leeds must rekindle confirmed January interest in rapid teenage hitman.