Mateusz Klich opens up on intensity of Bielsa ‘murderball’
Marcelo Bielsa is a manager who puts a lot of weight on fitness. Leeds United players have talked before about how tough Bielsa’s training sessions are and we’ve heard mention of his infamous ‘murderball’ sessions without really knowing what it is.
Talking to the BBC, Mateusz Klich opened up on the intense 11v11 game that’s played in training and called it the “most important session for the week”.
Klich also said it was true that the Leeds players are weighed every day and admitted that he carries this on during international duty so that he weighs the same when he comes back to Elland Road.
“It’s very strict,” Klich said. “Even if I go on international duty I weigh myself every day to make sure I come back at the same weight.
“That’s how he [Bielsa] wants it to be and to play his football you need to be very fit, you need to run a lot. You can’t run with additional kilos, you need to be in shape, that’s what he wants and if he wants it we have to do it.
Asked about murderball, Klich said, “You play 11v11 without stopping and constantly running around and sprinting, you have coaches on the pitch shouting and screaming and you can’t stop running.
“It’s a normal game, big pitch, 11v11, but you can’t stop running… It is tough and it’s our most important session for the week. Even if the ball goes out there’s a member of staff with another ball to put it back in – it doesn’t stop.”
Klich said that murderball games could last 20 minutes or six sessions of five minutes depending on what Bielsa wants from his squad.
This focus on fitness seems to be paying off for Leeds. From the 19 goals they’ve scored in the Championship this season, just two have come in the first 30 minutes of matches. Eight have come between 30 and 60 minutes and nine have come in the final 30 minutes. [WhoScored]
Klich himself has only scored one goal and registered one assist in the 19/20 Championship after notching an impressive 10 league goals last season.
However, according to WyScout he should be on course to match the 18/19 season that Klich said was the best in his career.
Both his xG (expected goals) and his xA (expected assists) are 3.49. That’s the story of Leeds’ season so far, with 19 goals scored and an xG of over 28.
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