Uruguay, Canada, coping and the Copa: football and a four hour dirge
"The head coaches have power, the owners of the clubs have power, the media have power and the fans have power. But they don't use it."
"The head coaches have power, the owners of the clubs have power, the media have power and the fans have power. But they don't use it."
Marcelo Bielsa says football is getting worse because of the pressure and the scrutiny and the blame and the accusations. Or to put it another way, Lee Dixon's commentary.
When Bielsa placed his hands on Christiansen's shoulders before this game began the moment passing between them contained multitudes, from Vurnon Anita to Jay-Roy Grot.
The death of football is relentlessly demanding that the manager is held 'accountable' when organised chaos does not deliver perfection.
The interesting stuff at this press conference was about how Bielsa was going to transform Uruguay into a Bielsa team, given he has almost no time with the players, and such a particular style of play to teach them. I think his answer is also relevant to how he did it in six weeks at Leeds.
Perhaps you were also wondering how Marcelo Bielsa felt when Argentina won the World Cup — Pablo Lamedica from TyC Sports in Argentina was, and asked him about it. And perhaps you will see how the answer relates to recent strife at Leeds United AFC.
It was Bielsa’s Leeds, and he let us have it. It was a gift to us from a generous soul. And I, a selfish bastard, don’t want him to give anything like that gift to anybody I don’t like.
Imagine Marcelo Bielsa and Tony Yeboah of an evening, sitting together in Frankfurt over a beer, talking about how the Leeds fans still love them.
Leeds United were brave, in 2018, hiring Marcelo Bielsa to change the club's culture. But Premier League paranoia was too powerful in the end.
Marcelo Bielsa's obsessive practice of his life's work gives football the true seriousness it needs for us to remember that it's only a game.