Guardiola heavily praised Bielsa (Paul Ellis – Pool/Getty Images)
Pochettino also told a story of how he was scouted for Newell’s Old Boys by Bielsa when he was 13 years old and asleep in bed. He explained how Bielsa knocked on his parents’ door at “one or two o’clock in the morning” and asked if he could see their son’s legs. Bielsa then announced he was signing him because he looked like a footballer.
Jorge Sampaoli, the former Argentina manager, Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid, and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola are others who all cite Bielsa as a huge influence on their managerial philosophies.
‘The madness sparkled in his eyes’
Aside from that promotion with Leeds, Bielsa’s career high points include the Argentina league title with Newell’s Old Boys in his first managerial job and winning the Olympic football tournament with the Argentina national team in 2004, the country’s first Olympic gold medal for 52 years. While managing Argentina, he moved into a country ranch, where he studied videos alone while his wife and daughters continued living in Buenos Aires.
He also enjoyed successful spells at Athletic Bilbao and the Chilean national team, his last job in international football before his current position at Uruguay.
There have, however, also been some notable bumps on the road.
He walked out on Marseille one match into his second season after saying the club tried to change some details in the contract he had agreed with them. He resigned as Lazio manager after just 48 hours, claiming they failed to sign any of his transfer targets. He was sacked by Lille after 13 games and with the club 18th in Ligue 1, complaining he was not afforded the control he wanted.
Bielsa sat on his box cooler at the Copa America (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Then there was the story of how a group of furious Old Newell’s fans arrived at his house to complain after they lost 6-0 to San Lorenzo in the Copa Libertadores.
There were about 20 of them, demanding he face them. Bielsa came out holding a hand grenade. According to Rich’s book, he told them: “If you don’t go now, I will pull the pin.”
In an interview with Kaiser magazine, one fan said: “The madness sparkled in his eyes. Nobody could look at Bielsa, only at the grenade in his hand.” The supporters fled and it added to the myth around ‘El Loco’, his nickname that translates as ‘the crazy one’.
Despite those tricky spells, many clubs where Bielsa enjoyed success look back on those times with such affection and fondness they have become known as his “widows”.
Highly paid, highly regarded
After leaving Leeds, Bielsa came close to joining Bournemouth, while a return to Athletic Bilbao was also considered. He nearly took charge at Everton in January 2023 only to leave them bemused when he suggested he would prefer to coach their under-23s until the end of that season and then start afresh with the senior squad in the summer, with his coaches running the first team for those early months. Everton hired Sean Dyche instead, despite Bielsa arriving at London Heathrow unannounced to try to reach a deal.
When Leeds sacked his replacement, Jesse Marsch, he was considered for the vacancy but, by then, his heart was set on a new project with Uruguay.
Bielsa speaking to Darwin Nunez during the game against Bolivia (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
He was hired last summer, signing a contract that ties him to the job through to the end of the World Cup in the summer of 2026. He is the highest-paid coach at this year’s Copa America.
In that time, he has transformed Uruguay, overseeing victories over Argentina and Brazil, and they have started this tournament in electric form.
It’s now over to Dorival Junior’s side to try to halt the Bielsa juggernaut.
Want to read more about Bielsa?
(Top photo: Getty Images)
Source link : https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5600640/2024/07/05/bielsa-uruguay-copa-america-brazil/
Author :
Publish date : 2024-07-05 06:04:52
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
