Leeds United captain Liam Cooper has linked Daniel Farke’s management style to Marcelo Bielsa.
Cooper was speaking to members of the local press, including the Yorkshire Evening Post after Leeds’ 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in pre-season.
The win against Forest was Leeds‘ first of the summer and under Farke following some promising displays against Manchester United and AS Monaco.
Farke has now been in charge at Elland Road for just over three weeks and his impact on the training pitch is already evident with Leeds looking much improved in possession.
Despite facing Premier League opposition with a number of fringe players receiving minutes, Leeds dominated much of the ball, while simultaneously looking sold at the back.
Cooper likens Farke management style to Bielsa
Speaking after the game, Cooper reflected extremely positively on Farke’s time in charge so far, likening the way he has been on the training field to that of Bielsa.
He said: “For me in the first three, four weeks we’ve been with [Farke] I ain’t got enough praise for him and his staff, they’ve been brilliant. Strict but fair, honest, he is not afraid to get after people and that’s what we’ve been missing, that’s what we’ve needed.
“For me personally, I certainly get the best out myself when I have a manager like that. These boys in the team, obviously apart from the new boys, we’re used to that, we’ve worked under that before and there’s a lot of similarities with the great one.”
Cooper’s comments reflect that of a long read published by Mail+ earlier this week, who described Farke’s methods as ‘Bielsa with love’.
If Farke can have even half the impact Bielsa had then Leeds will have as good a chance as anyone of securing promotion back to the Premier League this season.
The early signs are certainly promising, with Leeds playing the best football they have under any manager since Bielsa left, even if it is only pre-season.
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