I played for Leeds United throughout Marcelo Bielsa’s Elland Road tenure and this is what he changed most 

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Liam Cooper has finally left Leeds United and he has been speaking to Bulgarian media about his love for the Yorkshire club and the four-year stint he spent at Elland Road under Marcelo Bielsa.

Marcelo Bielsa joined Leeds United in a surprise appointment made by Andrea Radrizzani, Victor Orta and Angus Kinnear. They jetted out to Buenos Aires in order to tempt Bielsa into taking the Elland Road gig.

Changing the style of play, immediately gaining the love of fans and turning Championship players into Premier League stars, Bielsa took Leeds from 13th in the second tier to ninth in the Premier League.

Many are of the belief that Leeds actually made the wrong decision when in February 2022, Leeds opted to sack the Argentine gaffer. Jesse Marsch followed as boss and so did relegation to the Championship.

Meanwhile, Cooper captained Leeds for Bielsa’s four-year stint and remained at Leeds for a whole decade before leaving this summer on a free and joining giant Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia on a free transfer.

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Liam Cooper shares what Marcelo Bielsa changed at Leeds most

Cooper is yet to make his debut for CSKA Sofia after joining them on a two-year deal. CSKA announced Cooper’s arrival with a Mini Cooper, but he is yet to turn out for the First Professional Pro League side.

But Cooper has been speaking to Bulgarian media and most recently, Gong.bg. The Leeds icon has said what working under Bielsa was like and specifically, what the Argentine icon changed most at Leeds.

“Promotion to the Premier League was certainly very special. The match in which I led the team with the captain’s armband in the first game in the Premier League was also great for me. I still keep the shirt.

“I single out Marcelo Bielsa. We didn’t develop before him. In six months he changed the understanding and culture. He made us believe and changed our way of thinking. Every day we were like one family.”

Cooper’s Leeds stats and iconic moments during 10-year stint

Many forget that actually, Cooper was one of the first signings made by Massimo Cellino in the summer of 2014. Working initially under Dave Hockaday, Cooper went on to play a whopping 284 Leeds games.

Cooper’s iconic moments in Leeds shirt:

• First goal v Blackpool in November 2014
• Captains Leeds for first time in January 2015 v Sunderland in FA Cup
• Scoring in Bielsa’s first game, a 3-1 win v Stoke in August 2018
• Captaining Leeds to promotion, ending 16-year wait for Premier League football
• Captaining Leeds in 4-3 win v Fulham, first home Premier League game since 2004
• First goal of Daniel Farke’s tenure in 2-2 draw with Cardiff
• Coming off bench in play-off semi-final second leg to huge Elland Road applause

In that time, Cooper captained Leeds for the majority of his decade and scored 11 goals, two of which came in the Premier League in his 66 top-flight appearances including one against Man United away.

Having not done a pre-season at Leeds, Cooper is working on his fitness before playing his first match in four months. He could make his debut for CSKA Sofia this weekend, when his side face Cherno More.