Marc Roca‘s opinion of Victor Orta will be completely different to that of many Leeds United fans – but he has told Marca he has a “very special relationship” with Orta, and says he is “spectacular” at his job.
Orta is criticised for his time at Leeds. Some work was good, signings like Raphinha, Willy Gnonto and Illan Meslier. Young signings that have pushed on – Cree Summerville, Pascal Struijk and Joe Gelhardt.
But there are many awful ones. Diego Llorente, Brenden Aaronson, Jean-Kevin Augustin and of course – the decision to sign Georginio Rutter in the January window. Of course, Rutter is finally coming good.
We needed a proven striker and we got a rookie, unable to speak English. Relegation surfaced. Orta’s passionate outbursts in front of fans too, angered some supporters. He jumped ship before the drop.
The opinion of Orta among fans is not a good one. For Roca to speak so highly of his fellow Spaniard, who is now at Champions League side Sevilla, will be met with disagreement among Leeds supporters.
“When I came, we were talking. I have a very special appreciation for Víctor. In the end he trusted me in a moment that was a little complicated, I hadn’t played much for two years. He opened the doors for me.
“He trusted me a lot. I have a very, very good personal relationship with him. He is a spectacular sports director. He already knows what I think of him, I love him very much. He is a person I respect very much.”
Roca opinion of Orta will be different to many Leeds United fans
Orta did good things for Leeds and he was fully invested in the club. He did his best. But ultimately, he made some bizarre decisions and his disagreements with fans in the stadium will never go down well.
His approach to trying to sign players that might come good a year or two down the line is fine if you’re in the position that a Brighton, a Brentford find themselves in. We never had that security in the top tier.
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