Even two-and-a-half-years on from his sacking, some Leeds United fans are still struggling for life without Marcelo Bielsa at Elland Road.
Bielsa’s time at Leeds was comfortably the best in the club’s modern era and so for many, they have found it difficult to get the same level of enjoyment in football from the managers that have since followed.
Bielsa’s style of play really was like no other and there is a reason Patrick Bamford called for him to be named the new England manager after Gareth Southgate’s exit.
Daniel Farke is a prime example of how difficult it has been for any manager who has come in since Bielsa, with Leeds winning plenty of matches during his tenure.
Last season, Leeds accumulated just three points less than Bielsa‘s promotion winning team but supporters simply haven’t got on board with Farke’s style like they did with the Argentine.
- READ MORE: Daniel Farke already has one change he simply has to make when Leeds United face Cardiff City
Former Leeds assistant Diego Flores on verge of big achievement
From Bielsa’s point of view, his time at Leeds is now very much in the past as he is 16 months into his job at Uruguay, where he has done a great job.
Uruguay finished third in the Copa America in the summer by beating Jesse Marsch’s Canada on penalties and during his time in charge, have also defeated Argentina and Brazil (twice).
Bielsa had a plethora of staff which helped make everything possible at Leeds but there is one who has since gone onto his own managerial path – Diego Flores.
Flores was part of Bielsa’s backroom team for the entirety of his time at Leeds, Lazio and Lille, but did not follow him to Uruguay as he instead became the main man elsewhere.
After a couple of spells at Godoy Cruz, Flores was appointed as San Martín de Tucumán’s manager at the back end of 2023, a side currently in the second division in Argentina.
And Flores is about to follow in the foot steps of his former manager by getting a side promoted into the first tier with San Martín.
San Martín sit top of the table and seven points clear with just four matches remaining. Flores’ side have conceded just 14 goals in 32 games, as promotion looks a near certainty.
Flores success no surprise after Leeds spell
It is no surprise to see someone like Flores doing well considering how long he spent working under Bielsa.
Every day for around seven years he will have seen the effort Bielsa went into leaving no stone unturned, and that sort of detail will stay with him wherever he goes.
Flores’ imminent achievement is similar to that of what another of Bielsa’s former assistants Carlos Corberan is doing with West Brom.
Corberan is one of the Championship’s smallest budgets at the Hawthorns but has them sat top of the table after five matches, and is widely regarded as the division’s best manager.
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