Many Leeds United fans and players speak about former manager Marcelo Bielsa in glowing terms, but few benefitted from his guidance quite like Patrick Bamford.
Bamford moved to Elland Road in 2018 from Middlesbrough for a fee worth roughly £7million, following a campaign with 11 goals in the Championship.
The striker had struggled to make a permanent place for himself at a club but quickly found that under Bielsa.
Nine goals in 22 appearances in his first season were then backed up by 16 goals in the promotion-winning 2019/20 campaign.
In the Premier League, Bamford only continued to shine as he scored 17 goals on the way towards a ninth-placed finish.
With England caps in hand and a scoring record to be proud of, the Leeds United star had moved from strength to strength under Bielsa.
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Patrick Bamford on Marcelo Bielsa’s management
Speaking back in 2021, Bamford discussed the hardest parts of working under Bielsa, following a successful spell.
Talking to FootballJoe, the Leeds striker said: “The most challenging aspect is that as humans you always have that voice inside of you that’s kind of like a negative moaner who doesn’t want to do something or kind of resists to putting in the extra hard work.
“And it’s so demanding, what we are asked to do, and what we need to do in order to be ready to win a game on Saturday but also in order to improve as players that you kind of have to shut that voice out because you know that what he’s [Bielsa] asking you to do is actually good for you.
“And when you do it, you appreciate it, especially as a lot of us have worked with him for three or four years now so we know that the reason why he demands so much is because he believes we can do it and the way we have grown just proves that.”
It’s not all tough work though, as Bamford revealed the rewarding side of working under a manager like Bielsa.
“I think the best thing about working under him is the feeling you get when you come off a pitch and especially last year (2020/21).
“The feeling we got when we came off the pitch having been kind of written off when we just come up from the Championship to dominating teams that are established Premier League teams with our style of play, which not many teams have done when they’ve come up, I think that was so rewarding.”
Marcelo Bielsa’s impact at Leeds United
It’s clear that in his spell at Elland Road, Bielsa left his mark on the players, staff and fans before departing.
For many, it gave a chance to dream, whether it was fans wanting to see their team on the big stage again or players wanting to reach the maximum of their potential.
Bamford is just one example of a squad member that benefitted immensely from the head coach arriving.
With plenty of goals on his record and an England cap too, the striker’s move to play for Bielsa proved to be a smart one.
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