Argentine outlet and newspaper AS have claimed that Marcelo Bielsa is intent on remaining with Leeds United beyond the end of the season, as he continues to take the Yorkshire club back to the top end of Premier League football – re-establishing them as one of England’s biggest footballing powerhouses. His contract, of course, runs out at the end of the season.
Last year, Bielsa surpassed 40 years in professional football coaching, after initially taking the reigns as a youth coach at his boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys back in 1980. He has since managed his country, managed another South American county in Chile, moved to Spain with Athletic Bilbao – Lazio in Italy, albeit for less than a week, and France with Lille and Marseille.
But he has now surpassed more matches with any of those clubs, at Leeds. The 4-2 defeat to Arsenal was his 125th match as Leeds manager, Athletic Bilbao the second team or country in which he has managed most matches, on 113. He is clearly happy as we enter the second half of his third season at Elland Road. But talks has emerged about his future beyond this season.
Clearly, Leeds will want to keep the Argentine. He has united a city with it’s club. He has resparked a love of football for many, and on a small-ish budget, he has taken a mediocre Championship side that had just finished in 13th place with Paul Heckingbottom – and turned them into a side that are now fighting to finish in the top half of the Premier League.
His work has been exceptional. He gets the odd uneducated pundit questioning why his defence is so open, but delve a little deeper and you will begin to understand why he finished in the top three of FIFA’s Best coaches in 2020 – alongside Hansi Flick and Jurgen Klopp. Leeds fans need not worry about his future, at least according to the latst reports.
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From his home country of Argentina, AS report that Leeds fans should not be concerned. Bielsa likes to work from season to season, but he is more than happy to continue. The report says: ‘The important thing is the present and he would not mind continuing with the team in the future,’ and ‘good things are made to wait, and he has always shown to be clear about his future on the bench. At Leeds they shouldn’t be worried about his future’.
Barring any strange occurences, Bielsa looks like he will continue for a fourth season at Leeds.
