‘Unexpected’… Leeds United fans astonished at what they’ve heard about Marcelo Bielsa

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Leeds United sealed their second Championship title in five years, with Daniel Farke emulating Marcelo Bielsa’s achievement of 2020.

Farke’s side have broken many of the records set under Bielsa, even if it’s apparent that Bielsa galvanised Leeds. However, Stuart Dallas has called for comparisons to stop between both Bielsa and Farke after the latter secured 100 points — the highest total in the club’s history.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LeedsLeeds	46	29	13	4	95	30	65	100
2	BurnleyBurnley	46	28	16	2	69	16	53	100
3	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	46	28	8	10	63	36	27	90
4	SunderlandSunderland	46	21	13	12	58	44	14	76

Bielsa inherited a mid-table Championship side that looked as if it required major surgery and investment to take the team back to the Premier League — but he did it without. For that reason, and for capturing the hearts and minds of so many involved at Leeds, his legacy at Elland Road will remain for decades.

Pascal Struijk’s gesture to Bielsa was to wear both of his Championship winning medals during the open-top bus parade. He, Patrick Bamford, and Illan Meslier are the only three survivors from the 2019/20 promotion-winning team under the enigmatic Argentine.

• READ MORE: How Leeds United did in the Premier League the last time they were promoted as champions under Marcelo Bielsa

Leeds United supporters react to Marcelo Bielsa news

According to one of the UK’s leading football writers, Bielsa is delighted for the city of Leeds. Henry Winter revealed Bielsa’s reaction on Twitter/X to the delight of so many in blue, white, and yellow.

One Leeds fan said: “Bielsa probably called Farke to congratulate him, they both ooze class”.

Another couple of responses said: “If you know him or someone does please ask him to come back and visit the city. The fans. Elland Road. We miss him. He deserves a great send off from the fans.” And: “Hope they invite him to be a guest and he gets to hear the fans appreciation in person. That would be a great moment. #LUFC”

Another added: “I wish we’d have flown him over. Only missing thing with that squad was celebrating promotion and the league like we did last Monday. We could have had the 19/20 squad on another bus #lufc”

A further response read: “None of this would have been possible without Bielsa – he broke the cycle of mediocrity. #lufc”

• READ MORE: Kyle Walker says Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United did something he’s only ever seen twice in his whole career

Marcelo Bielsa 2019/20 vs Daniel Farke 2024/25 combined XI

A combined XI between the current Leeds team and the 2019/20 side is an extremely difficult one to nail down, with the collective efforts under Bielsa perhaps greater than the individual talent at Farke’s disposal.

How do you pick two from Struijk, Joe Rodon, and Ben White? How do you separate Luke Ayling’s drive and relentlessness with Jayden Bogle’s absolute brilliance in the final third? What about Ethan Ampadu versus Kalvin Phillips, while also trying to find a place for Ao Tanaka? This is what we’ve landed on.

Pablo Hernandez is the easiest shoo-in on the list, but Ayling or Bogle and Kalvin Phillips or Ethan Ampadu are ridiculously difficult choices, hence siding with one from each team.