Leeds legend Marcelo Bielsa is in the headlines right now amid talk he could be sacked by Uruguay.
Bielsa is under pressure after overseeing just five wins in the last 18 games – ten of which have seen Uruguay fail to score – and Leeds fans have been sparked into a discussion over whether he should be brought back to Elland Road.
It is a worthwhile talking point with Daniel Farke on a run of just one win in his last five Premier League outings.
Leeds United legend Marcelo Bielsa could be on the market after the World Cup. Is the time right for him to come back to Elland Road?
However, it would be a shock if Marcelo Bielsa returned to Leeds given his previous comments on the importance of pre-season.
What Marcelo Bielsa has said about the significance of pre-season preparations
The Argentine adopts an intense style of play which requires an immense amount of running to make it work, and that doesn’t happen overnight.
Speaking to Sky Sports in August 2021, Bielsa reinforced this by saying: “Physical preparation is one of the most important aspects of pre-season.”
In Salim Lamrani’s book – Marcelo Bielsa: The Foundations of Success at Leeds United – it was also written that pre-season is used by the South American to “forge an identity” and to “transmit a style” on his team.
Daniel Farke and Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds numbers make for interesting reading 🤔
Daniel Farke
- Games – 116
Wins – 64
Draws – 28
Losses – 24
Win Rate – 55.17%
Marcelo Bielsa
- Games – 170
Wins – 81
Draws – 30
Lost – 59
Win Rate – 47.65%
Adam Forshaw even revealed to The Athletic that the South American’s pre-season preparations go beyond fitness and actually playing football, saying: “Bielsa was trying to create a culture of good people. When we first went in for pre-season, we had to leave our mobile phones in the car. We used to do litter-picking around the training ground between sessions.
“We had reading sessions – it was called ‘Reading is Freedom’. That came more from Salim Lamrani, his interpreter. We’d sit in a circle, read passages ourselves and then we’d break it down, what it meant.”
Bielsa is a shrewd operator who doesn’t just jump from job to job, and the conditions have to be right for him – so we doubt he would be willing to take the reins from Farke at this moment in time.
Marcelo Bielsa has never taken a job during a season
The evidence to support why Bielsa is unlikely to return continues to mount up.
The 70-year-old has never taken over a side in the middle of a season despite managing 11 different clubs throughout his career, clearly unwilling to risk his reputation without having time to implement his ideas.
It might have been a different situation if Leeds still owned enough players familiar with his style from his first stint in charge, but the current crop has changed drastically since Bielsa was sacked in February 2022.
Therefore, we would be stunned if the man born in Rosario returned to Leeds this season.
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