Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (nicknamed El Loco Bielsa meaning “The Crazy Bielsa”; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager and the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a former player and played as a defender for Newell’s Old Boys, Instituto and Argentino de Rosario.
Bielsa played as a defender in Newell’s Old Boys’ First Division team, but retired when he was 25 to focus on coaching. Bielsa has managed several football clubs and also the national teams of Argentina and Chile. He developed his career as coach of Newell’s Old Boys where he won several titles in the early 1990s, before moving to Mexico in 1992, briefly coaching Club Atlas and Club América. Bielsa returned to Argentina in 1997 to manage Vélez Sarsfield, leading them to the 1998 league title (Clausura).
With Chile, he achieved cult status due to the improved results of the national team under his leadership. His personality and gestures during his stint in Chile captured the attention of media and unleashed a series of minor controversies both in sports and politics. He had a two year-spell in Spain at Athletic Bilbao between 2011 and 2013, leading them to domestic and continental cup finals in the first season, though they lost both. In August 2015, Bielsa resigned as coach of Marseille after just over a year at the French club.
In June 2018, Bielsa was appointed manager of then Championship club Leeds United, leading the club to promotion back to the Premier League in 2020 after a 16-year absence as a result of winning the 2019–20 EFL Championship. Currently, Leeds United is the club at which he has spent the most time as manager in his career; he has so far completed three seasons with the side.
And it was Beautiful: Marcelo Bielsa and the Rebirth of Leeds United Hardcover
by Phil Hay
When Marcelo Bielsa was appointed head coach of Leeds United in the summer of 2018, the club had just finished 13th in the Championship – their 15th consecutive season outside the top flight – and were defined as much by their excesses and disasters off the pitch as their lack of success on it. Bielsa changed everything.
In guiding Leeds back to the promised land of the Premier League, he has transformed the club into a vastly more dynamic, entertaining and professional outfit, fully endearing himself to the Leeds faithful and capturing the imaginations of football fans around the world. With his unique tactical approach, strict diet and body fat controls and a gruelling training schedule – including his infamous ‘murderball’ sessions – Bielsa has shaped a gang of Championship misfits and journeymen into a team that plays breathtakingly relentless attacking football and is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with the game’s established heavyweights.
In And it was Beautiful, Phil Hay documents the fortunes of Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa during their return to the Premier League for the 2020/21 season. By weaving in stories of crises from the club’s purgatory in the English Football League, he presents a comprehensive and compelling portrait of an enigmatic manager whose values are the antithesis of everything that has previously gone wrong at Leeds during the dark days of Ken Bates, Massimo Cellino and GFH. Phil pulls back the curtain on Bielsa’s innovative tactical methods, his unconventional yet highly productive relationship with owner Andrea Radrizzani and Director of Football Victor Orta, his intensely loyal backroom team and the extraordinary cultural impact Bielsa has had on the city of Leeds – from murals and songs to cult fanbases in the provinces of Argentina. The result is a unique and beautiful love affair that has made dreams come true.
Marcelo Bielsa
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcelo_Bielsa
Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (nicknamed El Loco Bielsa meaning “The Crazy Bielsa”; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager and the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a former player and played as a defender for Newell’s Old Boys, Instituto and Argentino de Rosario.
Bielsa played as a defender in Newell’s Old Boys’ First Division team, but retired when he was 25 to focus on coaching. Bielsa has managed several football clubs and also the national teams of Argentina and Chile. He developed his career as coach of Newell’s Old Boys where he won several titles in the early 1990s, before moving to Mexico in 1992, briefly coaching Club Atlas and Club América. Bielsa returned to Argentina in 1997 to manage Vélez Sarsfield, leading them to the 1998 league title (Clausura).
With Chile, he achieved cult status due to the improved results of the national team under his leadership. His personality and gestures during his stint in Chile captured the attention of media and unleashed a series of minor controversies both in sports and politics. He had a two year-spell in Spain at Athletic Bilbao between 2011 and 2013, leading them to domestic and continental cup finals in the first season, though they lost both. In August 2015, Bielsa resigned as coach of Marseille after just over a year at the French club.
In June 2018, Bielsa was appointed manager of then Championship club Leeds United, leading the club to promotion back to the Premier League in 2020 after a 16-year absence as a result of winning the 2019–20 EFL Championship. Currently, Leeds United is the club at which he has spent the most time as manager in his career; he has so far completed three seasons with the side.
And it was Beautiful: Marcelo Bielsa and the Rebirth of Leeds United Hardcover
by Phil Hay
When Marcelo Bielsa was appointed head coach of Leeds United in the summer of 2018, the club had just finished 13th in the Championship – their 15th consecutive season outside the top flight – and were defined as much by their excesses and disasters off the pitch as their lack of success on it. Bielsa changed everything.
In guiding Leeds back to the promised land of the Premier League, he has transformed the club into a vastly more dynamic, entertaining and professional outfit, fully endearing himself to the Leeds faithful and capturing the imaginations of football fans around the world. With his unique tactical approach, strict diet and body fat controls and a gruelling training schedule – including his infamous ‘murderball’ sessions – Bielsa has shaped a gang of Championship misfits and journeymen into a team that plays breathtakingly relentless attacking football and is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with the game’s established heavyweights.
In And it was Beautiful, Phil Hay documents the fortunes of Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa during their return to the Premier League for the 2020/21 season. By weaving in stories of crises from the club’s purgatory in the English Football League, he presents a comprehensive and compelling portrait of an enigmatic manager whose values are the antithesis of everything that has previously gone wrong at Leeds during the dark days of Ken Bates, Massimo Cellino and GFH. Phil pulls back the curtain on Bielsa’s innovative tactical methods, his unconventional yet highly productive relationship with owner Andrea Radrizzani and Director of Football Victor Orta, his intensely loyal backroom team and the extraordinary cultural impact Bielsa has had on the city of Leeds – from murals and songs to cult fanbases in the provinces of Argentina. The result is a unique and beautiful love affair that has made dreams come true.