Marcelo Bielsa gave Leeds United fans some of their best years when he was in charge in 2018.
The Argentine manager arrived in England during 2018 after Ligue 1 side Lille terminated his contract the previous year.
Bielsa won the Championship and took Leeds to the Premier League in 2020. He also won LMA Championship manager of the year.
Leeds United finished in ninth place in their return to the Premier League; they finished with more points and more goals than any other promoted side in the last 20 years.
Bielsa lasted four years at Leeds United, and parted ways with the club in 2022.
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Paul Scholes speaks on Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa
Credit: Imago Images
During his time in the Premier League, Bielsa set up Leeds to be one of the most attacking sides despite not having quality players. Almost every game was high intensity and end to end.
The Whites made their mark when they returned to the league, losing 4-3 in a very exciting game against Liverpool.
Speaking on the Overlap, Scholes said that Bielsa’s Leeds team were overpowering in the Premier League.
“European teams take the Europa League a lot more seriously than we do. For some reason, we see it as detrimental to be playing on a Thursday in the Europa League.
“You feel like we shouldn’t be in the Europa League, even as players like when we played against Bilboa, there was definitely a lack of motivation going into that game and we got hammered by a really good Bilboa team. We got hammered, it was in their old stadium and it was some atmosphere, then they controlled the game at Old Trafford. I’d never seen a team so fit in all my life.
“It was Bielsa’s team and it was what we came used to with Leeds, they overpowered teams in the Premier League.”
The club has gone through a couple of managers post-Bielsa, and have now gotten some consistency under Daniel Farke during this “Red Bull” era.
Former manager will always be remembered at the club
Every Leeds United fan has fond memories of Bielsa’s time at the club. His influence went beyond just results on the pitch.
Bielsa made Leeds his home and the community loved and appreciated him. The Argentine coach also excelled at player development; he turned some of the club’s unknown stars into proper Premier League players.
Kalvin Phillips became an England international after his time under Bielsa. The midfielder eventually joined Manchester City for £45million in 2022, but after an underwhelming couple of years, he has been linked with a return to Elland Road.
