"El Loco" (The madman) Bielsa was the coach that transformed the Chilean squad from a lowly national squad into an attacking team that is a pleasure to watch, the team of Suazo and Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez. In a way, a team similar to the Brazilian dream squad of 82, but without the many highly skilled Brazilian players.
Brazilian newspaper
O Estado de Sao Paulo reports today on Bielsa, who now coaches Atletico de Bilbao, and has now transformed yet another team.
Bielsa refuses to grant exclusive interviews, but answers every singe question in the press conferences. If the talk turns to the intricacies of the beautiful game, a three- or even four-hour press conference is not out of the question.
A fanatic of football videos that he adds to his collection, Bielsa checks pitch measurements by pacing them out before deciding on a particular formation. He also allocates separate training times for different parts of his squad. Former Argentine national team captain Roberto Ayala and defender under Bielsa stated
"Sometimes we wouldn't see any of the strikers, because he'd have them training at a different time, and it was the same with the midfielders. He's an innovator, and one of the people who I've learned most from during my career"
The passion of a coach for soccer and
offensive plays constructed based on the first touch of the ball has gripped the team, and then an entire city. And now the fans of Athletic Bilbao have fun when they see the team in action shaped by Marcelo "El Loco" Bielsa.
Under his command, the "lions" - as Atletico's players have always been known, gained refinement. They continue to be brave fighters, but have learned to rely on technical quality as the best argument to dominate the opponents - whether the game is at home or away.
Last week Manchester United can attest to that. That match was the highlight of the season. Athletic involved the Red Devils from the first to the last minute and did not stop attacking with six or seven men, not even after turning the game around and making 2-1. They did so playing with the ball on the ground and using short passes, as does the Barcelona of Pep Guardiola - who has Bielsa as a model of coach and will be his opponent in the final of the Copa del Rey on May 25.
But it took a lot of work - and patience - for the team to reach the current level. The first victory in the Spanish league only came in the seventh round, after four defeats and two draws. Bielsa hammered his concepts into practice, but players could not assimilate the idea of changing their game which was based on the direct link defense with attack with a more elaborate one in which everyone should offer himself as an option to receive the pass.
WITH THE SAME CAST OF PLAYERS
The fervor with which Bielsa defends his ideas and the clarity of his arguments gradually changed the minds of players. And when they "bought" a bold proposal of the technical results and good performances began to appear.
The cast is practically the same as last season until, under the command of Joaquin Caparros, played "the English" style, with long balls and the big guy Llorente as a reference within the area. The only novelty is Ander Herrera, who belonged to Zaragoza. This only increases the merit of Bielsa, because he did not ask for a lot of hiring to change the profile of the team. He bet on the kids he found (the average age is 23.8 years) could play as he wanted and began the transformation.
Llorente is still a great definer, but now participates in most of the maneuvers. The softly Muniain, 19, went from promise to reality and with his skill and speed is a danger on the left. The defensive midfielder Javi Martinez, who was a substitute in Spain's conquest of the World 2010, was moved into the back four and is now coveted by big clubs in Europe. But no one grew more than one season to another than Iturraspe.
With Caparrós he was little used, and was low when Bielsa arrived. Now he is the indisputable owner of the position and symbolizes the 'participatory' soccer that the coach preaches. He very good at tackling and protecting the back four (his performance in Manchester was exquisite) and learned to play with one or two taps on the output of the ball.
Very pleased with the performance of the team, the president has tried to Bielsa Josu Urrutia to discuss the renewal of his contract. When he arrived in Bilbao, after refusing an offer from Inter, the Argentine was keen to sign for one year. He said it was a good run for the board to evaluate your work and decide whether you would like to extend the bond. The deadline is not over, but nobody in town think the team without him.
