During one of Marcelo Bielsa’s first visits to England, Jorge Valdano, the former Real Madrid manager, realised the extent of the Argentine’s obsession with winning football matches.
As the pair flew over for Euro 96, Bielsa turned to his friend and said: ‘After losing a match, have you ever thought about killing yourself?’
If that seems extreme, it might explain the time and thought that the Leeds manager devotes to his job. For those versed in Bielsa’s beliefs, the presentation at Wednesday’s press conference was no surprise.
Marcelo Bielsa has demonstrated obsessive attention to detail in all of his previous jobs
Earlier this season, he took his former Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera and his Manchester United team-mate Juan Mata for a meal. As the trio sat down, Bielsa grabbed the salt and pepper grinders and proceeded to demonstrate to the pair his 14 different strategies that he believes can be used to finish a move and score a goal.
This is Bielsa. ‘A bueno loco, a good crazy guy,’ Herrera said. ‘He should never stop coaching. Training can be very long, until he is happy, two hours rehearsing the same thing but when you go out onto the field and it translates into a show-stopping display, how can you argue?
‘This guy takes notes from every match. So if he was watching Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial dovetailing for United, he will take the clip, simulate it and you will practice it until it is right. You’re thinking “Same again, same again” but it works.’
To many, Bielsa’s work ethic and creativity make him the best face of football, but over the past week a debate has raged over the ethics of Spygate. One of Bielsa’s helpers — still unidentified — was found at Derby’s training ground the day before their visit to Leeds last week.
Bielsa revealed his extensive attention to detail during a press conference on Wednesday
During an extraordinary press conference on Wednesday, Bielsa admitted he has performed the same trick on every Championship side this season.
It is probably easier to infiltrate MI6 than Bielsa’s network of spies and two former Bielsa stooges — one from his days at Newell’s Old Boys and another from managing Chile — both preferred not to speak about their methods when contacted by Sportsmail on Thursday.
One of those men is Francisco Meneghini. He was only 20-years-old and a close friend of Bielsa’s eldest daughter Ines, when Bielsa recruited him in 2008. Meneghini now manages a team in Chile and has worked as assistant to former Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli.
Bielsa has managed 12 professional teams during an eclectic and entertaining career
Another former Bielsa spy is the head of talent identification for a major Argentine football agency.
Some will have relished Wednesday’s show. During his best days as Chile manager, supporters launched a political party called the Bielsista Revolutionary Party that rapidly garnered thousands of likes on social media. Others would have seen Bielsa blowing a raspberry at his critics.
Yet stable is not the order of the day with Bielsa. This is the man who became known as El Loco as a young coach at Newell’s when he told defender Fernando Gamboa that he’d chop off his own finger if it meant a victory. This is the man who needed to be locked in a toilet by
