Aston Villa v Leeds United: Every word Marcelo Bielsa said in his pre-match press conference

When Ayling wasn’t here, Dallas played. When Llorente wasn’t here, Ayling played. When Cooper wasn’t here, Pascal played. When Junior wasn’t here, Dallas played. When Klich wasn’t here, Forshaw played. When Phillips wasn’t here, Pascal Klich or Forshaw played. When Raphinha wasn’t here, Klich played. Harrison hasn’t been out. When Bamford hasn’t been here, James or Tyler played. Gelhardt have been the youngsters who have had consistent minutes, and Shackleton has been an option. Of course I wish we didn’t have the problems that we have had. But the team also found the solutions. So of course, the results are poor. Because the results are poor, everything is made bigger. And with respect to the injuries, any analysis that is made, I don’t want to have an opinion, because when you are going through a sporting moment that is negative, everything that you say is read as an excuse because the circle is very clear. Every time there is more games, to earn more money, the excuse to earn more money is that we need a lot of money to play the players because the players want to earn more money or the coaches want to earn more money. That is not the reason. Of course, everybody wants to earn more. But this is a way to limit this veracity of wanting to earn more. Every time there’s more games, the way the scheduling is completed. It’s impossible to schedule within that scenario. Of course the pandemic has multiplied the effect of this problem. There is only one solution which has not been attempted. That we earn less a product of this situation. To play less, to earn less, to make it clear how we will play less to earn less. Obviously is being denaturalised with more injuries and these situations. But never the reasons of why these problems are generated, nor the solutions. How is it possible that the scheduling puts the competitions in the same place? Of course they’re going to have to reschedule. Between all the federations, FIFA, UEFA, it is impossible for it not to be overboard. Now I also want to say something. Our injuries have not been due to an excess of games. Ayling injured his knee, missing eight games. Pascal, his foot, six games. Bamford, ankle and his foot, 14 games. Koch, hip, sixteen games. Rodrigo, foot, five games. Phillips, Cooper, Shackleton, muscular problems have been very few. Llorente and Firpo, and Bamford - within those injuries that he had - so we have had three muscular injuries. But obviously the problems that you are making reference to, in this moment there is an infinite amount of data. That has to do with the fact that the rest and recovery is not sufficient and is produced due to an excess of games. The excess of games should be treated as well. With regards to the teams that are able to have two teams and the teams that are only able to have one. That is not our case. Because we don’t have a problem with an excess of games. In all these things that I have said, everything that I have said in this conference nothing has justified that is a product of things that I should manage better.

Everything that I have had to say, I have already said. You asked me about the case of Summerville, which I don’t know how the permission was obtained. I had no other option but to answer on that particular case which is reflected on the information that you have guys. I cannot make the cases public that have not been made public. The case of Summerville, in no way did I make that public. I don’t know who it is that makes these things public, or with what intentions they do it. What I do know is what I have to resolve. You ask me if Summerville had offers to leave, which you already know. Whether he had offers, and who he had offers from, and all I can tell you is what I had to resolve. The only thing I do know, is that if he didn’t leave, it wasn’t because I forced him or forced the club to keep him. I clearly said to him, ‘if you want to leave, then the best thing to do is for you to leave’, and I would say that to any player. Be very careful with how you interpret what I say, because it’s the most natural thing in the world. A person wants to evolve - they consider that the place where they are won’t allow them to evolve like another place would, and they plant the problem. That happens in all situations of labour. Constant. And there’s nothing wrong with it. Not the desire of someone not continuing, nor my position of ‘if you don’t want to be here, then what sense is there in staying?’ and of course, with all of this being public, it’s not good for anyone, not for me, nor for Summerville, nor for Leeds. But you have to see and understand or know the football world to know who made it public and what are they looking for when they make this public. I’m not accusing anyone or demanding any behaviour is wrong. This is what I’m saying. It happens at every club, constantly. And as it’s made public, I have the responsibility to tell the truth. What I can’t do is answer you who the other ten are, because the last thing I want is for this to be commented on.

He spoke with me and told me that he wanted to leave. I told him that there weren’t any problems with him leaving. The reason why I said this to him is that as a player he has a pretty frequent participation in the first team, not necessarily coming on, but he is a player that was contemplated frequently and he asked to leave. For me that reason, that motive is sufficient. Any player that tells me that they want to leave, I would answer, ‘no problem, I’m not opposed to you leaving. What is the reason?’ That is because he wants to leave. I don’t analyse whether it’s fair or not, whether it corresponds or not. Simply not wanting to be here is sufficient. Now, that’s a sporting position. After the club has a different outlook on it, because the players sign contracts and they acquire obligations. The obligations sum up to economic. I don’t have the power to decide contractual or economic problems. In the case of Summerville, there were ten players in a similar situation and all of the subjects, I treated them in the same way, as it can’t be any other way. When a player signs a contract, he is saying that he wants to belong. And I think it’s absolutely legitimate that he doesn’t want to belong any more. It’s a possibility, it’s a right, and it’s right that it’s that way. I have a limit in the power of my decision. So all of the players that are within the club know that if they want to leave, I’m not going to stand in their way. But because I don’t stand in their way, it doesn’t mean that I decide. I only have part of the decision.

As I’m used to it, not using arguments to justify the adverse moments. I’ll give you an example. I never want to appear demanding or diverting aspects that I don’t have to manage, the reasons for the defeat. In the last game, it seemed that I criticised what the opponent did to reduce the playing time. I didn’t make any criticism, I only said that the problem existed and that there’s resources to resolve it and I’m not the one in charge of doing that. So in the face of that problem in particular, the media has a position that they have already taken up - trying to manage that the ones we lost, the demands, due to the situation, and if you were to do it, the next step is that you justify the defeats with things outside of your responsibility. What you don’t do is to position the problem in its real dimension. What I said was that the time that was consumed to not playing was what had motivated the question. You see that in the games there is added time, prior to the 45th minute, when you include the game, the substitutions, the injuries, in the last game against Newcastle, apart from those minutes, prior to those justified for substitutes, injuries, significant things, that between sixteen and eighteen minutes played less - nine in each half - are not within what’s added usually after an added time. Did we lose the game because of that? Of course not. We lost the game because we dominated the game but we could not finish it off. That’s the only thing that is in my responsibility, and it’s the only thing that I look at. Now, if you ask me if the time was consumed so that the game couldn’t be played, the one who asked the question is able to manage the data and see what happens. So in this case, I tell you the data, because the problem existed, but it’s not an explanation or a justification of the defeat.

He hasn’t played for 15 games now. How can I not worry?

I always try to do what corresponds, I don’t know what the objective of the question is, as I always try to do what corresponds. If you’re asking if an identical thing happens, I would do what corresponds. As the question doesn’t go anywhere, I doubt in responding, but yes I would do exactly the same.

In that moment, I did what I thought corresponded.

As a player with prestige, his past speaks for itself. He’s playing in a Premier League team like Aston Villa, a team in growth, and he’s back in the Brazilian international team.

Yes Shackleton, Forshaw and Cresswell are all healthy now. The four players that we still don’t count on are: Firpo, who should be available for this weekend, probably because his injury involved his tendon, we may be cautious with his return. Phillips and Cooper who, by the beginning of March, should be fully recovered. And Bamford, who has an injury where we cannot predict when he will return because it depends on the pain going away so that he can start jogging again. Since the injury started, the pain hasn’t gone away. Of course, he is going through the necessary demanding treatments for the injury that he has.