Former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa comes under fire for 'hurting' ex-Premier League star
The Argentine took on the role of Uruguay manager following his Elland Road exit.
Following his departure from Leeds United in 2022, Marcelo Bielsa has taken on the role of manager of the Uruguay national team. The Argentine joined La Celeste last May and he guided them to a third-place finish in this summer’s Copa América.
Uruguay fell short of reaching the final after a Jefferson Lerma goal for Colombia edged Los Cafeteros into the next round before eventually losing out on the title to Argentina. While Bielsa earned some praise for his approach to the tournament, he has come under criticism from Luis Suarez.
Speaking to ‘De fútbol se habla así’, via Mundo Deportivo, the Inter Miami striker admitted there were times during the tournament where Bielsa ‘hurt him’.
“In the Copa América there were situations that hurt me, which I did not say for the sake of coexistence,” Suarez admitted before directly referencing Bielsa’s treatment of winger Agustín Canobbio, who played just one minute of the tournament despite racking up six goals and nine assists at club level last season.
Canobbio made an extremely brief cameo against Colombia in the semi-final but was left on the bench for the rest of the Copa América.
“I support Canobbio for what happened. On many days he made him do exercises with the players who were sparring and that is a complete lack of respect,” Suarez continued, also shedding light on the relationship between the players and the staff.
“Many players held a meeting to ask the coach to at least say good morning to us, but he didn't even say hello. At the Celeste Complex, the employees are not allowed to come in and greet us and eat with us. They have to be careful even at the door where they have to enter. It breaks my heart that this is how things are at the complex today.”
Despite Suarez’s frustrations, Uruguay have only lost three games since Bielsa was appointed and Leeds fans can attest to the 69-year-old being strict and insistent with the way he goes about things both on and off. They are currently third in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table, behind only Argentina and Colombia and have five more points than Brazil.