'I have to learn new things' - Robin Koch on Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds United, their football and his new role

The 24-year-old split his time in the Bundesliga between a central defensive role and midfield duties, where his passing ability helped him to feel comfortable higher up the pitch.

There will always be a caveat in place when it comes to Bielsa that your ‘natural’ position might not be your ultimate destination when you run out on the pitch with Leeds – Pascal Struijk was a centre-half until, all of a sudden, he was a central defensive midfielder. Stuart Dallas was once a winger, but the Ulsterman has now played almost everywhere for Leeds.

Koch is quite certain, however, that he will be playing in the heart of Bielsa’s defence.

“Central defence is my position,” he told the YEP.

“I feel I’m good at both positions but as a centre-back I played in the national team and I feel a bit better there.”

Koch, who came on late in Germany’s Nations League 1-1 draw with Spain but was unable to contain Leeds team-mate Rodrigo as the striker leapt to head down a cross for Jose Gaya’s equaliser, has some idea of how he will have to operate as a centre-half, thanks to some remote coaching from Bielsa that took place before the German had even visited Yorkshire, never mind signed on the dotted line at Elland Road.

His initial feeling is that his attributes will help him to fit in with a style of football he likes.

“I had a presentation of games from Leeds, of my games, how to play as a central defender here in Leeds,” he said.

“We didn’t speak directly but he sent me a lot of videos of the way he plays.

“In the presentation he showed me the game starts with the goalkeeper or centre-back, he said he wanted to play football intensely and I like to play from central defender directly with good passes, playing the game.”

For all the information he received and the insight from pal Mateusz Klich, Koch knows it will still take him time to fully get to grips with what Bielsa requires of him.

Under Christian Streich at Freiburg he played in a 4-4-2 with a predominantly direct style with the ball being sent down the flanks and not a huge amount of build-up play.

At Leeds, the ball does go from a centre-half to a wide position, often, and sometimes it goes long to the frontman, but they also play intricate football to build attacks from back to front, with players rotating positions, full-backs operating as second wingers and White shirts pouring forward.

Last season the man in the position Koch is expected to fill, once Bielsa deems him sufficiently integrated, was tasked with dribbling the ball out of pressure situations to get Leeds moving, when that was a better option than a pass. Koch’s numbers from his time in his native country’s top flight hold little suggestion that he is accustomed to doing the same.

But he’s expecting to pick up some new things as he begins life under Bielsa.

“We played not exactly the same style like Leeds,” he said.

“For me it’s completely a new team and I have to learn new things compared to the old team. That’s normal. I need to bring the right boots for the game and it will be good with the team. Of course I need some time to learn with the players, how to play with them.”

Koch is joining a Premier League side who, before Bielsa, were a mid-table Championship outfit. There is an incredible weight of evidence behind the head coach’s ability to make footballers better but if just one example was needed, Kalvin Phillips’ mere presence in the England camp this week would be textbook. An international call up was unthinkable even to the player himself before Bielsa moulded him into a ball-playing defensive midfield enforcer who had the measure of the Championship attackers.

Koch, already an international, wants to improve and once his latest round of national service with Jogi Löw’s Germany side is complete, will enrol in Bielsa’s Thorp Arch university of football as a full-time student.

“I talked to players and even Klich said the coach really makes us better,” he said.

“To hear it directly from a player under him was good for me. I’m ready for my next step, for a new league but also to get on a next level personally in my game. I think this is the best step for me under Bielsa in Leeds.”