Marcelo Bielsa launches passionate defence of his Leeds United players ahead of Middlesbrough clash

If Marcelo Bielsa’s habit of berating himself publicly ever sounds like a coach deflecting blame from his players, it is worth revisiting a speech he gave in private on the day after his first season at Athletic Bilbao ended.
Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa.Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa.
Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa.

Bilbao were licking their wounds from a defeat to Barcelona in the final of the Copa Del Rey, two weeks after losing to Atletico Madrid the final of the Europa League. Bielsa met his squad behind closed doors and spoke for more than nine minutes unchecked. He was heard in a leaked audio file telling the players that the responsibility was entirely his.

“You trained for 10 days like beasts,” Bielsa said.

“I could take away my responsibility by saying ‘such a player or another player have not listened to me, or that we didn’t not prepare enough’ but no. None of that.”

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His only criticism was of certain players who he saw laughing and joking on the team bus after the loss to Barcelona. “I have the obligation to tell you that you disappointed a whole town, who did not deserve it.”

Bielsa has witnessed a healthy connection between his squad at Leeds United and the city they play for and nothing in their football so far has incurred his wrath.

The 63-year-old can give the impression of a martyr - uncomfortable with praise when it comes his way, as quick as anyone else to pick holes in his coaching - and Leeds’ 3-1 defeat in a box-office game against Norwich City last weekend provoked more self-criticism.

“All the negative things that happen are the responsibility of the head coach,” Bielsa said.

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Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford voices regret over clash with Norwich City stopper Tim KrulThere were aspects of his team selection and the impact of his half-time substitutes which left him exposed to scrutiny but the result which bumped Leeds off the top of the division had more to it than that: Pontus Jansson giving away an avoidable free-kick before Norwich’s first goal, two mistakes from Adam Forshaw inviting their second and a catalogue of failings coming at the cost of a killer third in the 78th minute. It was, to the average observer, a night when blame deserved to be shared.

This afternoon, in a trademark 14-minute monologue, Bielsa shielded his players again with a comprehensive mea culpa.

Mistakes by his players, he insisted, were symptomatic of his style of play, which demands that footballers takes constant risks and thereby increase the chance of errors. The changes made at half-time, in Bielsa’s opinion, merely worsened United’s performance.

“Take into account these facts,” he said.

“The last game was one of the games where we ran the most. We had more possession of the ball, clearly, and we dominated the game too. We created more chances to score than the opponent.

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“The individual performance of the team was good enough so what kind of criticism could I make of the players? I can’t criticise anything. And if I don’t have any basis to criticise the players, it’s normal that I take responsibility.

“The opponent had six chances to score and scored three goals. We had a contribution that made it easier for the opponent to attack. Apparently there is a space for criticism of this, but I don’t think so.

“When the style demands that you move the ball from your keeper to the other box, the possibility of losing it is inherent but the players are faithful to the style their head coach proposes. That’s why I can’t say the players are responsible.”

Leeds United podcast - Inside Elland Road: We're not panicking just yet (honest)Saturday was by no means Norwich’s game from the outset, and the heavy share of possession Leeds had in the first half is likely to be replicated away at Middlesbrough this weekend.

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Norwich were under constant pressure before half-time but defended with discipline, punished Leeds when mistakes arose and benefited from various strokes of good fortune. Bielsa tried to address a 2-0 deficit at half-time by replacing Pablo Hernandez and Jack Harrison but Norwich’s growing confidence yielded a third strike from Mario Vrancic on 78 minutes.

Bielsa was unexpectedly pleased with a flat and uneventful spell after half-time, saying his side “learned to play bad” by quelling Norwich’s counter-attacks, but he touched on one weakness by admitting Leeds were prone to mental frustration in matches where extended dominance failed to pay off.

The Argentinian places a high value on possession and United, almost without exception, control it religiously.

“There’s an aspect where we’re still growing,” Bielsa said. “It’s the mental fact of accepting our own mistakes or when we don’t reach what we’re looking for.

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“When we create mistakes, from a mental point of view our team feels it. When we play for 30 minutes as we played the last game (during the first half) and we don’t score, it has a mental impact on our team. But the mental response of our players regarding the ups and downs of the game is the responsibility of the head coach.

“At the beginning of the second half I made changes and the team didn’t improve. They got worse. As the decision I took didn’t have the right result, I’m clearly responsible. I’m making self-criticism but with a factual basis.”

The evidence mattered to Bielsa, who said managers were too often in the habit of taking the blame for costly results without explaining why they should.

Middlesbrough v Leeds United: Pablo Hernandez, Mateusz Klich and Adam Forshaw carrying injuries but have 'possibility to play'“There is a very common sentence,” Bielsa said. “Usually (coaches) say they are responsibility for a negative cycle but if we don’t explain why, we induce the listener to reach the opposite conclusion of what we’re saying.

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“In reality, they say they’re responsible but they don’t convince the audience so the audience is invited to transfer (blame) to the players. The day the players are responsible I wouldn’t tell you but I wouldn’t tell you I was responsible either.”

His comments ran to a level of introspection which exaggerated the pressure Leeds are under. The club have stumbled too often since Christmas, losing four of their six league games, but they finished Saturday in second place behind Norwich on goal difference and are a long way from anything like the downturn which engulfed Thomas Christiansen a year ago. Middlesbrough are fifth and Saturday’s game, for reasons of league position and reassurance, is a game Leeds need to win.

Bielsa, again, named his likely line-up today and detailed in full the injuries which might affect it, a habit he has fallen into ever since ‘Spygate’ brought his integrity into question. Would confirmation of his team not help Boro and Tony Pulis?

“No,” he said. “For me it’s not important at all.” And when it came to trusting his methods, there was no backing down.

“I never tell our players to respect a certain style but not make a mistake,” Bielsa said. “Our style includes risk. But it's better to be faithful to our style.”