Robin Koch reveals 'special and exciting' new duties under Marcelo Bielsa amid intense mood at Leeds United

Signed from SC Freiburg, Koch was on Victor Orta’s radar as a potential addition long before the club earned promotion to the Premier League. But it was top flight status that flipped the German international’s transfer status from desirable to available, for the Whites.

A centre-half with ball playing ability, Koch’s capture more than compensated for the club’s fruitless attempts to prise the more expensive Ben White, last season’s Elland Road Young Player of the Year, from Brighton and Hove Albion on a permanent basis.

Leeds fans were excited by the arrival of a player with top flight experience in a top European league and international involvement.

Koch himself was excited by what he knew of Bielsa, from the remote coaching he received before he even stepped on a private jet bound for Yorkshire, and had some knowledge of the club and its stature.

But he has revealed in an interview with German magazine 11Fruende that he quickly joined the list of players who only realise how strong the pull of Leeds United is in the city when he experienced life here.

“Of course I knew that Leeds was a traditional club,” he said.

“How big the club really is, what it had won, how big the following is - all of this only became clear to me when I was more intensively involved with Leeds and, for example, saw the first season of “Take us Home.”

“Everyone in town seems to have something to do with the club; they are employees, players, fans or casual followers. This creates an intense mood and solidarity with the club.”

Intensity runs through the club’s veins. From a fanbase rabid for their next hit of Leeds related news and interaction with their heroes, to the way the team plays under Bielsa.

Even the forewarning he received from Bielsa’s tactical briefs and former FC Kaiserslautern team-mate Mateusz Klich’s insider knowledge failed to fully prepare Koch for the new normal he was about to experience.

A player who grew up idolising Ronaldinho and began his life in the game as a number 10 before falling in love with a defensive position, albeit with an emphasis on forward thinking, Koch is relishing the opportunity to play an atypical style.

“I interpret the defensive position in an attacking way, I want to build up the game and help shape it,” he told 11Fruende.

“Leeds is not a typical promoted side for me. The classic defender might not move to Leeds. Normally promoted teams keep things tight at the back, it was called Kick and Rush in the past. But Marcelo Bielsa also plays pressing and fast-paced football in the Premier League. The attack begins in defence. After losing the ball, we often take opponents in man-to-man marking. This is new to me because sometimes I come to areas of the pitch where a defender doesn’t normally go. But that’s exciting and special.”

Koch and Leeds travel to sixth-placed Everton this weekend hoping to add to their 11 points and three clean sheets.