Marcelo Bielsa – an iconic figure in world football, has been showering praises on Pep Guardiola in recent times.
The Leeds United manager is well known as an inspiration to Guardiola, with the Catalan travelling to meet with him before he became a coach as well as meeting him when they were in charge of Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona, respectively.
Marcelo Bielsa in his trademark pose during a Premier League match (Photo by Lindsey Parnaby – Pool/Getty Images)
“He’s a magical man,” Bielsa said. “What he knows how to do is extremely difficult for me to try and I’ve already given up, but I have genuine admiration for what he does. Interpreting the novel decisions that he incorporates into a game is already a way of falling in love with football.”
Bielsa is well known for his unique style and antics, such as watching matches from the vantage point of a pitch-side bucket as well as introducing revolutionary tactics that are centred around the progression of the ball as well as pressing off it. His players are renowned for their remarkable fitness levels as well as their unique style.
Guardiola has seemingly adopted his methods and combined it with a ruthless will-to-win to create “total football” also referred to as many as “tiki-taka”.
The pair will meet again this weekend in the English Premier League with Guardiola’s Manchester City just 11 points away from securing the league title while Bielsa’s Leeds side sit in 11th, which is very respectable as it is their first season back in the English top flight after many years.
