Championship

Radrizzani invites O’Leary to Leeds

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David O’Leary has told the Times that he has been invited back to Leeds United by owner Andrea Radrizzani.

The Irishman, 59, has not worked in Britain since he left his job at Aston Villa after a 16th place finish in 2006.

O’Leary, whose last managerial job was a brief spell at Al-Ahli in Dubai, took Leeds to four top-five finishes and a Champions League semi-final, but was sacked in the summer of 2002 and replaced by Terry Venables.

The Times report O’Leary as saying that new sole owner Radrizzani has invited him back to Elland Road for lunch and a match.

“I’m looking forward to taking in a few games,” he said. “I came away from Leeds after five years so must have done all right. I did three-and-a-half years at Villa under Doug Ellis and that was a long three-and-a-half years believe you me.”

O’Leary, who holds the appearance record for Arsenal with 772 overall, is based in Yorkshire but is a club ambassador at the Emirates.

OPINION

The jury remains split about O’Leary’s time at Leeds due to the lavish spending of his reign. The team were highly competitive and there were memorable moments, most notably the Champions League semi-final. But there is a feeling that O’Leary did not get maximum value for the £100million spent in just a few years even though his exit heralded a spiral of decline that has led to a decade-and-a-half in the lower league wilderness as an assortment of various blowhards have used the club as a publicity vehicle. Radrizzani has taken logical and popular steps since his arrival and there is the sense that, finally, the club are in safe hands. His invitation to O’Leary is a sign of his willingness to engage with key figures in the club’s past.

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