OPINION
It is safe to say Victor Orta is not held in especially high esteem by a significant section of the Leeds United fanbase.
The director of football has acted as lightning rod for supporter frustration and disappointment since Andrea Radrizzani appointed him within days of taking full control of the club in May of last year.
Some poor signings, an emphasis on youth player recruitment at the expense of the senior side and a series of managerial firings had left Orta’s reputation at a low point.
But, with one sentence aired in a new interview, Radrizzani will have instantly rejuvenated the Spanish recruitment chief in the eyes of the Elland Road faithful as he explained how the club came to appoint Marcelo Bielsa this summer.
“Everything started out almost randomly, I was in the car with Orta, and talking about the possible coaches, he told me, ‘Bielsa would be the best, unfortunately it’s impossible’. Words that charged me,” Radrizzani explained to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
Following a telephone conversation, a trans-atlantic trip to Argentina and some extensive negotiations, Bielsa was appointed as the fourth Leeds manager of the Italian tycoon’s ownership and handed a deal worth £2.8million-a-year.
To say Bielsa has made a huge impact would be something of an understatement.
Leeds are top of the Championship heading into Tuesday night’s trip to Swansea City and have convincingly won all four of the new manager’s matches to date with a brand of front-foot football that has blown opponents away.
Naturally, the praise will go to Bielsa and the players he has transformed in a matter of weeks.
But Orta – as well as paymaster Radrizzani – deserves some of the credit, too.
The director of football had the foresight and knowledge to understand how Bielsa could make a massive difference, at a time when his reputation had suffered following a few jobs that didn’t work out.
Well done, Victor.