San Francisco 49ers chief Paraag Marathe has hailed Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa as “very impressive” as he delivered the lowdown on the franchise’s stake in the Championship club.
49ers Enterprises, the investment arm of the American Football club, invested an eight-figure fee in United earlier this year and secured a 10 per cent share of the club.
49ers Enterprises president Marathe told Leeds Live his organisation was involved in the discussions with owner Andrea Radrizzani preceding Bielsa’s appointment and is convinced it will pay off in the long as well as short term.
“Andrea talked to us about it,” said Marathe. “This is his club and we’re here to support him and help him. He certainly didn’t need our approval. I remember I gave Andrea a document I had put together two years ago when we were rebooting our culture, when we were trying to turn around the 49ers.
“[I] looked at the common trends and the first, most important ingredient to changing a team’s fortunes is rebooting the culture, resetting the culture. You need to reset the culture and that means everybody, every single individual is responsible for that.
“It’s set, most of the time, by the head coach, not set by your owner because your head coach is responsible for the pitch or the field or the ice or the floor or the court.
“Yesterday was the first time I met [Bielsa] and so, other than that, it’s been watching press conferences, but yes very impressive. I will say this, even talking to a few of the players, just seeing their enthusiasm and excitement.”
OPINION
As a 10 per cent stakeholder in Leeds, the 49ers became an overnight key player in the club’s drive for strength and growth over the coming years. Radrizzani is said to have provided the connections for the partnership between the US giant and one of English football’s most historic clubs. There was little evidence this summer that the 49ers investment had made Leeds more ambitious in terms of player recruitment. They spent an initial £7million on Patrick Bamford, and £3million on Barry Douglas, but the other four signings were loans, and 24 players left Elland Road, 17 of them on loan, including the headline £7million Ronaldo Vieira exit. It is early days in the collaboration, but it appears from a distance that the 49ers are helping to pave the ground for Leeds to open up the American market, amid speculation of matches being played overseas in the future as well as changes to broadcasting deals.