Craig Bellamy has hailed Leeds United for recruiting the “holy grail” of coaches in Marcelo Bielsa and revealed how he’s been blown away by their early season form.
United have romped to the Championship summit by taking 18 points from eight Championship matches and remaining unbeaten in the league.
Speaking on the Sky Sports debate programme on Wednesday night, former Wales international Bellamy spoke of how Leeds pulled off a masterstroke in landing Bielsa.
“I’ve been very impressed from day one when they beat Stoke in the opening game,” Bellamy told the Debate programme (45:50). “Leeds are such a big club, they need to be in the Premier League. It’s been messy over the years, the managers that have come in, the signings…I’ve seen one or two players for Leeds and thought, ‘they can’t play for Leeds, they’re not Leeds players, this is Leeds United’.
“In the summer they went and got Bielsa. I was shocked. Bielsa is the holy grail and what we believe coaching is. Bielsa is that type of guy who does projects no one else does.”
OPINION
Some great insight from Bellamy, who is maturing into a highly capable pundit capable of proving genuine insight through his knowledge, experiences and understanding of football. The well-travelled former forward, whose glittering playing career ended in 2014, certainly knows his onions and has spoken of his desire to become a manager one day. That might make some laugh, who remember Bellamy’s hair trigger temper during his early years and how successful he was at winding up opponents and rival supporters. But the player was ahead of his time in how he looked after himself off the pitch, even hiring his own personal fitness coach in the latter years of his career to cure his injury troubles and ensure he could play more often. He understands the game and understands a decent team when he sees one, which he recognises in what Bielsa has implemented in such a short period of time. Little wonder he is so in awe of the Argentine.