OPINION
It should come as no surprise that there are plenty of unique anecdotes when it comes to Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa – but Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy might well have topped the lot.
The Argentine boss is widely revered as one of the most influential coaches in world football, the likes of Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino considering themselves as just two of his numerous disciples and his experience appears to be paying off at Elland Road.
He also brings plenty of eccentricity to the dugout, from his choice of seating – plumping for a bucket in his technical area – to his long winded press conferences, which can see him talk for nearly as long as the actual football match.
However, there also appears to a be a brutal side to the summer arrival, with Mendy revealing a shocking story about what happens to those who fail to follow his orders.
Speaking to French television station Canal+, as quoted by Le Figaro, he said: “Concerning his staff, if he says that you have to place a cone at 10 meters and you place it at 11 meters, maybe because of that you will not be selected in the group to go on the move with team.
“His staff had to work well the week to be in the group. The first game of the season we did was a friendly and we left with a doctor. He did not even speak our language and there was no assistant coach. (The other deputies) had not done a pretty good job.”
Fair enough a manager choosing to leave players out of his squad if they are not performing, but to exclude his own backroom staff – who are supposed to be his closest allies in the dressing room – shows a brutal nature that very few others in the game possess.
While fans might chuckle at the thought of Bielsa and his doctor on the touchline, players and staff currently at Elland Road might well be quaking in their boots knowing he has it in him to swing the axe like that.
Everyone seems to be performing to standards so far but those expectations have to be maintained, for no one is safe under the Argentine.