Adrian Durham listed his top five coaches in the history of sport and claimed Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa was fourth in his list.
The broadcaster shared that some will question that he rated the Leeds boss so highly but pointed out that his list wasn’t based on trophies, it focused on who the best coaches were.
Durham heaped praise on Bielsa and rhetorically asked what’s not to love about the manager as his approach to coaching was absolutely amazing.
“My number four is Marcelo Bielsa, the Leeds United manager, I know you’re shaking your heads but thankfully this isn’t just about winning trophies,” said Durham on talkSPORT (17:41, Tuesday March 19th).
“It’s about top coaches which means we don’t judge solely on the silverware and what I love about him is, I was thinking about this before he got to Leeds, is that he is all consuming.
“It’s a holistic approach he has to coaching and he devotes his life to his work which wouldn’t work for everybody but it does for him, I think it absolutely amazing.
“It’s not like he has to go to the very best and work with the very best, like we could say what would Guardiola or Mourinho do with Rochdale, Marcelo Bielsa tests himself at different levels and I love that about him.
“His teams play a style which has to be admired and his players love him as well, so what’s not to love?”
OPINION
Wow. Durham is definitely in awe of Bielsa and he didn’t hold back when gushing about the Leeds boss. The broadcaster pointed out the fact that he was impressed with the boss before his arrival at Elland Road and continued to be impressed. Durham said what he particularly loved was how Bielsa always searched out a challenge when picking who to manage and didn’t necessarily insist on working with the best players. While Leeds fans will love the senior figure getting so much praise, you have to wonder how long he’ll stay at Elland Road. This is because Durham points out that Bielsa enjoys challenging himself at different levels and that implies he is not a manager who’d be happy staying at a job for the long haul. However given that Leeds will continue to be challenge if they get promoted or even if they stay in the Championship, then perhaps this is a moot point. Yet what is clear is that Durham rates the Leeds boss very highly and the Championship club are lucky to have him.