Former Tottenham star and current Sky Sports pundit Ryan Mason has compared Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa to the likes of Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp and Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino for the change he has achieved at the club.
The Elland Road outfit finished 13th in the Championship last season but have turned that around during the current campaign to be pushing for promotion back to the Premier League through the automatic places.
Raving over Bielsa, Mason insisted that the difference under the Argentine was “incredible” and that it was comparable to what had been done at Anfield and in north London.
Asked what makes a manager world class, he told Sky Sports’ The Debate (05/03, 22:00): “Every circumstance is different. You think of Klopp, Pochettino – these guys have gone into the club and completely transferred the whole football club. They’re in that bracket for totally different reasons.
“(Is Bielsa up there?) Yes, of course, it’s incredible, he’s in the Championship with Leeds but from the outside looking at it the change in that football club is incredible.”
Opinion
Huge praise coming from Mason but it is difficult to argue against what he is saying. The manner in which Bielsa has completely transformed the way Leeds play, which has led to a huge upturn in their results, is remarkable and demonstrates why he is as revered as a manager as he is. It was a huge coup to get him to commit to a side in England’s second tier and something of a gamble from Andrea Radrizzani but it has paid off handsomely – so far. The Leeds faithful will not want to think about what will happen to their club if they do not manage to secure their place among the top 20 clubs in England next season. Bielsa will likely leave, as will some of their top players, and all the hard work this season will have been for nothing. It is now or never – and perhaps Bielsa will be able to test himself alongside Klopp and Pochettino after the summer.