OPINION
When Marcelo Bielsa arrived at Leeds United last summer no one with a decent knowledge of football could believe their eyes.
The Argentine is revered as one of the best managers in the game, reinventing what football management was all about and counting the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola – both battling it out at the top of the Premier League with Tottenham and Manchester City respectively – among his disciples.
For Elland Road chief Andrea Radrizzani to have got the veteran on board was a massive coup and the difference it has made in Yorkshire has been unbelievable, turning a side who finished 13th in the Championship into a team who have been challenging for promotion since the first day of the season.
However, with the Whites now facing the prospect of the playoffs, rather than automatic promotion back to the Premier League, after an end of season dip in form, the manager has come under scrutiny.
The Mirror state that he is on a two year, £4million-a-year contract and state that Radrizzani gambled the club’s transfer funds on sealing Bielsa’s capture – a risk they say could blow up in the Italian’s face.
However, the Leeds owner must be laughing at the suggestion this has been a roll of the dice that has not come off.
Yes, his side might not make it to the promised land of the Premier League but this is one season and the value Bielsa has added to the club is massive.
He has turned players who looked bang average last season into title challengers and that in itself must be worth in excess of £8million in transfer fees, were Leeds to sell the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Pontus Jansson and Kemar Roofe tomorrow.
Not only that, he has galvanised the club to come together as one and push in the same direction, uniting a fan base which was fractured and divided last season.
Bielsa has put more than £4million on the club’s value in his year in charge and so even if you were to consider this a risk, it is one which has paid off so far.