Due to the unique nature of Marcelo Bielsa’s training routines, many of Mateusz Klich’s Polish teammates are excited to hear about the midfielder’s experiences with him.
Klich has been called up for Poland’s European Qualifier matches against Israel and Slovenia, where he will play alongside high profile players such as Robert Lewandowski and Grzegorz Krychowiak.
According to LeedsLive, the 29-year-old has opened up about life under Marcelo Bielsa and how his Polish teammates are amazed at his experiences: “When I explain how we train, and what we do, how it looks, they can’t believe.”
The midfielder also explained how not just his teammates, but also various press, want to know more about the Leeds manager: “Obviously Marcelo is different from other managers, and no one trains like us, and no one has less days off than we have. Of course he’s a very interesting coach, Marcelo, and everyone asks about him.”
Klich sounded a little frustrated when talking about this experience after being called up to the national side: “I went for the first national team after a long break, and every journalist wanted to ask about him. I was tired because it was not about me or Leeds, just about him, with many people reading his books, but he’s a very big name in football, so I’m not surprised.”
When speaking about the day-to-day training regime, the Polish midfielder said: “It’s very strict and even if I go on international, I weigh every day just to be sure to make sure I come back with the same weight.”
“That’s the way that he wants us to be, to play his football you need to be very fit, you need to run a lot, and you can’t do that with additional kilos.”
TIF Tactics – How has Mateusz Klich performed under Marcelo Bielsa this season?
The fitness training seems to be paying off, with Klich already playing 27 matches in total this season. The 29-year-old is an extremely active member of the midfield, making on average 43.2 passes per Championship match, which takes his total to 691 this season.
When it comes to shooting, the midfielder is heavily reliant on his right foot with 75% of his shots being taken with it, despite using his favoured foot most of the time, only 24% of his shots have hit the target so far this season. Amazingly, he’s only been dribbled past 10 times this Championship campaign.
Verdict
It’s clear to see that Klich is now a key part of the Leeds setup and his form so far this season is yet to alarmingly drop. Marcelo Bielsa’s training drills and the man himself is somebody everyone wants to know more about, so it’s hardly surprising that on many occasions during international duty the players will be asked about him.
He will be wanting to keep up his form and his fitness during the matches with Poland in the European Qualifiers, which we are certain he will.