Midfielder Lucho Gonzalez has revealed he decided to get a tattoo of Leeds United coach Marcelo Bielsa after last year’s infamous decision against Aston Villa.
The Leeds coach famously instructed his team to allow Aston Villa to score when his side were leading in a clash between the two sides in April last year.
Leeds had taken a controversial 1-0 lead in the game through Mateusz Klich, who had scored despite Villa players having stopped while one of their players was down injured.
The goal was given, despite the protestations as the referee had not stopped play, leading to confrontations between both groups of players and the managerial teams on the touchlines.
Rather than playing on, though, Bielsa instructed his team to allow Villa to equalise, with Albert Adomoah being given a free run on goal to level up the scores and the game eventually ending in a draw.
The decision sparked huge debate among fans and pundits alike, but for Gonzalez, it was a moment that needed to be memorialised.
“If you are the captain of my team and you do that, I take off the armband and pass you the number 42,” he told TN.com.
“I am eternally grateful to Marcelo because he was the one who gave me the chance to play for the national team, who taught me many things not only tactically but also about the values of life.
“(Such as) always wanting to compete but without losing the amateur spirit that is often lost.
“After what happened with Leeds United, when he ordered the team to let themselves be levelled because they had scored a goal with a player who had fallen, it was a real demonstration of what he is.
“It goes way beyond football. He could have gone up with those three points, but the match ended 1-1, they couldn’t win, and it was a whole year lost because they didn’t get the promotion.
“But at the same time, he respected the values and rules of football. That’s when I made the decision to do it; I found a cartoon picture and I did it.”
