If there’s a man who knows Marcelo Bielsa, it’s Franck Passi.
The 54-year-old spent a good year working as the current Leeds United manager’s assistant during his time at Marseille, and was also installed as the caretaker at Lille ahead of the Argentine taking over at the start of the 2017-18 season.
He also sometimes acted as a translator for Bielsa during their time in the south of France, and he was asked on Monday night by Téléfoot Chaîne what he thought of El Loco.
The question put to him was who the real Bielsa was, the one who was revered at Marseille or the one hated by all at Lille.
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He replied: “I think it’s a bit of both. Marcelo, what he did at Marseille and what he’s doing at Leeds, it’s very remarkable, but if there was that hiccup at Lille, where I spent time, there has to be some grey areas”.
During his first and eventually only season at Marseille, Bielsa helped the club compete for a title for most of the season before falling off towards the end, but few have forgotten the joy his football brought during those 12 months.
He eventually left after the first game of the second season due to disagreements with the club, which led to his terrible time at Lille.
Now in charge at Leeds, it appears there have been few problems with those in charge there, as the likes of Andrea Radrizzani seem happy to facilitate most of his demands.
The adventure at Elland Road is one of the best he’s had in his career, and as Passi said, it’s been remarkable from the very first day, with plenty in Yorkshire and around the world hoping it continues for a while yet.
