FC Sochi midfielder Gianelli Imbula has given his first interview since joining his new club to Russian website Sport24.
The 27 year old recently joined the Russian side on a free transfer after terminating his contract with Stoke City.
He was asked about what he thinks of Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa, a manager he worked with at Marseille, and Imbula wasn’t short of praise his former coach:
“I just can’t call him Bielsa, he’s Don Bielsa to me. There aren’t many other people in football like him. He just burns with football. His whole life is all about football. He is a very direct person and he is non-standard.
The pair worked together at Marseille and after his performances for the Ligue 1 club he was sold to Porto for €20m.
Bielsa has had a similar impact with his players since arriving at Elland Road in 2018. The Argentine has largely got the best out of his Leeds United squad and the club now look in a good position to get promotion back to the Premier League.
Leeds United’s victory over Huddersfield Town at the weekend resulted in Bielsa’s side leapfrogging West Bromwich Albion at the top of the table. They now have a seven point gap from third place Fulham in the race for the two automatic promotion spots.
