While the reaction to Marcelo Bielsa’s departure from Leeds United this week has largely been on the positive side, there was always going to be those ready to stick the knife in when given the opportunity.
Bielsa may be akin to a God at Elland Road, and maintain that status despite his Leeds departure, but it is not a status he shares around the world.
The Argentine is a manager who has always split opinion and, with a career as lengthy and varied as his, built up plenty of detractors down the years.
Those who dislike him are never far away when he does end up out of work, regardless of the excellent job he’s done before his departure.
That has certainly been the case with Leeds, where he took them back to the Premier League after a 16-year absence and instilled a style of bold, attacking football that fans, pundits and even rivals have all admired.
While it may have turned sour this season, that does not take away from what came before unless you are one of those waiting in the wings to stick the knife in.
That was certainly the case on ESPN Chile this week, with El Desconcierto explaining that Fernando Solabarrieta has become a ‘social media trend’ thanks to a heated debate about the former Leeds boss with his fellow panelists.
They explain that during a debate on Bielsa’s career, Solabarrieta ‘sparked the discussion’ by saying that “I have the best opinion of Marcelo Bielsa, but I dispute the deification that surrounds him. Valde (Méndez) telling me ‘he doesn’t take big teams because of loyalty issues…’
“He doesn’t take big teams because they don’t offer them to him, Valde! Let’s tell it like it is, Valde!”
This led to Waldemar Méndez replying, “Fernando, how can you say such nonsense? We’re on a serious channel. A crazy thing,” before Patricio Yáñez also rallied against the departed Leeds hero.
“Bielsa failed everywhere because he didn’t become champion. That’s the goal of football,” he reportedly said, ‘provoking more shouting’ from his fellow panelists.
Back came Solabarrieta, adding to that point, by stating “I value titles and here there are no titles, Chile’s title was with Sampaoli, not Bielsa,” after being questioned again by Méndez.
In other words, it’s all kicking off over Bielsa in South America, particularly his former haunt Chile, where his Leeds departure has sparked the age-old debate about trophies and whether the Argentine can be considered a success because he doesn’t have a pile of them to his name.
Whether Leeds fans will care remains to be seen, but expect more of this, and for that debate to bleed over into England sooner rather than later.
