Leeds United chief Victor Orta has labelled Marcelo Bielsa as the club’s ‘greatest coach of the modern era’ and put him on par with legendary Don Revie.
The Leeds sporting director has beeb a part of the Olé Sports Summit this week, during which he sat down for an extensive talk with the newspaper.
That saw him discussing a whole range of matters, from the data structure at Elland Road to the World Cup and the effects it might have on players.
Like most interviews about Leeds, the subject of Marcelo Bielsa was not avoided, with the Argentine coach now intrinsically linked to the club.
He left Elland Road earlier this year after a spell which had seen him establish himself as something of a legend, guiding them back to the Premier League following a 16-year absence.
This was achieved with an attractive, attacking brand of football that endeared him to fans and pundits alike.
Indeed, with his replacement Jesse Marsch now struggling there have been very vocal calls from the Leeds fanbase for Bielsa to return.
That’s something Orta is sure to be aware of and he admits Bielsa does have a god like status at the club.
“(He left) an eternal legacy. I can’t add more. The greatest coach of the modern era, on a par with Don Revie, of the bygone era,” he told the newspaper.
“He changed the history in every corner of the club: youth, the youth academy, the first team. We can only be grateful for all his work.
“I took a gamble, because I believed in the way he understood his football and the way he could impact the whole club. I was right and I was able to convince the board of directors to hire him.
“From then on, we can only be grateful: the president himself is going to name the Ciudad Deportiva after him. From then on, every tribute will become small.
“It’s difficult to detail (what he left behind). It’s more of an overall concept. We had a club model that was down here, he was up there and what he did was to bring us completely to his level.
“So, to put us at the level of the world elite, which is the Premiership. What else to add to that, when you drag a club up?”
