Italian goalkeeper Elia Caprile has admitted he jumped at the chance to join Leeds United earlier in his career, even if his move to Elland Road didn’t work out.
The goalkeeper has been peaking to Sport Week, relayed by Mondo Napoli and La Lazio Siamo Noi, about his time at Leeds and working under Marcelo Bielsa.
Caprile started his career at Chievo, working his way up to the U19s before eventually moving to Leeds in January 2020.
He would only last a year at Elland Road, never making a first-team appearance but featuring 19 times for the U21’s before heading to Pro Patria on loan.
He was eventually sold to Bari in July 2022 for €1.75m and has been enjoying a steady rise since then, impressing for a year before joining Napoli, who have loaned him out Empoli for this season.
He’s on the up for now but things once seemed less certain, and he admits that led to him jumping at the chance to join Leeds United.
“Leeds? At Chievo I was never given a professional contract,” he said.
“I didn’t expect the moon, just enough to support myself. Some important clubs had also looked for me, from which Chievo had asked for large sums. At that point, with my agents I jumped at the possibility of moving to Leeds.”
While Caprile may have never made it to the first team, that doesn’t’ mean he missed out on the chance to enjoy life under Marcelo Bielsa.
The Argentine coach was in charge at Elland Road when the goalkeeper arrived at the club, with them having secured promotion back to the Premier League that year.
Bielsa remains an icon at the club after his four years in charge, that saw him completely revolutionise the club, get the fanbase back on board and take them to the top flight for the first time in 16 years with an exciting, goal laden style of attacking football.
He’s well known for his intense style and the effort he demands from his players, something Caprile, who wasn’t in the first team, also experienced.
“I happened to start training at half past ten in the morning and eat at three in the afternoon because he doesn’t let you off the field until the technical drills are performed to perfection. The result is that, in the match, the team played with disarming fluency, by heart,” he added.
