When Javier Torrente took over as manager at Beerschot in September, the Belgian club made a big deal of his past with Marcelo Bielsa.
In their official announcement, the Belgian club mentioned the Leeds United manager three times in their first two paragraphs. The connection between the two men is strong, with them working together at Atlas, América, Vélez Sarsfield and with the Argentina national side.
During a December interview with the Belgian media, Bielsa was again a big topic, with Torrente saying: “I wouldn’t be at Beerschot today without Marcelo. Not only because I got to know Jan and Pieter through him, but also because thanks to him I am the trainer that I am.
“But just to be clear: I cannot be a copy of Marcelo. That would be a lack of respect towards him, but also towards myself. I have to let my teams play according to my own philosophy. But of course, there are many things that I learned from Marcelo.”
Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well for Torrente at Beerschot, and he’s just been fired, after a very short time in the job. HLN explain the dismissal wasn’t a surprise, after a run of poor results and some confusion over the Argentine’s approach to the game.
It’s not the first time Torrente has had a hard time in the senior role, and his days with Bielsa remain the biggest tick on his football CV.
That’s why the connection is always brought up.
Should the Leeds United manager want some help for the rest of the season, then the opportunity is clearly there.
