Marcelo Bielsa: Five points ahead of Everton | OneFootball

Quotes from Bielsa’s press conference.

Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa has held his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Everton at Goodison Park.

Here we look at five points made by the Leeds United head coach ahead of the upcoming fixture.

On Diego Maradona…

“He was for us and will continue to be an idol. And given the fact he’s not here with us anymore brings us great sadness. We have lost an idol and that makes us feel weak.  Everything he did as a footballer was of beauty which cannot be matched.”

On comparing players from different generations...

“If you were to compare, it is very difficult to come to a conclusion as you have to compare so many factors. It all comes down to the feeling each player has left on you at that time. Maybe he was part of your time and left you a certain feeling that you carry with you.”

On Mateusz Klich…

“Klich for me is a player that can play in all the best teams in the world, for me. He is at Leeds by chance. It doesn’t have to do with the fact I decided he continued at Leeds. As they say in the first pre-season, I asked him if he would consider playing as a centre-back. But, it so happened that in the pre-season game before the start of the season against Las Palmas the candidates for the player to play in the number eight role started falling away. I’m referring to Adam Forshaw and Ronaldo Viera and their absences allowed him to play and show his abilities, and he has never been out the team since. In all case all the praise should go to him and Victor Orta, who was the person that brought him here.”

On being nominated for Best FIFA Men’s Coach…

“To be nominated is always a distinction, I appreciate it but every time a manager is singled out the players are involved in this singling out. The coach is always an appendix of the players and also the technical staff because the construction of a football team is not solely the responsibility of the one in charge. This nomination is also for the technical staff and for club like Leeds it is also recognised as a result of this. It’s a nomination that can also be considered as excessive but any labour that generates a repercussion can have its praise or criticisms. I appreciate all the recognition and I accept all the criticism.”

On Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti…

I have respect and admiration for Ancelotti. First of all, he’s been wanted by all the best teams in the world. He has been chosen by some of the most powerful institutions in football which shows how good he is. The second thing is that he has triumphed everywhere he has been and the third thing is that he is a manager who is well respected by the players as well as his other colleagues. The last thing is that he’s never been criticised on his way of playing, it’s always an unselfish one and it is always valuable. To have all of this in one manager is not very frequent.”