According to the latest reports from Football Italia as cited by Birmingham Live, Marcelo Bielsa is on AS Roma’s shortlist of prospective managers after the Italian heavyweights sacked Eusebio Di Francesco recently. Claudio Ranieri is acting as the caretaker manager until the end of the season, and the job would be up for grabs in the summer.
Apart from Bielsa, Gian Piero Gasperini, Marco Giampaolo and Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri are in the running for the top job. The Argentine gaffer has won applauds for the job he has done at Elland Road, and he has brought Leeds United on the cusp of promotion to the Premier League.
The report though does add that, Bielsa would be in demand only if the Whites don’t move to the Premier League. Reportedly (Daily Star), Bielsa is said to be on a salary of £3m/year and a failure to move to the Premier League might mean that the United board might not be able to afford their manager’s wages for another year.
It is no surprise that the 63-year-old is back into the limelight of world football after going through an underwhelming spell at Lille and Lazio. The manager is dubbed as El Loco which translates to ‘the crazy one’ and Leed United fans and players have got enough dose of his peculiar ways this season.
His madness includes handling of spy gate scandal or asking the players to pick up litter or creating a room just around the training area so that he can sleep and study video footage for hours with his staff. The man has an uncanny way of working and all that is left now for him is to deliver the promised land that is Premier League promotion.
The likes of Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino have proclaimed how Bielsa has influenced them. There seems to be a certain form of madness in what Bielsa does but it is clear that there is a method behind that madness and every move is well thought of beforehand.
Without diving into the transfer window much, and with players who even the most optimistic of Leeds fans had counted out, Bielsa has managed to turn the table. Without promotion, Leeds would lose him, and a move to an Italian heavyweight club like AS Roma could be tough to ignore.
Nevertheless, the Whites are just one point behind the second-placed Sheffield United, and things can turn quickly in the Championship. United fans, team and the manager himself would be backing themselves to move to the Premier League so in that case there shouldn’t be much of a worry. But the fact that last season’s Champions League semi-finalist is targeting him showcases the impressive work which he has done at Elland Road.
