Victor Orta struck gold at Leeds United in 2018, supporters will surely agree: View
It appeared like a huge coup to name Marcelo Bielsa as Leeds United’s manager in 2018, and that’s exactly what happened. Leeds United made a major declaration of intent in the summer of 2018 in an attempt to end years of mediocrity in the Championship. One of the best managers in the game, Marcelo Bielsa, was appointed by Sporting Director Victor Orta, an amazing move for a Championship team. Considering how many managers Leeds had gone through in recent years, it was understandable that the appointment marked the beginning of a new era at Elland Road.
The supporters were ecstatic.It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Leeds appeared to have struck gold with Bielsa’s appointment—he has managed clubs such as Lazio, Lille, Athletic Bilbao, and Marseille—and, as we all know, things didn’t go too badly either.
Marcelo Biesla helped transform Leeds United
After going through two managers—Thomas Christiansen led the team until February and Paul Heckingbottom took over in February until the end of the season—Leeds finished 13th in the 2017–18 Championship standings. Leeds were caught in a loop where they would hire new managers for short stints, fire them after they failed to make the playoffs, and prevent them from having the opportunity to develop a project. In June 2018, Orta was named the new manager of the club after making the bold decision to pursue Bielsa during the summer of 2018 when the team was without a manager.
With just four games played, Bielsa became the first Leeds manager to record four straight victories, and the team led the Championship halfway through the season. This was despite the transfer window being relatively quiet. The club finished third and missed out on automatic promotion in the second half of the season, giving Leeds supporters cause for optimism but also some cause for concern. Even so, Leeds was still the favorite to advance from the play-offs; however, they were unable to do so and were forced to play Championship football again after a shocking 4-3 aggregate loss to Derby in the semifinals.
However, they bounced back in style, winning the Championship title in 2020, and less than two years after being a mid-table Championship side, Bielsa had transformed Leeds into a title-winning side.
Following encouraging discussions with Daniel Farke ahead of 2024–2025, Brenden Aaronson will take part in Leeds United’s promotion push. As things progressed, Leeds’ first season in the Premier League saw them dominate, finishing ninth with 59 points—the most points a newly promoted team had collected in their debut since Ipswich Town’s 66 points in 2000–01. Massive expectations were raised in the summer of 2021, and Leeds supporters would have felt empowered to continue and make a run at European football, but it was not to be.They had to part ways with Bielsa because his team was simply too vulnerable at the back and faced relegation in February 2022. Bielsa will always be adored at Elland Road as it marked the end of one of Leeds United’s most enjoyable eras in recent memory.
Sacking Marcelo Bielsa is still a controversial topic for Leeds United fans
Although Biesla’s dismissal was a difficult decision, Leeds had good reason to do so. Leeds was 16th at the time of his dismissal, and they had given up 17 goals in their previous four games. They would have been demoted if they had kept up that winning streak, so something had to change.
| Marcelo Bielsa’s managerial career | |
|---|---|
| Team | Period |
| Newell’s Old Boys II | 1987-90 |
| Newell’s Old Boys | 1990-92 |
| Atlas | 1993-95 |
| Club America | 1995-96 |
| Velez Sarsfield | 1997-98 |
| Espanyol | 1998 |
| Argentina | 1998-2004 |
| Chile | 2007-11 |
| Athletic Bilbao | 2011-13 |
| Marseille | 2014-15 |
| Lazio | 2016 |
| Lille | 2017 |
| Leeds United | 2018-22 |
| Uruguay | 2023- |
After being appointed, Jesse Marsch was not as well-liked at Elland Road as Bielsa was, but he was still able to keep them in the Premier League on the last day of the season when they defeated Brentford. But the next season, he was fired, and Sam Allardyce took his place. At the end of the 2022–2023 campaign, Leeds was demoted to the Championship. Though it’s always nice to look back, there’s a case to be made for Leeds’ relegation the season after Bielsa’s departure. With the Argentinian coach in place, Leeds would have been in a better position to bounce back quickly, something they were unable to accomplish under Daniel Farke.
Conversely, Bielsa is doing well in his role as manager of Uruguay, having been appointed in May 2023. With victories over Brazil, Argentina, and most recently, Mexico (4-0), he has contributed to the rebuilding process and developed the next generation of players.
In his 13 games as Uruguay’s manager, Marcelo Bielsa has won 7, drawn 4, and lost 2, with victories of 2-0 over Argentina and Brazil during this run. They swept Mexico 4-0 last night. Take a look at the fourth goal; Bielsa would have approved of it. tweet.com/JKLUW7mL91 — HLTCO, June 6, 2024 (@HLTCO) Leeds supporters won’t be shocked by this, and regardless of how his time at the team ended, Bielsa will always have happy memories of Elland Road.
