Page 5 - We Are Premier League: LUFC Promotion YEP Special

Saturday,July25,2020 www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk
WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE: LUFC SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
Bielsa keen that
contributions
of all involved
get recognition
PROFILE
Graham Smyth
O graham smyth@jpimedia.co.uk
O ©GrahamSmyth
‘IT’S GOING to be a memory for
the rest of our lives, everything
that happened here was very,
very beautiful. I will never
forget this”
And history will not forget
you, Mareelo Bielsa.
When Leeds United
celebrated their centenary,
with an appropriate amount of
pomp and circumstance, Bielsa
was busy getting on with thejob
ofmaking more history.
After a plaque unveiling
at the clubs birthplace and
a grand civic reception, the
great and the good ofthe
clubs present and past were
wined and dined at a black tie
ball, at. which Bielsa made a
briefappearance in his Leeds
tracksuit.
There were no speeches
from the head coach, he didn’t
once take centre stage and
left the clubs owner Andrea
Badrizzani, chief executive
Angus Kinnearand both
current and former players to
do the talking.
Ahead ofthe game against
Birmingham City, during
which the Whites wore
a special one-offkit and
posed in the style of
Don Revie’s greats
in front of the East
Stand, Bielsa was
asked for some
thoughts on the
history ofthis
grand old club.
“History will
remember those
who promote
the team,” he said,
simply.
That was that, back to
the football, as is often
the way with a man
whose dedication and
focus to each game is
uniform in its intensity.
It’s not that Bielsa
history and traditions - it is
clear the clubs DNA was hugely
attractive to him and has played
a part in making him fall in love
with the city and its club.
It'sjust that Bielsa’s mantra is
‘win the next game’ and when
you do that enough times, you
can write your own history.
Now, he has. And in some
style, too.
His Leeds team won more
points, more games, kept more
clean sheets, created more
chances, attempted more shots
and conceded fewer goals than
any other side.
Their lo-point lead when all
46 games had been completed,
was a deserved margin of
superiority. It might have felt
a little too close to the wire for
Leeds fans, but. in the end it
was comfortable and when all
around them were scrambling
to the very last minute, Leeds
were coasting because Bielsa
left, nothing to chance.
The celebrations on
the Elland Road pitch on
Wednesday
were all
about the
players
and the
backroom
team.
Bielsa's wish is that when this
particular chapter of Leeds
United history is written, it
remembers every contribution
and every contributor.
‘There are people maybe you
don't know, Rob (Price, head of
medicine and performance),
Rishi (Dhand, club doctor),
others who work in the
shadows,” he said.
“Adam (Underwood) from
the academy, Stix (Lockwood,
player liaison), a big man in the
club. I know I am talking a lot,
but there are a lot ofpeople
who made a lot for us in the
shadows ofthe club.
‘The ladies in the kitchen
are wonderful people. In this
isolation period, my wife
couldn't be herewith me, I am
living alone now and this lady,
Vera, once a week used to leave
outside my door, one container
with very tasty soup.
Those things are not linked
with the food itself, but it’s
linked with the emotion and it's
a big contribution.
“I can talk also, in the same
way, about Vera’s colleagues,
people in the nutrition
department, Thorp Arch
security, the cleaners when
they have everything clean in
the isolation period, this was
very important.
“The ground staff, they
are artists, ifyou look at our
grounds.
The same with every person
who works in the club, not just
Thorp Arch, but Elland Road.
“When we go to the
stadium, in the competition
we don’t know what’s going to
happen and the driver ofour
bus, always he had a way of
approaching me with a little
gift, with a sweet.
This little thing made me
feel I wasn’t alone before the
competition.
“We didn't meet them every
day, but we received their
support as we did at Thorp
Arch. I really need to describe
all we get from the club.”
And Leeds will remember
LEADING MAN: Mareelo Bielsa’s name may be the one that is associated most with Leeds United's
promotion but he has always emphasised the important role played by staff at all levels of the club.
01
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