Marcelo Bielsa facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Marcelo Bielsa

Bielsa in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera
Date of birth	(1955-07-21) 21 July 1955 (age 70)
Place of birth	Rosario, Argentina
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Uruguay (manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1975–1977	Newell's Old Boys	25	(0)
1978–1979	Instituto	40	(0)
1979–1980	Argentino de Rosario	48	(0)
Total		113	(0)
International career
1976	Argentina U23	4	(0)
Managerial career
1987–1990	Newell's Old Boys II
1990–1992	Newell's Old Boys
1993–1995	Atlas
1995–1996	América
1997–1998	Vélez Sarsfield
1998	Espanyol
1998–2004	Argentina
2004	Argentina U23
2007–2011	Chile
2011–2013	Athletic Bilbao
2014–2015	Marseille
2016	Lazio
2017	Lille
2018–2022	Leeds United
2023–	Uruguay
Medal record Men's football Representing  Argentina (as manager) Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens Team Copa América Runner-up 2004 Peru Team Representing  Uruguay (as manager) Copa América Third 2024 United States Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager. He is currently the manager of the Uruguay national team. People often call him El Loco Bielsa, which means 'The Madman Bielsa'. He is known as one of the most important coaches in football history.

Bielsa played as a defender for teams like Newell's Old Boys. He was also part of the Argentina U23 team in 1976. He stopped playing football at 25 to focus on becoming a coach.

He has managed many football clubs and national teams, including Argentina and Chile. He became famous as a coach at Newell's Old Boys, winning titles in the early 1990s. He also coached in Mexico and led Vélez Sarsfield to a league title in Argentina in 1998.

Bielsa spent two years in Spain with Athletic Bilbao from 2011 to 2013. He led them to two big cup finals in his first year, but they lost both. In 2014, he became the coach of Marseille in France. He started well but left after just over a year. Fans still remember him for his exciting attacking style.

In 2018, Bielsa took over Leeds United when they were in the EFL Championship. He led them to win the league in 2020, bringing them back to the Premier League after 16 years. Leeds United is the club where he coached the most games. He is a very popular figure among Leeds fans. Since 2023, he has been the manager of Uruguay.

Managerial Career Highlights

Marcelo Bielsa started his coaching journey in 1980. His first job was coaching youth teams at Newell's Old Boys.

Early Club Success

In 1990, Bielsa became the manager of Newell's Old Boys' main team. He won the 1990 Torneo Apertura and the 1990–91 Torneo Integración. His team also reached the final of the 1992 Copa Libertadores, a major South American club competition. They lost on penalties. Weeks later, Newell's won another league title, the 1992 Torneo Clausura. After coaching in Mexico, he returned to Argentina. He won another league title, the 1998 Clausura, with Vélez Sarsfield.

Leading Argentina's National Team

In 1998, Bielsa became the manager of the Argentina national team. At the 1999 Copa América, Argentina lost to Colombia. In that game, Argentina's forward Martin Palermo missed three penalties. Bielsa was even sent off from the game. After the match, he honestly said that the referee was right to send him off.

Argentina easily qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. However, they did not make it past the first round in the tournament. Despite this, Bielsa stayed on as manager. His team finished second in the 2004 Copa América. More importantly, they won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games. This was a huge achievement. It was the first time a Latin American team won the Olympic football title since 1928. It was also Argentina's first Olympic gold medal in 52 years. Bielsa left the role at the end of 2004.

Coaching Chile's National Team

Bielsa at a press conference in 2009, Santiago, Chile

Under Bielsa, the Chile national team had many memorable moments. For the first time, Chile earned a point playing against Uruguay in Montevideo. They also had some tough losses. However, on 15 October 2008, Bielsa led Chile to a 1–0 win over his home country, Argentina. This was Chile's first win ever against Argentina in an official match.

Chile continued to perform well in the qualifiers for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. They won against Peru in Lima, a place where they had not won since 1985. They also won away against Paraguay for the first time in almost 30 years. Chile finally qualified for the 2010 World Cup after beating Colombia 4–2. This was also Chile's first away win against Colombia.

Bielsa became very popular in Chile for helping them qualify for a World Cup after missing two tournaments. He brought in young players and made the team play more offensively. Many Chilean fans wanted him to stay as coach. Chile reached the round of 16 at the World Cup but lost to Brazil. Bielsa later resigned in February 2011.

Time at Athletic Bilbao

Bielsa as Athletic Bilbao manager in 2012

On 8 July 2011, Marcelo Bielsa became the manager of Athletic Bilbao in Spain. He led his team to a strong run of form in the autumn. They won against teams like Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla. They also drew with top teams like Valencia and Barcelona.

Athletic Bilbao finished first in their UEFA Europa League group. They then beat Lokomotiv Moscow. In the next round, they faced Manchester United. Athletic won 3–2 at Old Trafford and then 2–1 at home, knocking Manchester United out of the tournament. They continued their impressive run, reaching the semi-finals.

Athletic Bilbao made it to an all-Spanish Europa League final against Atlético Madrid. However, they lost the final 3–0. On 25 May 2012, Athletic also lost the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona, again by 3–0. The next season, 2012–13, was not as successful for Athletic. Key players left the club, and the team finished 12th in the league. Bielsa's contract was not renewed, and he left the club in June 2013.

Coaching Marseille and Lazio

In May 2014, Bielsa was hired as the coach of Marseille in France. He became the club's first Argentine coach. He led them to be "autumn champions" in the 2014–15 Ligue 1 season. However, they finished fourth in the league. On 8 August 2015, Bielsa resigned after Marseille's first match of the new season. He said there were conflicts with the club's management.

On 5 July 2016, Bielsa was appointed manager of Italian club Lazio. But just two days later, on 8 July, he quit. Bielsa explained that the club could not sign the players he wanted by the deadline he had set.

Managing Lille OSC

On 24 May 2017, Bielsa became the new manager of Lille in France. He wanted to build a younger team. Before the season, he told 11 experienced players that they could leave the club. He then signed many promising young players.

On 22 November 2017, Bielsa was suspended as coach after only 13 games. Lille announced his contract was terminated on 15 December 2017.

Success at Leeds United

2018–19 Season

In June 2018, Bielsa became the head coach of Leeds United, a club in the EFL Championship. He became the highest-paid manager in Leeds United history. Bielsa won his first three games, a feat not achieved by a Leeds manager since 1974. He led Leeds to be unbeaten in their first six league games and topped the league. He was named Championship Manager of the Month for August 2018.

Leeds faced many injuries to players during the season. However, Bielsa was praised for bringing in young players from the club's academy. He gave 10 players under 21 their first senior games. By December 2018, Leeds was still at the top of the Championship.

In January 2019, before a game against Derby County, Bielsa admitted he had sent someone to watch Derby's training. This caused a lot of discussion, called 'Spygate'. The English Football League (EFL) investigated and fined Leeds £200,000. Bielsa later said he paid the fine himself.

On 28 April 2019, Bielsa made a very fair decision in a game against Aston Villa. After Leeds scored a goal while a Villa player was injured on the ground, Bielsa told his team to let Aston Villa score an unchallenged goal to make it fair. This act of sportsmanship was recognized globally. Bielsa and Leeds United received the 2019 FIFA Fair Play Award for this action.

Leeds finished third in the league and entered the playoffs. They lost to Derby County in the semi-finals. Bielsa said that one reason Leeds did not get promoted was that they missed too many chances to score goals.

2019–20: Promotion to the Premier League

Banner in honour of Bielsa in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, following Leeds United's promotion to the Premier League

On 28 May 2019, Bielsa agreed to stay as Leeds head coach for the 2019–20 season. Leeds signed several new players to help them get back to the Premier League. Bielsa's Leeds team remained at the top of the Championship after seven games. He won the EFL Championship Manager of the Month for November.

Leeds ended 2019 at the top of the Championship after a dramatic 5–4 win against Birmingham City. The season was paused in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When it restarted in June, Bielsa's Leeds United secured promotion to the Premier League on 17 July 2020. They also became the EFL Championship Champions for the 2019–20 season, finishing 10 points clear.

After this big achievement, a street in Leeds city centre was renamed 'Marcelo Bielsa Way'. On 27 July 2020, Bielsa was named the LMA Championship Manager of the Year. He signed a new contract to stay at Leeds for the 2020–21 Premier League season.

2020–21 Premier League Season

On 12 September 2020, Bielsa's first game as a Premier League coach was a 4–3 defeat against Liverpool. The first Premier League game at Elland Road in 16 years saw Leeds win 4–3 against Fulham. These games showed that Leeds would score many goals but also concede many.

Bielsa and his team received praise for their exciting style of play. He was even ranked 3rd in The Best FIFA Football Coach award on 17 December. Leeds had some big wins, like 5–2 against Newcastle United and 5–0 away at West Brom. They also had a big loss, 6–2 against Manchester United.

Leeds finished the season strongly, losing only one of their last 11 games. They got impressive results against top teams, including draws against Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool. They also beat Tottenham and champions-elect Manchester City. Leeds United finished ninth in the Premier League. They scored more points and goals than any other promoted team in 20 years.

2021–22 Season

On 27 February 2022, Leeds and Bielsa decided to part ways. This happened after Leeds had a tough run of four straight losses, conceding 17 goals. The team was in 16th place in the league at that time.

Uruguay National Team

On 15 May 2023, the Uruguay national team announced Bielsa as their new manager. He became only the second foreign coach for the team. After Uruguay's performance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Bielsa decided to bring in many new, young players. He left out some veteran players like Edinson Cavani and Luis Suárez for friendly matches.

On 14 June, Bielsa started his time as Uruguay's coach with a 4–1 victory over Nicaragua. Six days later, they won 2–0 against Cuba. On 8 September, Uruguay won 3–1 against Chile in their first 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

On 17 October, Uruguay achieved a historic 2–0 victory against Brazil. This win ended Brazil's 22-year unbeaten streak against Uruguay in official matches. It was also Brazil's first loss in qualifiers since 2015. On 16 November, with Luis Suárez back in the squad, Bielsa's team got another historic win. They beat world champions Argentina 2–0. This ended Argentina's 10-year unbeaten streak against Uruguay. It was also Argentina's first loss as world champions. This was Uruguay's first-ever away victory against Argentina in qualifiers. They ended 2023 with a 3–0 home win against Bolivia.

Coaching Style and Influence

Marcelo Bielsa is known as one of the most influential coaches ever. He brought new ideas to Argentine coaching. Pep Guardiola, a famous coach, called Bielsa the best coach in the world in 2017. Many of Bielsa's former players later became coaches themselves, like Mauricio Pochettino and Diego Simeone.

Bielsa often uses a special formation called the 3–3–3–1. He became known for this while coaching Argentina, Chile, and Marseille. In this formation, there are three defenders, three midfielders, three attacking midfielders, and one forward. This style allows teams to quickly switch from defending to attacking. It also helps them have more players in different parts of the field. To play this way, all players must work together and press hard to win the ball back.

Bielsa also used an attacking 4–3–3 formation at Athletic Bilbao. He is known for his detailed preparation. He watches and collects many football videos. He analyzes each video for individual players. He also uses special software and technology to get ready for games.

Many players have praised Bielsa. Gabriel Batistuta, a famous striker, said Bielsa taught him everything. Fernando Llorente said Bielsa is a "genius." Alexis Sánchez said he learned a lot from Bielsa and became the player he is because of him. Javi Martínez said Bielsa taught him a lot about playing as a defender. Bielsa is also credited with helping Kalvin Phillips become a top player for Leeds United and England.

Bielsa's unique style continued at Leeds. He once made players pick up litter around the training ground for three hours. He did this because he was told that was how long an average Leeds fan worked to afford a ticket. This was a way to motivate them. Some people say that Bielsa's demanding style can make his teams tired later in the season.

In August 2019, Bielsa was a main part of the Leeds United documentary Take Us Home. He appeared in several episodes. In the documentary, he shared his thoughts on winning. He said that he is interested not only in winning but also in how his team builds towards victory.

Managerial Statistics

Honours and Awards

As a Player

Individual

• CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament Ideal Team: 1976

As a Manager

Newell's Old Boys

• Primera División Argentina: 1990–91, 1992 Clausura
• Copa Libertadores runner-up: 1992

Vélez Sarsfield

• Primera División Argentina: 1998 Clausura

Argentina National Team

• Summer Olympics Gold Medal: 2004
• CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament: 2004
• Copa América runner-up: 2004

Athletic Bilbao

• Copa del Rey runner-up: 2011–12
• UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2011–12

Leeds United

• EFL Championship: 2019–20

Uruguay

• Copa América third place: 2024

Individual Awards

• IFFHS World's Best National Coach: 2001; runner-up: 2004
• South American Coach of the Year: 2009
• LMA Championship Manager of the Year: 2020
• EFL Championship Manager of the Month: August 2018, November 2019, July 2020
• FIFA Fair Play Award: 2019 (shared with his club Leeds United)
• The Best FIFA Football Coach: 2020 (3rd place)

See also

In Spanish: Marcelo Bielsa para niños