The prospective Leeds United manager boasts a diverse list of contacts, which include a man recently added to the board at Sheffield United.
Marcelo Bielsa remains the heavy favourite to become the next manager of Leeds United, who hope to announce Paul Heckingbottom’s successor this week. But which of his trusted staff could follow him to Elland Road – and could a Sheffield United director be among them?
HITC Sport sifts through some of his most recent colleagues…
Diego Reyes
The Chilean was one of three assistants to Bielsa at Lille, where he is reported to have led training sessions as his boss looked on. The pair also worked together for Chile, Marseille and Athletic Bilbao.
Pablo Quiroga
Another of Bielsa’s number two trio at Lille, the Argentine was also responsible for physical training and video analysis at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. He too followed the prospective Leeds boss from Chile to Marseille, via Bilbao.
Diego Flores
Assistant and technical coach to Bielsa at Lille and Marseille, Flores is also said to have studied in Ireland, and his – albeit assumed – English skills could come in handy in Leeds.
Gabriel Macaya
Responsible for physical preparation under Bielsa at Lille, Macaya’s association with the 62-year-old stretches back more than two decades to their time at Velez Sarsfield. The Spanish-Argentine has also had spells at Valencia, Mexico’s Necaxa and the Paraguayan national team.
Jan van Winckel
Bielsa’s conditioning/physical coach at Marseille, the Belgian’s career has taken an alternative route since then. Now the technical director of Saudi Arabia’s Football Federation – which is reported to have offered its manager’s position to Bielsa – Van Winckel is also on the board at Sheffield United. However, he is already reported to have turned down a move to Leeds. Sheffield United’s co-owner, Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdul Aziz, is a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family.
Javier Torrente
Torrente is another whose links to Bielsa go way back. The pair were worked together at Atlas, Velez, Espanyol, Argentina and Marseille, where the 48-year-old was employed as defensive coach. He also had a brief spell as manager of Mexico’s Leon, which ended in 2017.
Diego Torrente
Brother of Javier, video analyst Torrente was also part of Bielsa’s Argentina and Marseille set ups.
Stephane Cassard
The goalkeeper coach arrived at Marseille at the same time as Bielsa and remains there three years after the Argentine’s departure.
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