Pulis’s Middlesbrough will host Leeds United at the Riverside in saturday’s crucial Championship clash.
Tony Pulis has paid tribute to Leeds United counterpart Marcelo Bielsa as his Middlesbrough side prepare to host The Whites at the Riverside on Saturday, as reported by Leeds Live.
Bielsa arrived in English football as something of a mythical figure when he was appointed at Elland Road last summer.
The 63-year-old is a man who has never won a title in any of Europe’s major leagues or even coached one of the world’s top sides but he has had a huge influence on the likes of Diego Simeone and Mauricio Pochettino while Pep Guardiola has even described him as the game’s best coach.
And, speaking ahead of Boro’s battle with Leeds on Saturday lunchtime, Pulis has admitted that Bielsa is very different to any coach he has come across before.
“I think they’ve been fantastic,” said Pulis, who admitted to going for a beer with the former Argentina boss after August’s goalless draw in the reverse fixture.
“I think they’ve been a breath of fresh air, the way they’ve played, the way he goes about things is very, very interesting. It’s been very interesting for me as a coach to listen to people who work with him and have been around him and to actually watch his teams play.
“He’s interesting. And he’s different. I find it refreshing. People sometimes comment about too many foreign coaches coming into our game. I don’t think he’s mediocre. I think he’s top draw and top draw coaches coming into England can only help the English game and help people in this country develop.”
Bielsa has transformed a Leeds side who finished 13th in the Championship this season into genuine title contenders, although they are under pressure to get a result in the North East after losing five of their last seven league games.
Pulis himself is also facing plenty of questions with Middlesbrough fans furious about the embarrassing FA Cup defeat to Newport County in midweek.
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