Emile Heskey believes Leeds United would be taking a major risk replacing Marcelo Bielsa with former Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri, speaking exclusively to HITC.
The prospect of life after Bielsa may keep Leeds supporters up at night but, if there is one coach who could be considered a genuine upgrade on the mercurial Argentine, it is Allegri.
This is a man with six Serie A titles under his belt after all.
Juventus dominated the Italian football landscape in the Allegri era, reaching two Champions League finals under his stewardship too. And, while the Old Lady may have been knocked off her feet by Real Madrid and Barcelona in Cardiff and Berlin, Allegri’s record of 11 trophies in five years speaks for itself.
The 53-year-old also led AC Milan to their most recent Scudetto triumph in 2011. It is telling that the Rossoneri haven’t come close since.
So with the Times reporting that Leeds have made an ambitious approach for Allegri, as Bielsa continues to negotiate a new contract at Elland Road, it is tempting to wonder how far the Yorkshire giants could go under a coach whose name has become synonymous with silverware.
But, according to Heskey, stepping into Bielsa’s shoes would be easier said than done.
“Honestly, I would keep Bielsa. No disrespect to Allegri but I just think that, with the way that they play, having someone else coming in could possibly be detrimental to the whole squad,” said the former England, Liverpool and Leicester striker.
Heskey has a point.
While Leeds’ success has been built on a famously free-wheeling style of play, putting the ‘Beautiful’ into the Beautiful Game, Allegri’s perceived pragmatism is often used as a stick with which to beat a coach who is more Jose Mourinho than Pep Guardiola.
“You’ve been playing a certain style of football for a long time. If Bielsa secures Premier League survival and he wants to stay, keep him,” Heskey added.
“Because then you go into the realm of getting a new manager and, the next thing, you’re in a relegation battle and where players don’t understand what you actually want from them. And we’ve seen that several times.
“You put a team together who are really, really focused on this way of playing and then you want them to change to a different way; if it doesn’t work, you suddenly get sucked into a relegation battle that you don’t need to be in.”
After three years of glorious attacking football under Bielsa, would one of England’s most vociferous fanbases accept Allegri’s more disciplined style when they return to the terraces?
“You’re going from very exciting, where everyone loves to watch it, to then going to that (a more pragmatic style). With fans coming back into the stadium, its probably not a good mix.”
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