Kalvin Phillips told GQ Magazine that Tottenham midfielder, Harry Winks, told him that Mauricio Pochettino is ‘exactly the same’ as his Leeds boss, Marcelo Bielsa in terms of how they approach the game.
The Leeds midfielder was making reference to his side’s 3-1 win against Spurs at the start of this month when both players were on the bench.
With Phillips’ career excelling under Bielsa’s stewardship – the same was happening to Winks when Pochettino was in charge of Spurs.
And with Phillips lauding Bielsa’s ‘dedication and ‘desire’ to the game, as the best he’s ever seen, the England international shared that Winks shares those very same viewpoints of the now-PSG boss.
“His desire, his dedication to the football, it’s beyond anyone that I’ve ever read about or met (about Bielsa),” said Phillips.
“And I think the only few people that I’ve heard that are close to him are obviously Pep [Guardiola] at [Manchester] City and [Mauricio] Pochettino, who’s now at PSG
“I was speaking to Eric Dier and Harry Winks. I was on the bench for our last game against Tottenham.
And Harry was saying that [ex-Spurs manager] Pochettino is exactly the same.”
Previously, Pochettino has spoken highly of Bielsa and he has seen the thriving Leeds boss as a father figure.
Pep Guardiola has echoed those same words and thoughts.
Well, Bielsa has just shown during the recently concluded season why he is highly thought of in the footballing world.
Before Bielsa stepped foot into Elland Road, they were a footballing giant sitting mid-table in the Championship and entering nearly 15 years of being outside of England’s top-flight.
But now, they have secured a top ten finish in the Premier League, with relatively the same squad that started the journey.
And the brains behind it all is quietly sitting on a bucket on the touchline watching his masterpiece at work.
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