All good things have to come to an end, and Marcelo Bielsa’s tenure at Leeds United may be heading towards a conclusion.
The Argentine is now 66 years old, and he’s already managed Leeds for longer than he’s managed any other club side in his career.
It’s not unrealistic to suggest that Bielsa may leave this summer, and Leeds are ready for such an eventuality, even drawing up a list of potential replacements.
However, in our view, there’s one name that isn’t on that list that really should be – Jorge Sampaoli.
The Argentine is a self-confessed Bielsa disciple, he plays a very similar style and there’s reason to believe he could be the perfect post-Bielsa manager for Leeds.
Sampaoli has already succeeded his former mentor a couple of times in his career, and that hs worked to great effect, perhaps most notably with Chile. Just 12 months after Bielsa left the South American outfit, Sampaoli was in the dugout.
Sampaoli didn’t change the style that the current Leeds boss brought to La Roja, but instead built upon it, making it more effective and eventually he won two Copa America titles with Chile.
The current Marseille boss also has a working knowledge of this Leeds United team. Even when the Whites were a Championship outfit he admitted that he’d make a great effort to watch them on a weekly basis, and we can only imagine that has continued as United have progressed to the Premier League.
Sampaoli is currently in charge of another of Bielsa’s former teams – Marseille, and ironically, he’s been praised for bringing the same level of intensity and excitement to the Ligue 1 side that Bielsa once did.
Leeds have undergone a revolution since Bielsa was appointed, and while the 66-year-old could leave in the not so distant future, there’s no reason why his ideas have to be completely ditched by the club.
As well as Leeds have played in recent years, a lot of their players are still from the same core that used to finish mid-table in the Championship, and if they don’t have the right manager at the helm, they could return to playing at that level.
The Bielsa revolution can continue beyond the Argentine’s stay at Elland Road, and Sampaoli could be the perfect manager to take up the mantle.
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