Leeds United wanted Ernesto Valverde and may well wonder if they should have prioritised a move for him over Jesse Marsch.
Look, we’re not looking to pile the misery on Marsch here; times are tough enough for him at the moment.
Yet the brutal reality is that Marsch finds himself under immense pressure and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Leeds axed him soon.
That would see Marsch last less than a year in the Leeds job after he won the battle with two other managers to replace Marcelo Bielsa.
Leeds United wanted Ernesto Valverde
The Telegraph reported back in February that Leeds were eyeing three coaches to potentially replace Bielsa.
Marsch was one of them with former Bielsa assistant Carlos Corberan and Spanish boss Ernesto Valverde also eyed.
The job went to Marsch and we looked at Corberan earlier today given that he is now closing in on the West Bromwich Albion job.
So what about Valverde?
Valverde actually replaced Bielsa as Athletic Bilbao boss in 2013 and the same could have happened at Leeds earlier this year.
Instead, the former Barcelona boss ended up heading back to Athletic, five years since leaving for the Camp Nou.
Valverde returns to Catalunya tonight as his Athletic team take on Barca and he can make a real statement with a win.
Athletic sit sixth in the La Liga table ahead of tonight’s game and a win would see them close the gap to the Champions League places to just one point.
Hailed as an ‘amazing coach’ by opposite number Xavi Hernandez, it’s clear that Valverde is very well respected.
Athletic seem to have very real hope of a Champions League finish under Valverde.
Sevilla are way down in 15th, meaning Real Sociedad, Real Betis and Athletic are now gaining hope as they chase fourth place behind Real, Barca and Atletico Madrid.
As Marsch fights for his job, Valverde is showing Leeds what they missed out on after a great start to the season in which Athletic have conceded just eight times in 10 games – the third-best defensive record in La Liga.
Marsch may well go soon but Leeds appear to have missed their chance with Valverde and will just hope to find somebody who can make a similar impact as he’s had with Athletic.
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