According to Ben Jacobs, Aston Villa could hire Marcelo Bielsa to replace Steven Gerrard, following last night’s embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Fulham.
If the Argentine does arrive at Villa Park, we believe he would already have the respect of John McGinn and Tyrone Mings.
Why those at Aston Villa respect Bielsa
Well, you will surely remember the fiery 1-1 draw between Aston Villa and Leeds back in April 2019, in which Mateusz Klich ran through to open the scoring despite the Villans hoping for the ball to be kicked out of play.
The Poland international’s actions sparked a brawl on the field, as the Aston Villa players felt he had acted unsportingly – everybody had effectively stopped defending, as they expected play to halt while Jonathan Kodjia was down injured.
Surprisingly, Bielsa – clearly furious with Klich – ordered his side to give Aston Villa an equaliser in a bid to salvage some sort of sportsmanship, and the game ended 1-1.
This result actually ended hopes of automatic promotion at Elland Road, so it was a huge decision from Bielsa.
Only McGinn and Mings remain from the XI who started that infamous game – the latter was actually named Man of the Match – and we believe Bielsa went up in their estimations after his show of compassion.
Aston Villa would be taking a risk with Bielsa
The Argentine is certainly a character, and his sides usually play quick, entertaining football.
However, Bielsa also concedes a lot of goals with his style of play.
Leeds had suffered a 7-0 defeat to Manchester City, a 6-0 loss against Liverpool, a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Tottenham, and a 5-1 loss to Manchester United before deciding to sack Bielsa last season.
Therefore, the Villans must be prepared for potential chaos if they hire the South American, who is aptly nicknamed El Loco.
However, if Bielsa is chosen to replace Gerrard, he would – presumably – already have the respect of two senior players in McGinn and Mings after his actions in 2019.
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