Bristol City manager Lee Johnson has spoken warmly about Marcelo Bielsa and teams may struggle with his presence when facing Leeds United next season.
New Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa’s appointment has come as a great surprise, and Bristol City boss Lee Johnson may have just subconsciously suggested how various managers may be feeling about his arrival in the English second tier.
Bielsa was confirmed as the new manager at Elland Road after Paul Heckingbottom was sacked after just four months, and some Leeds supporters are still pinching themselves seeing someone who has managed some big clubs around Europe in their own dugout.
In comments published by the Bristol Post, Johnson said of Bielsa: “For me as a young coach it’s a fantastic division. I mean Bielsa’s come in at Leeds and this guy for us is a top, top, top manager of who we’ve stolen everything we can from him.
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“This is the guy that Guardiola and Pochettino learnt from. Maybe not a lot of people know exactly how top a coach he is.
“It’s brilliant for us as a young staff to come against these guys – it’s the world elite now. We’ve had Mourinho last season and Guardiola and now Bielsa… I thought Jaap Stam, some of the stuff he brought to the Championship was outstanding but you’ve got to look at how difficult it is.”
Complimentary words indeed from Johnson, but perhaps he has dealt Bielsa a little too much praise ahead of the new season.
It can be argued that the more managers who step forward to laud the tactician, the greater the subconscious fear swells which could work in Leeds’ favour for tight games next season.
Johnson’s flattery may be picked up by his and other Championship players, and games against Leeds may be made more difficult when they remember the calibre of the man standing on the touchline.
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