Ahead of Friday’s Championship meeting between the Baggies and the Whites, Moore was full of praise for his “wonderful” counterpart.
Ahead of Friday night’s Championship fixture between Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion at Elland Road, Baggies boss Darren Moore has made his feelings on counterpart Marcelo Bielsa very clear – and fans of the Whites will love what he’s said.
As coaches go, Bielsa is one of the most highly rated in the game, with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola having previously described the Argentine as “the best coach in the world” (Goal.com).
Bielsa has received criticism from some quarters this season, partly in the wake of the so-called Spygate, but when asked about his counterpart, Moore could not praise the 63-year-old highly enough.
Indeed, the Albion boss is quoted as having said the word “wonderful” seven times in his pre-match press conference while talking about Bielsa (Birmingham Mail), a surefire sign of respect and esteem.
When talking about how Bielsa coped with the fallout from the so-called Spygate “scandal”, Moore said: “I loved the way he went about it, he’s accepted the punishment and we understand it and we move on. But we can’t let one isolated incident corrode him because he’s a wonderful, excellent man he’s had a wonderful career, his career speaks for itself.
“It shows wonderful temperament by him to come into our division and showing the respect that we’ve got for him to come over here and manage and coach and bring out a brand and a style here… wonderful appetite by him.”
Moore then moved on to his side’s 4-1 defeat of Leeds in the reverse fixture at The Hawthorns in November, and shared just how well Bielsa took the defeat.
“Wonderful, complimentary, gentleman… you know to have him here in our game, in the English game, is wonderful because it shows his appetite and the respect for the division, the type of calibre of manager that he is so it’s wonderful and again we look forward to seeing him (on Friday).”
Plaudits aside, the Championship game at Elland Road sees both sides desperate for points, with Leeds set to return to the top of the table should they win, putting pressure on Norwich City and Sheffield United.
The Baggies, meanwhile, lost their last fixture just as Leeds did, but they’re still flying high, and a victory against the league’s third-placed side will put them just one point off the top two ahead of Saturday’s fixtures.
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