Speaking on the Super 6 Podcast, Kemar Roofe has spoken about his time working with Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United, claiming that you’ll never see his team just walking or jogging.
Roofe was discussing how he approaches games mentally and he was asked by Laura Woods if that was something he learnt under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds.
Roofe says that Bielsa didn’t teach him psychology, but he gave him a machine-like mentality.
“I didn’t develop psychology under him, I developed a robustness, to keep working and keep working like a machine, you don’t take a rest or take a break you just need to keep working. You have to be fit and you have to keep running. You see when Leeds play, you don’t see anyone walking or jogging, everyone is a full sprint. You sprint to the ball, and if someone gets past you, you sprint back to get it,” Roofe said.
The Rangers star then went on to explain how Bielsa taught him about different formations.
“Also with Bielsa, understanding the game even more, how simple to make the game, even down to formation. If you ask most players or fans about formations to explain formations, they won’t know how to break formations down. Until working with Bielsa I didn’ know how important different formations were, and working with him just made you think ‘wow, this is genius’ but it’s probably simple for him,”
Roofe is spot on about Leeds.
You never see a player walking or jogging to get back into position, and on the rare occasion that you do, it’s not long before you hear the manager screaming on the touchline.
Bielsa’s Leeds are one of the most energetic teams in the world, and it’s hard to not get tired out just by watching them.
Roofe may have only spent one season under the Argentine, but it seems as though he left a big impression on him.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
