“You get NOWT for being second,” resonated the words of legendary Leeds United manager Don Revie, nearly 4,000 miles away across the Atlantic from Elland Road.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, two former Leeds managers found themselves on opposite sides in the third-place match of the Copa America 2024.
Canada, led by Jesse Marsch, fell to Uruguay, coached by Marcelo Bielsa. Interestingly, Marsch succeeded Bielsa as the Peacocks’ manager after the latter guided them back to the Premier League.
While the young American manager and the Argentine veteran seem to have very different ideas for running a team, Marsch’s approach to the game, like most of his contemporaries, has been shaped by Bielsa’s influence.
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As football writer Jonathan Wilson wrote in an article for 8byeight magazine, “Since the back four spread from Brazil in the late 1950s and early 1960s, no South American has had such an influence on how the world plays as Bielsa has had in the first decade of the 21st century.”
Bielsa’s synthesis of preparation, hard work, rigid training techniques, fast vertical football and pressing can be seen across the modern game. From Mauricio Pochettino to Jorge Sampaoli to even Pep Guardiola, Bielsa has influenced a whole new generation of coaches through his football philosophy.
Despite his cult-like reputation, Bielsa’s actual trophies are limited. He has won a few league titles in Argentina, an Olympic gold medal, and a championship in England’s second division.
He’s also well-known for his eccentricities and intense behaviours, which have earned him the nickname ‘ El Loco’ (The Madman).
He never gives one-to-one interviews but orchestrates at times enormously long press conferences. He sits on an icebox or his haunches in the dugout during games, paces 13 steps from one side of his technical area to the other and makes his squad do unusual things like picking up litters for hours.
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Bielsa is uncompromising in his approach and unpredictable in his behaviour. His reputation was not helped by stints in Lille and Lazio, which lasted only 13 games and two days, respectively.
However, these factors didn’t stop Montevideo from celebrating when Bielsa became Uruguay’s national team coach in May 2023. Following a successful 15-year tenure under the legendary, but pragmatic, Oscar Tabarez, Uruguay struggled to find a suitable replacement. His successor, Diego Alonso’s reign lasted only 12 games, as Uruguay disappointingly failed to advance from the group stage at the 2022 World Cup. Marcelo Broli then briefly took charge as caretaker manager for two games before a permanent replacement was appointed.
Bielsa’s Uruguay revolution
With Bielsa in the dugout, La Celeste has been resurgent. He has not only changed the fortunes of the team but has completely transformed the way football is perceived in the national team.
It is currently sitting just behind world champion Argentina in the CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers table with 13 points from six games.
Ahead of the Copa America, the South American press touted Bielsa as the only man who could stop Argentina from running the continental cup back.
Bielsa’s coaching philosophy emphasises several key principles alongside a rigorous training regime, in-depth opponent analysis, and a demand for commitment, hard work, and fitness.
His preferred approach looks to overload the defensive third with extra attackers (“spare-man philosophy”) when in possession. In the final third, he favours a system with one playmaker feeding three forwards.
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Additionally, he also looks to minimise the transition time (the switch from defence to attack) through verticality and quick passing. To achieve this, he utilises midfielders who can defend effectively, ensuring ball-playing ability from deep positions. He further encourages intelligent movement to create these overloads and emphasises rotations among different positions. Finally, he incorporates a hyper-aggressive pressing strategy.
In the group stage of the tournament held in the USA, La Celeste began its campaign with a 3-1 victory against Panama. It continued its dominance by thrashing Bolivia 5-0 and secured the top spot in Group C with a 1-0 win over the host. It then defeated Brazil in a penalty shootout during the quarterfinal, before being knocked out by Colombia in the semifinal.
In an era where national team coaches get increasingly less time to implement their ideas in the playing style of the team, Bielsa has successfully implanted his blueprint into the team.
Players like Manuel Ugarte, Maximiliano Araujo, Facundo Pellistri, Matias Vina and Nahitan Nandez have all been revitalised by Bielsa’s tutelage alongside more established names like Rodrigo Bentancur, Darwin Nunez and Federico Valverde, who has been the heartbeat of La Celeste.
Established names like Federico Valverde have been revitalised by Bielsa’s tutelage. | Photo Credit: AFP
However, like most of the Bielsa sides of the past, Uruguay also dazzled without actually going all the way. It scored 10 goals in five matches while only conceding two.
Since Bielsa took the reins of Uruguay, it won 11 of its 17 last matches. Not all wins are created equal, however, and among those 11 victories was a historic first win over Brazil in 22 years and the first in a decade against archrival Argentina.
The risk of excitement
Bielsa’s full-throttle style pushes his players to the limit. They need to be in exceptional physical condition, fearless, and completely dedicated to winning every individual battle on the field. However, this strategy of marking opponents closely when not in possession can leave gaps in their defence if the team’s pressing isn’t perfectly coordinated.
Nestor Lorenzo’s high-flying Colombia took advantage of it by scoring the lone goal in the semifinal. Jefferson Lerma gave Los Cafeteros an early lead from a James Rodrigues ball and then defended it despite playing an entire half with 10 men.
Despite, Colombia’s determined defensive display, it was Uruguay’s lack of finishing that let it down in the crunch clash. The Liverpool striker arguably should have had a first-half hat-trick as he missed a flurry of golden chances.
For Nunez, a Copa America that started with promise ends with a tournament-high 20 shots with only two goals in the group stage.
Luis Suarez was given 25 minutes to make an impact in the second half and was inches away from doing so. La Celeste lost the match but what followed will probably always be remembered as one of the darkest moments of Copa America history.
Chaos erupted in the stands as fights flared up between fans from both teams, apparently due to a lack of adequate security. In response, Nunez, apparently aiming to defend his family, leapt into the stands and became involved in a confrontation with Colombian supporters.
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In the pre-match press conference before the third-place match, Bielsa blasted the organisers of the tournament and pointed out the lack of regard for the players and the game for financial gains.
The shadows lengthened across the Bank of America Stadium as Uruguay secured a consolation prize but the echo of unanswered questions lingered. Bielsa, ever the firebrand, had scorched the earth with his criticism, leaving behind a smouldering legacy of ‘what ifs’. Was this a glimpse of a glorious future under his reign, or a cruel reminder of the heartbreak that often accompanies his relentless pursuit of perfection?
The unanswered roar of the crowd hung heavy, a stark counterpoint to the quiet determination in Bielsa’s eyes. One thing is certain: under El Loco‘s watch, Uruguay wouldn’t fade silently. It would fight, it would press relentlessly, and it would leave everything on the pitch. But whether that would be enough to finally quench its thirst for glory remained a mystery as captivating as the man himself.
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