Marcelo Bielsa
Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera ([maɾˈθelo alˈβeɾto ˈβjelsa], nicknamed El Loco Bielsa [ˈloko ˈβjelsa], meaning 'The Madman Bielsa'; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who is the current manager of the Uruguay national team and the Uruguay national under-23 team. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential coaches of all time. Bielsa is a former player having played as a defender for Newell's Old Boys, Instituto and Argentino de Rosario.
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Bielsa in 2015 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 21 July 1955 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rosario, Argentina | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Uruguay, Uruguay U23 (manager) | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1975–1977 | Newell's Old Boys | 25 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1978–1979 | Instituto | 40 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1979–1980 | Argentino de Rosario | 48 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 113 | (0) | |||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1990 | Newell's Old Boys (scout) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1990 | Newell's Old Boys II | ||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1992 | Newell's Old Boys | ||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Atlas (scout) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1995 | Atlas | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | América | ||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Vélez Sarsfield | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998 | Espanyol | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2004 | Argentina | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Argentina U23 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2011 | Chile | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Athletic Bilbao | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Marseille | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Lazio | ||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Lille | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2022 | Leeds United | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Uruguay | ||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | Uruguay U23 | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Bielsa played as a defender in Newell's Old Boys' First Division team, but retired when he was 25 to focus on coaching. Bielsa has managed several football clubs and also the national teams of Argentina and Chile. He developed his career as coach of Newell's Old Boys where he won several titles in the early 1990s, before moving to Mexico in 1992, briefly coaching Club Atlas and Club América. Bielsa returned to Argentina in 1997 to manage Vélez Sarsfield, leading them to the 1998 league title (Clausura).
With Chile, he achieved cult status due to the improved results of the national team under his leadership. His personality and gestures during his stint in Chile captured the attention of media and unleashed a series of minor controversies both in sports and politics. He had a two year-spell in Spain at Athletic Bilbao between 2011 and 2013, leading them to domestic and continental cup finals in the first season, though they lost both. In May 2014, Bielsa was appointed as coach of Marseille, starting with good results but finishing outside the expected first three places in Ligue 1, resigning after just over a year at the French club. He remains highly regarded by OM fans for his offensive playing style and personality.
In June 2018, Bielsa was appointed manager of then-Championship club Leeds United, leading the club to promotion back to the Premier League in 2020 after a 16-year absence as a result of winning the 2019–20 EFL Championship. Leeds United is the club at which he spent the most time as manager in his career; taking charge of 170 games before departing in February 2022. He is considered a cult figure among Leeds fans.