Marcelo Bielsa

The Foundation of Success at Leeds United

Salim Lamrani

• Publisher: Pitch Publishing
• eBook ISBN:
  9781801502375
• Year: 2022

As Marcelo Bielsa's interpreter, Salim Lamrani was his right-hand man throughout his first season in charge of Leeds United. As a privileged witness to that remarkable 2018/19 campaign, Lamrani tells the inside story of how the club came within a hair's breadth of returning to the Premier League before winning promotion in the very next season to end a 16-year exile. Lamrani lays bare the secrets behind Bielsa's methods, starting with the demands he makes in an intense pre-season, through to the Argentinian tactician's unwavering loyalty to a highly effective style of play - a style based on possession, collective coverage, rapid transitions, changes of tempo and constant attack. For him, beauty is non-negotiable. Thanks to Bielsa, the players of Leeds United were the actors in an unforgettable epic, which made an indelible mark on millions of supporters. Taking us match by match through Bielsa's first year in English football, Lamrani weaves a fascinating narrative and paints an intimate portrait of a unique football genius.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Prologue by Rafael Bielsa
• Introduction
• 1. An Intense Pre-season
• 2. An Ideal Start to the Championship
• 3. First Pitfalls
• 4. An Incredible Run
• 5. The End of Boxing Day and the Laboured Winter
• 6. Spygate
• 7. Resurgent Form
• 8. Mixed Results
• 9. Wigan: The Turning Point
• 10. The End of the Dream of Automatic Promotion
• 11. Play-offs: The Painful Epilogue
• Sorrows and Joys
• 2019/2020: The Return to the Promised Land
• About the Author
• Photos