Part - 1
Before the whole SuĂĄrez saga blew up, when he publicly turned a large part of Uruguay against Marcelo Bielsa, the record spoke for itself.
Before the fallout:
Wins: 11
Draws: 5
Losses: 3
Then Bielsa made the decision that ultimately caused all the drama. He refused to build the team around a declining Luis SuĂĄrez, choosing instead to move towards younger players. SuĂĄrez didnât take it well and went on a public campaign criticising Bielsa, with several players either openly or quietly siding with one of the biggest names in Uruguayan football.
Since the fallout:
Wins: 5
Draws: 7
Losses: 5
People will point to those results and say Bielsa has suddenly become a bad manager. I donât buy that for a second.
The reality is that once your dressing room becomes divided, results almost always suffer. It doesnât matter how good the manager is. Weâve seen it happen throughout football history. Tactics can only take you so far when trust inside the squad starts to disappear.
Whatâs funny is that even during all this chaos, Uruguayâs performances havenât actually been as bad as people make out. They dominated Saudi Arabia 27 shots to 7, outshot Cape Verde 17 to 12, and had a very even game against Spain. They were creating chances. The football was there. The finishing and individual performances werenât.
Some of Uruguayâs biggest players simply havenât produced. Federico Valverde, who should be leading this team, has been well below the standards expected of one of the worldâs best midfielders. When your key players arenât delivering in decisive moments, that isnât automatically the managerâs fault.
Part - 2
The bigger issue is that people are questioning Marcelo Bielsaâs entire career because of one difficult spell.
This is the same manager who transformed Newellâs Old Boys into champions, took Athletic Bilbao to a Europa League and Copa del Rey final while beating Manchester United at Old Trafford with one of the best away performances English football has seen, completely changed the mentality of Chilean football, won promotion with Leeds United after sixteen years outside the Premier League and left a tactical legacy that still exists today.
Managers like Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino, Diego Simeone and countless others have openly spoken about Bielsaâs influence on the way they see football. Guardiola has repeatedly called him one of the greatest coaches in the world despite Bielsa having won far fewer trophies. That respect doesnât come from sentiment it comes from understanding football.
People always use the âhe doesnât win enoughâ argument, but football isnât judged purely by medals. Bielsa has consistently taken teams beyond what their squads should realistically achieve. Leeds werenât expected to dominate the Championship the way they did or finish comfortably in the Premier League after promotion. Athletic Bilbao werenât expected to outplay Europeâs biggest clubs. Chile werenât expected to become one of the most aggressive and exciting national teams in the world.
Bielsaâs teams press harder than almost anyone, attack with bravery, create huge numbers of chances and ask every player to sacrifice themselves for the collective. His standards are incredibly demanding because he believes nobody is bigger than the team.
That is also why he has walked away from huge jobs and rejected enormous contracts throughout his career. If he feels players, owners or directors donât share the same standards, heâll leave rather than compromise his principles. He has never been interested in managing egos or building a team around superstar status.
Ironically, thatâs exactly what happened with SuĂĄrez. Bielsa judged players on what they could contribute now, not what theyâd achieved ten years ago. Whether you agree with that decision or not, it was consistent with everything Bielsa has stood for throughout his career.
If Bielsa has one weakness, itâs that he refuses to play politics. He expects absolute commitment, professionalism and humility from everyone. Modern football is full of massive personalities, and sometimes that creates conflict. But Iâd rather have a manager who refuses to bend his principles than one who lets reputation dictate team selection.
People are free to criticise Bielsaâs decisions, but questioning whether heâs an elite coach because of one turbulent spell completely ignores over thirty years of evidence. Great managers arenât judged solely by trophies. Theyâre judged by the football they create, the players they improve, the clubs they transform and the influence they leave on the game.
Marcelo Bielsa has done all four.
You either get it or you donât, The End.
Toda la solidaridad con quienes se despertaron con sus cuentas en $0 por instrucciĂłn del Gobierno hacia la TesorerĂa General de la RepĂșblica, para embargar recursos por deudas CAE.
AcĂĄ una buena explicaciĂłn a quienes preguntan por la condonaciĂłn del CAE.
En el colegio te revisan la mochila
En la calle te piden el carnet
En la micro te piden la bip
En el super te piden el rut
Para arrendar te piden dicom
Al estadio camaras de vigilancia
Pero los weones no abren el secreto bancario x la privacidad de las personas
Ăltimo Informe de Cuentas Nacionales del Banco Central: en el paĂs en ruinas el crecimiento anual fue de 2,5%, la inversiĂłn total creciĂł 8,9% y la demanda interna aumentĂł 4,2%.
Se agradece la sinceridad de reconocer que la ley se votĂł sin leerla. Lo anterior es grave considerando que la ley es muy breve: sĂłlo tiene 4 artĂculos que se contienen en dos pĂĄginas. En una lectura de 10 minutos te dabas cuenta de la locura que se estaba aprobando.