The Quality of Madness: A Life of Marcelo Bielsa

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Pushing young players to their physical and mental limits has been a theme throughout Bielsa's career. At Leeds, players compete in 'murderball', a high-intensity 11-a-side match where the ball never goes out of play. Despite briefly making the first team at Newell's as a player himself, he soon realised that his physical limitations but agile mind made him more suited to coaching. He quit playing at the age of 25 and after a spell in charge of the University of Buenos Aires team he took over the youth academy at Newell's, developing a forensic approach to scouting players that serves him to this day. Marcelo Bielsa is one of the most respected coaches anywhere in the world. The Argentine coach has been named as the influence behind many coaches such as Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino. The man names ‘El Loco’ (The Crazy One) has provided us with an energetic and intense philosophy both in and out of possession, that is most recognisable by its high-intensity sprints and its man-to-man marking system throughout the pitch. It wasn't long before Lunari was being subjected to the arduous training methods that have become another Bielsa trademark. I think he feels empowered by the incredible love he has generated at Leeds," says Mora y Araujo. "But I think the pressure of the Premier League, with its circus of money and power, is quite unlike anything he has experienced. Anything could happen."

In his first season in Bilbao, Bielsa's team reached the finals of the Europa League and Copa del Rey, only to suffer 3-0 defeats at the hands of Atletico Madrid and Barcelona respectively. At Marseille in 2014-15, Bielsa's team were top of Ligue 1 at Christmas, but faded badly and finished fourth.I don't have the intensity you need to be by his side," says Lunari. "I am passionate about football, but I am not thinking about the game 24 hours a day, and I believe that to be working next to him, one needs to have a special type of dedication. In our BBC World Service documentary - Bielsa: the manager behind the myths - we've spoken to some of the people who have got closest to the 65-year-old Argentine through his well-travelled career - from Buenos Aires to Bilbao and Mexico to Marseille - to try to find out what it is really like to work with this famously idiosyncratic and demanding coach. Throughout his 30 years as a manager, Bielsa's methods have helped players scale new heights. Leeds fans have delighted in the dramatic improvements of players such as Mateusz Klich, captain Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips, who made his England debut in Denmark on Tuesday. Bielsa is a meticulous, obsessive and enigmatic manager who carries a mythology with him. He is one of football's most intriguing personalities - and he has just arrived in the English Premier League.

He has a book of training drills and in the whole time we were with him we never once repeated a drill," says Pardo, who won 146 caps for his country. "After a drill, we would meet in the middle of the field and we could hardly breathe. He would be really happy to see us like that." We were exhausted," says defender Rod Fanni. "Mentally, it's very difficult to repeat the same things every day. You have to be strong because it's a bit like a factory. You go there, you repeat, you repeat, you repeat and you go home.When Leeds bet on Bielsa two summers ago, they knew all about the work ethic, the intensity, the eccentricities but nothing truly prepares you for the reality of the Argentinian known as El Loco. Has he been demanding to a point that has sometimes led to exasperation? Yes. Has he been precisely what Leeds have needed? Absolutely. Marcelo Bielsa, ‘El Loco’, the Godfather of modern football, arrived as the new manager of Leeds United on 25 June 2018, the same day England thrashed Panama 6-0 at the World Cup in Russia. When Bielsa was announced as the new manager of Leeds, his appointment was met with fascination. How could a manager known as much for his eccentricity as his fast-paced, frenetic style of football, possibly succeed as this then unfashionable club, not least a club which is proud of its ‘northern’ English identity.