Fans, pundits, former players, everyone is running out of praise for the Lilywhites. Marcelo Bielsa has built one of his classic teams that plays intense, entertaining football. It is refreshing to see a team, albeit one that has been one of the big teams in England historically, come all guns blazing into the premier league, one cannot deny there is something a bit different about them. So what is it?
Your favourite manager's favourite manager
When it was announced a few years back, that Marcelo Bielsa would become the new manager for Leeds United, who were in the EFL Championship at that time, a few heads were raised. This was a world class manager going to the English second division, a move that made no sense at all. Fast forward to now, and you can understand why. Throughout his career, Bielsa has taken up challenge after challenge and made history at most of the teams he has curated.
From winning Olympic gold with Argentina, to reviving a faltering Athletic Bilbao, the only thing that has remained constant is his frenetic, high-intensity football. Known in the modern day as vertical Tiki-Taka, the way it differs from its namesake is that instead of playing horizontal passes in the center of the field, the emphasis lies on playing quick 1-2s on the wings and reaching the opposition's box in a handful of passes.
Not only has he inspired many modern coaches like Mauricio Pochettino, Diego Simeone, and Jurgen Klopp, he is a genuinely loveable guy on and off the field. Even if you don't find him worthy of you praise, his antics can keep you entertained. There's a reason his nickname is El Loco Bielsa.
The signature bucket he sits on instead of the bench, the continuous tangles he seems to have with upper management, it all feeds into what makes his teams adored by even rivals. In his time at Leeds, the whole spygate situation, where he sent his staff to spy on rivals to understand their tactics might have led to another coach being fired. Bielsa called a press conference and apologised, citing what he had done to not be illegal and something that he thought all clubs did. The funny thing is that he probably did not need to spy. After being beaten 3-0 by Guardiola's historic Barcelona team, Marcelo handed Pep a binder he had kept on them, which according to Pep contained information he didn't know about his own team. Supposedly, El Loco does it for every single team he faces. Then his famous morality about the game came to light in a championship game against Aston Villa, where he ordered his team to let Villa score a goal after he felt that Leeds had scored in violation of the spirit of the game. The result led them to not get promoted but he stood by his decision. If that does not make you love the guy, you should consider watching a different sport.
Attack, Attack, Attack!
As of 14 January 2021, Leeds are 6th in the league in terms of expected goals, 4th in passes completed within 20 yards of goal, and 2nd in total shots attempted. They have a reputation of being aggressive attackers, scoring simply by brute force. Often being accused of being wasteful in front of goal, but that cannot be seen with the disparity in xG and actual goals scored (28.9 and 30 respectively). Well they do miss big chances, being 4th in the league in that regard, but they do not create as many only being 7th in the league in big chances created.
Now all of these attacking stats might seem a bit inflated, and that owes to their playing style. Not only is there a focus on attack but also on pressing intensity, and work rate. As of mid-November, Leeds outran all clubs from 22 leagues in Europe, including the top 5. They ran on average 2234.3m with Benfica coming a distant second with 2074.1m. With such attacking flair, and pressing, Leeds makes for an entertaining watch. The scorelines such as 5-0, 6-2, are a common sight but there is a problem since it could go either way.
Focusing a lot on attack, trades off a weaker defence, and that has been exploited by team this season. Their xGA is the 2nd highest in the league only behind West Brom, and they have also conceded the second most goals. Surprisingly, they still have 6 clean sheets, but that is more to do with the strangeness of this season more than their playing style. Regardless, with their leaky defence they have the mentality of scoring more than the opposition, which makes their games fun to watch and overall adds to their loveability.
The Underdogs
Everyone who watches the Premier League, has an underdog team they root for secretly. It can be a newly promoted side, a forgotten giant, or Southampton. Usually, people pick a team subconsciously that plays entertaining football, has loveable players and coaches, a great fan base, and often recently promoted. Sound familiar?
Wolverhampton Wanderers were in a similar position last year, but losing their attacking talents to bigger clubs and injury have made a lot more defensive and pragmatic. Southampton is obviously a team that people love, but I personally think they already are everyone's third team, so they don't count. Others like Sheffield United, and Newcastle have become too pragmatic recently for people to enjoy their games.
The whole narrative around Leeds, them being back after 16 years with a legendary coach and a "we are not afraid of anything" attitude just sells them as the underdogs this season. Who knows they might even snag a European spot come May.
