Ex-Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa holds candid 100-minute press conference as Uruguay decision confirmed
The much-loved former Leeds United boss endured a disappointing World Cup campaign.
Former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa believes he left nothing to Uruguayan football following confirmation of his resignation.
Uruguay were eliminated from the World Cup at the group stage having taken just two points from their three games. The South American nation’s exit was confirmed after a 1-0 defeat to Spain last week that followed draws with Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde, the latter of which qualified for the last 32.
Speaking back in Montevideo during a one hour and 40 minute press conference, Bielsa revealed the Uruguay players asked him to reduce the time of his 10-minute teamtalks as the information overwhelmed them. Despite the concession, he was unable to galvanise his squad and described the group stage exit as a ‘very painful’ goodbye.
“I have not left anything to Uruguayan football,” Bielsa said. “A coach who has been in a country for three years and not got results cannot say he has made a contribution. Fourth place in the qualifiers has no value and nor does third at the Copa América and there is no need to even define this performance [at the World Cup]. My time doesn’t say anything.
“What I have absolute certainty of is that nobody cares what I know. I know when someone cares what I know. Nothing I tried to transmit was important, at any level. That was never important from my point of view. I don’t see anything bad in it - other people aren’t interested in learning what I know.”
Leeds fans watching Uruguay at the group stage might have felt a sense of Deja Vu during draws with Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. Bielsa’s side dominated both games but were either unable to take their chances or too prone to defensive mistakes.
“We could have seven points but we have two. This is the result of my management,” he said. “It was my job to manage a group of players that I did not manage to turn into a force. If you want explanations - which I don’t think you want - I would say that of the seven points we deserved, we got two.
“I am responsible for what Uruguay did at this World Cup. [Your] questions do not seek answers but a chance to attack me. I am responsible for all the disappointment because of the job I did.”
Bielsa also grabbed headlines away from the pitch after a video of him refusing to engage with his official FIFA photoshoot went viral. The former Leeds boss insisted at the time he was ‘not a model’, while he also demanded a journalist ‘get on with’ asking questions following defeat to Spain.
“I wanted to make reference to something – an apology, in inverted commas,” he added. “When they took my photo for FIFA, I’m no good at posing for photos.
“And the second thing I wanted to refer to was after the game against Spain, when there’s obligations with the companies who buy the rights to give a certain quantity of interviews. They manage times of anguish as if they were times of happiness.
“I reacted against the delay in the questions which I was obliged to answer and I reacted because they waited, waited and I was overcome with pain. That’s why I perhaps wasn’t as polite as I should have been.”