MARCELO BIELSA: THE FOUNDATION OF SUCCESS AT LEEDS UNITED BY Salim Lamrani

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.

(Publisher: Pitch Publishing Ltd. March 2022. Hardcover: 320 pages)