OCTOBER 2012
THE INFLUENTIAL
ARGENTINEHow the Premier League’s top
teams are adopting Marcelo
Bielsa’s philosophiesWhen Manchester City beat Manchester
United in what was effectively a title decider
at the end of April last season, the area in
which they were dominant was clear: the
game seemed to confirm that United
lacked bite in midfield.
Yet United responded by signing Robin
van Persie, a striker, and Shinji Kagawa, a
creator. Even before the end of last season,
manager Alex Ferguson was dismissive of
suggestions that the back of his midfield
needs strengthening. The Scot, it seems, is
part of a growing movement among coaches
of elite teams who see passing above all else.
The theory, really, is that of Marcelo Bielsa.
In1992 his Newell’s Old Boys side lost their
opening game, at home to San Lorenzo,
6-0. It was a defeat that persuaded him
to go for broke. His game was based on
possession, so how better to maintain it than
increasing passing options by getting extra
men higher up the pitch? And the more
players in advanced positions, the more
effective the high press was at winning
the ball back, as opposing defenders,
whenever they got the ball, found
theyfacedablanketofchallengers.
The next step was to ask, if possession
were the key, whether it was preferable for
the three men he left in defence to be adept
at getting the ball back or not to lose it in
the first place. He started playing holdingmidfielders in the defensive line –
something he did with Gary Medel with
the Chile national side andJavi Martinez
at Athletic Bilbao. Bielsa’s problem as a
coach is that players remain irritatingly
humanandarerarelyabletoliveupto
his exacting standards for any protracted
period. Newell’s managed 26 games
unbeaten, but lost on penalties to Sao
Paulo in the Copa Libertadores final.
The influence of his thinking is wide-
reaching. Chilean football seems to have
adopted the Bielsa mantra as their approach,
best exemplified by the success ofJorge
Sampaoli’s Universidad de Chile last year.
Pep Guardiola spent11 hours talking with
Bielsa before he took the Barcelona job,
and his use of Sergio Busquets, thenJavier Mascherano, and his experiments
with a back three, were pure Bielsa.
But the general tenet that possession
is king seems to be spreading. Ferguson
seems to see Michael Carrick as a quasi-
Busquets, seemingly having no qualms about
using him as a centre-back in an injury crisis.
Other English clubs are doing away with
the defensive midfielders: Chelsea have
offloaded Michael Essien and Raul Meireles
while packing the squad with quick-footed
creators; Manchester City have sold Nigel
deJong and started experimenting with
abackthree.
The obsession with possession that
was once the preserve of one Argentinian
eccentric thus seems to be spreading: ball
retention is now favoured over ball winning.THE MANAGERS