Marcelo Bielsa is one of the world’s most influential managers, with a legacy of tactical innovation that spans four decades and two continents.
But after Uruguay’s 1-0 loss to Spain and a stunning group stage exit from the World Cup on Friday night, the Argentine admitted even he couldn’t say what his contributions had been in his latest role as the Celeste boss.
“Look, what I’m leaving for Uruguayan football is nothing,” he lamented via an interpretation. “Because any kind of contribution … what can a coach do for the football of a country where he worked for three years?
“He never settles in if he doesn’t get results. And fourth place in the qualifiers meant nothing, third place in the Copa America meant nothing, and obviously this performance. … I don’t need to define it, so if you ask me how my time will be remembered, it’s with a step that left nothing behind.”
The signs of unrest under the demonstrative 70-year-old’s watch had been growing and seemed to come to a head over their two-week stay in the tournament.
Reporting from GiveMeSport suggested Bielsa’s squad had revolted prior to the group finale after disappointing draws to open Group H, 1-1 against Saudi Arabia and 2-2 against Cape Verde.
In Friday’s loss, Bielsa said goalkeeper Fernando Muslera removed himself at halftime after erring on Alex Baena’s 43rd-minute goal.
And immediately following the game, Bielsa lost his temper with a reporter during a flash media availability in a clip that went viral on X (formerly Twitter.)
Even so, he insisted that mentality hadn’t been the difference in disappointing results.
“Look, I don’t think attitude was a factor … (it) doesn’t deserve to be criticized, and the physical aspect even less so. The tactical development of the match wasn’t decisive,” Bielsa said.
“What I did think was that it was a match where, to keep it even, we had to make an effort, very very big, that to attack we needed to recover the ball in the opponent’s half. Because if we recovered it in our half the transition from back to front was very difficult.”
This was Bielsa’s third World Cup after guiding Argentina in 2002 and Chile in 2010. His career has also included club stops in Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Italy and England, most recently helping Leeds United earn promotion to the Premier League in the 2019-2020 campaign.
He’s now out of a contract with Uruguay finishing Group H on two points and out of the eight best third-place group finishes.
And while there were signs of reinvigorating the program to what it had been during the best times of Oscar Tabarez’s 15-year tenure, there were also recurring hints of disorder.
There was Darwin Nunez’s altercation with fans following Uruguay’s Copa America semifinal defeat to Colombia.
More recently, legendary Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez has become one of Bielsa’s most consistent critics since retiring from international play following the Copa America.
And it all ended with the Celeste being the highest-ranked team per FIFA at this tournament so far not to reach the last 32.
“It’s very difficult to articulate,” Bielsa said. “Regarding the World Cup, we played (well enough) to get seven points, and we got two. That comment describes the result of my management.”
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
