I SPY THE CHAMPIONS
Swaggering Leeds dance on pitch and in stands (with binoculars!)
THere was no hiding place for Derby county’s players, dutifully applauding their Spygate adversaries Leeds United, the Premier League-bound champions whose swagger exposed their enjoyment of the ceremony.
and so they should crow over their success, just as they did when champagne corks and flares were sent skywards during an impromptu celebration for the cameras.
Midfielder ezgjan alioski even collapsed to the turf during the post-match revelry, not overcome by emotion but a victim of cramp, a sure sign of the late nights that followed Friday’s promotion party.
earlier, not content with their XI starters bouncing through Derby’s guard of honour, Leeds’ substitutes and squad players emptied their seats and appeared like a flash mob to prolong the opposition torment.
Derby teenager Louie Sibley could hardly have clapped any slower with his hands tied behind his back. Home skipper Wayne rooney was a little more respectful, even if his relative enthusiasm for the task mirrored the apathy of the goalless first half that was to follow.
at least the second half produced a performance worthy of the league’s outstanding side as Leeds came from behind to extend their lead at the top to eight points, a growing margin reflective of their superiority under Marcelo Bielsa.
and, of all the grounds other than their elland road home, this is where Leeds would have chosen to emerge for the first time following their confirmation as championship winners.
the club’s hierarchy have long since wanted to engender the old spirit of ‘Dirty Leeds’ when their great side of the 1970s would do battle with the likes of Derby.
that longstanding feud was reignited last year when Bielsa admitted to dispatching an employee to spy on a Derby training session. and how the rams milked their subsequent defeat of Leeds in the play- off semifinal, only to then miss out on promotion.
Leeds director of football Victor orta had evidently not forgotten their gloating, dancing in the stands here with a pair of binoculars. Dirty Leeds indeed.
there was, though, a bottle of champagne waiting for the champions upon their arrival, a gift from Derby owner Mel Morris.
the significance of the vintage — 2004 — was not lost on the visitors, that being the year they were last in the Premier League.
But what a year 2020 has been for the club and their supporters and there aren’t too many folk saying that right now. Bielsa is the source of their joy and even the argentine was prepared to lower his guard and embrace the moment. ‘the city is very passionate and people had a lot of hope for this promotion,’ said the boss, who turns 65 tomorrow. ‘It isn’t difficult to imagine the happiness the people are feeling in this moment. ‘Love is what every human being wants in life. You have two kinds of love — the love that comes from those closest to you and that which comes from situations like this. the supporters give us back this love.’ a boozy weekend perhaps explained Bielsa’s seven changes and it was not until chris Martin slotted Derby into a 54th-minute lead that the team we know as champions emerged. the advantage lasted less than two minutes and veteran Pablo Hernandez showed his class with a measured steer into the bottom corner from 20 yards. It was a player at the other end of his career, 20- year- old hometown boy Jamie Shackleton, who fired them in front with his first goal for the club on 75 minutes. the scoring was complete when Derby defender Matt clarke toed into his own net while attempting a hooked clearance perhaps beyond his skillset. In truth, their greatest embarrassment had occurred earlier, before a ball had been kicked. Not that Leeds cared.