BRENDAN: BIG MARCELO MADE MY DAY WITH VISIT
MARCELO BIELSA did not need binoculars to spy on Leicester – Brendan Rodgers invited him for a chat and a pick-me-up.
The Argentine, famous for his ‘Spygate’ involvement in his first campaign as Leeds boss, is held in such esteem by the Foxes’ chief he was asked if he wanted a tour of the club’s new training base.
Rodgers was nursing a Champions League hangover – it was a pre-arranged meeting following a 4-2 defeat by Spurs in May that ended Leicester’s hopes of ending in the top four.
But after Bielsa was given a tour of the club’s new £100million training base, he handed down a few pearls of wisdom to his managerial colleague – without the need for onlookers outside taking notes.
Rodgers said: “Towards the end of last season we had a game at home to Spurs and didn’t qualify for the Champions League. It had a numbing effect on me.
“The next day I had arranged to meet Marcelo at our training ground. I went in and spent a couple of hours with him. It was a breath of fresh air. He arranged to come in, take a look at our facilities and speak about football. It felt good.
“I came out of the conversation having lost the day before and went away on holiday with a spring in my step.
“It was really great to chat to him. I had a wonderful morning. He’s a great man. His overall football philosophy, his values, an unswerving commitment to how he wants to play.
“That takes a lot of courage in this game. You’ve heard it yourselves, they can be too open but he has an inherent belief in what he’s doing.
“His methods are hugely influential. I’ve followed his career from the days when he was in Argentina.”
Rodgers sees parallels in Leeds with his own Leicester side. The ex-Liverpool chief will not be able to field his strongest XI this season because of a long-term injury to defender Wesley Fofana.
Injuries to Jonny Evans and Wilfred Ndidi have also hampered the Foxes – and he feels Bielsa has also suffered because of similar problems.
He said: “For a squad like ourselves, if you miss players like Wesley Fofana who is one of the best young centre-halves in the world, Wilf Ndidi, Jonny Evans – these players are hard to replace for us.
“But we are not going to cry about it. We’ll get them back and really push on when we do. And we will always put out a team to see if we can get results.
“Marcelo is missing some important players as well. Patrick Bamford has done great since he’s moved into the Premier League.
“He’s scored goals and because of it he has played internationally.
“They’ve lost him and Luke Ayling – who has been a brilliant stalwart for them and sets the energy and tempo.
“So, when you miss good players it can hinder performance.”