Matesuz Klich is not stressed - The Square Ball 19/1/23


HYPEBEAST

Written by: Rob Conlon

Jesse Marsch often says Liam Cooper is the best captain he has worked with as a manager. “In terms of a mentality and being a professional and a leader,” Marsch said of Cooper back in August, “he’s the best I’ve ever seen.” Jesse thinks the same about Stuart Dallas. “He is in many ways the heart and soul of the group,” he said after Dallas broke his femur against Manchester City last April, “and one of the guys that I think is always at the forefront in terms of being a leader, and someone who can stand up to big challenges.”

Jesse loves the concept of leadership, and places a lot of value on it. “That’s what I think I’ve become more of an expert on than anything else,” he recently said in an interview for the United Soccer Coaches Convention in Philadelphia. During the same talk, he explained his leadership council at Leeds, which includes both Cooper and Dallas:

“One of the reasons for the leadership council is I hold our best players and our captain and our leaders to the highest standard of everything we do. And if they meet those standards and exceed them, then nobody else has any room to do anything other than that.”

Which makes me wonder whether he knew that, ten minutes before kick-off, two of his finest young men were setting the highest standard, leading by example, encouraging Mateusz Klich to give the Cardiff fans the middle finger:

There’s so much to enjoy! Dallas and Cooper remind me of my two older sisters when I was a kid, daring me to do anything they knew could piss off our parents or wind each other up. I’d go along with it, knowing I had innocence and gullibility stashed in my back pocket as a defence. When it backfired, my sisters could pretend they had nothing to do with it. When it succeeded and I got away with it, it was a collective triumph, celebrated like Cooper and Dallas laughing their heads off down the tunnel at Klich’s juvenile rebellion.

Which brings us on to his jacket. My word, the jacket! Klich was dressed like he knew it didn’t matter how many grown-ups were in attendance, he was untouchable in his farewell. Klich is one of football’s hippest Hypebeasts, so naturally it’s made by Supreme, with just enough room in the inside pockets to fit a few cans of spray paint. He’s also got a conscience: the fur is faux. Supreme release their clothes in limited quantities. When an item sells out, they can go for double or triple their retail price on resale sites. In 2006, Supreme released a trainer collaboration with Nike that retailed around $150. Resale prices ranged from $300 to $400, until Kanye West wore them to a Grammy’s event a year later, doubling the resale price to $800. Klich’s jacket cost $398 to buy from Supreme, and is currently being flipped anywhere between $500 and $800. If you want to avoid a bidding war, you can buy one for £972. Although now Klich has worn his on the pitch at Elland Road, anybody lucky enough to own one should realise it’s priceless.

Klich, Dallas, and Cooper added to a fun night at Elland Road. Five beautiful goals meant fans could relax and the players could finally play without the stress Marsch can’t stop reminding them about. His leaders certainly didn’t look stressed, giggling like naughty schoolboys while their best mate was setting off the fire alarm. Perhaps this was another lesson for Marsch in why he’s wrong to rail against Leeds United’s reputation for drama and carnage. Two of our most sensible and responsible players encouraging our former renegade to give the away end the finger is how we kick back and relax in Leeds.

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