Former Leeds United player reveals hilarious team reaction to first Marcelo Bielsa meeting — YEP 19/11/25
By Mark Carruthers
A former Leeds United star has revealed the impact made by
Marcelo Bielsa during his time at Elland Road.
Former Leeds United star Kemar Roofe has given an insight
into what made one-time Whites icon Marcelo Bielsa so special - but also
revealed the bizarre response he got after his first meeting with his players
following his appointment at Elland Road in the summer of 2018.
After managing the likes of Lazio, Marseille and Athletic
Bilbao earlier in his career, there was some surprise when Bielsa accepted an
offer to take charge of Leeds ahead of the 2018/19 season. By the time he had
left the club just under four years later, the veteran boss had left an
indelible impression on the players, staff and supporters that had taken him to
their heart during his reign.
Roofe was part of the Whites squad when Bielsa was appointed
and he went on to score 15 goals in 34 appearances under the former Chile
national team head coach before departing to join Belgian giants Anderlecht in
the summer of 2019. However, his appreciation of what Bielsa did for his career
was all too evident as he assessed the ‘quite obvious’ qualities that made the
former Whites boss so unique.
He told the ‘Sacked in the Morning’ podcast: “All of the
managers, as much as it sounds like I’m sitting on the fence, all of the
managers have contributed different things in my career. They’ve all been
different, they’re all top level but they’ve all been different. Bielsa,
everyone knows his story and what he brings to the game and that’s quite
obvious. His knowledge of the game, his details and his way of playing, you
have to stick to the way he wants to play and his calmness to deliver it - but
if he needs to switch up the mood, he can do that easily.”
Confused
However, despite his obvious admiration for his new manager,
Roofe revealed Bielsa’s initial meeting with the Whites squad provided a
somewhat unique response from players.
