And it was Beautiful: Marcelo Bielsa and the Rebirth of Leeds United

Product Information

Anyone who loves football at it's most exciting and entertaining will want to read how this was achieved. I found the jumping around time-lines a little confusing at first and there were a few sentences that came across as a bit clunky and needed re-reading to fully understand.

Phil pulls back the curtain on the hallmarks that now define the Marcelo Bielsa era, from his gruelling training schedule—including his infamous 'murderball' sessions—to innovative tactical methods that elevated Championship regulars into Premier League stars.Leeds fans know the mediocrity of the ownership of Ken Bates which dropped them down to League One, then years of mid-table mediocrity under GFH then Massimo Cellino. Marcelo isn't just a standard manager, his ideas seem quite extreme which leads to his short stays at various clubs.

He knows the history of the club, through the ups and downs, so can document it here along with referencing interviews he personally has conducted. And if you didn't know about previous owner Massimo Cellino, you'd think his sections were fictitious (they really aren't! Andrea Radrizzani, alongside chairman Angus Kinnear, and Director of Football Victor Orta, started the turnaround and showed the ambition that the club deserves. Finally got around to finishing this just as Leeds have been relegated from Premier league and pretty much dismantled what Bielsa had built. Phil Hay grew up in Penicuik in Scotland and left to study journalism at the University of Sheffield in 1998.Radrizzani, Orta and Kinnear (the men who run Leeds United) come out of this book very well and are clearly far superior to the previous custodians of the club.

As a long-suffering Leeds fan, this account of how Marcelo Bielsa turned the club's fortunes around and brought them back to the Premier League was always going to get full marks from me!

With his unique tactical approach, strict diet and body fat controls and a gruelling training schedule – including his infamous ‘murderball’ sessions – Bielsa has shaped a gang of Championship misfits and journeymen into a team that plays breathtakingly relentless attacking football and is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with the game’s established heavyweights. The chapters interweave details of each month of the 20-21 Premier League campaign with the stories of the past, exploring what went wrong (everything) and how Bielsa brought the joy back.

An excellent book that details the rise of Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa, as well as giving an in-depth look at the owner Radrizzini and his right-hand man, Victor Orta (Director of Football). Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. Phil pulls back the curtain on the hallmarks that now define the Marcelo Bielsa era, from his gruelling training schedule – including his infamous ‘murderball’ sessions – to innovative tactical methods that elevated Championship regulars into Premier League stars.

In And it was Beautiful, The Athletic’s Phil Hay chronicles Leeds United’s glorious first season back in the top flight – which saw them finish ninth – after a chaotic sixteen-year absence. Bielsa performed miracles, turning football into high art and making an extraordinary cultural impact on the city of Leeds. His parting gift was to embrace the crowds of adoring fans who turned up to say thank you as he left the club's training ground for the final time. Afghanistan, Africa, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Asia, Azerbaijan Republic, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde Islands, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Central America and Caribbean, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), French Guiana, Gabon Republic, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Middle East, Moldova, Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North America, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Republic of Croatia, Republic of the Congo, Reunion, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South America, South East Asia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (U. Please Note: By their very nature, all signed books will have been handled several times before they get to you.