Marcelo Bielsa is a crazy manager but fantastic coach, praises Benjamin Mendy
Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy has revealed that former Marseille manager Marcelo Bielsa has a very unique managerial style. The Frenchman left Marseille for Monaco less than a year after Bielsa took over, signing for Monaco where he won the Ligue 1 title before leaving for Manchester City.
Mendy, however, played some of the best football of his career under the highly-rated Bielsa at Marseille until the Argentine left in shocking circumstances. That was after Bielsa made an immediate and sensational impact on the Les Phocéens helping them to the top of the table before leaving a few days into the 2015/16 season. Since then, while both player and manager have bounced around the world, they both find themselves in England.
While both the former Les Phocéens manager is with Leeds United, Mendy plays for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and the former Marseille star went on to admit that Bielsa is probably the most unique manager he has ever played under. Mendy also added that while the Argentine is a crazy manager, he is a fantastic coach and demanded the best from his players.
“Yes, he is so special. The videos! The meetings! For me, when you go to France you need to try to speak French, but he spoke in Spanish all the time – that’s how much he was focused only on the game. He always had a guy with him to translate. For our first match, we had a friendly and some of the staff had been making jokes. He didn’t like them [the jokes],” Mendy told FourFourTwo.
"So before that game he told them not to bother coming – we got on the coach and it was only the players, Bielsa and the doctor. We all thought, ‘This manager is crazy’. But after that it was OK – he’s a great personality, a fantastic coach, and you had to respect him for what he did.”
The Frenchman was considered to be one of the best-attacking full-backs in the world when he signed for Manchester City but injuries and other issues have plagued his career in England. But despite that, the 25-year-old has still managed to win two Premier League titles, two Carabao Cups and a FA Cup since his move in the summer of 2017. But Mendy went on to admit that Bielsa had a massive effect on him as well with the Argentine’s teachings helping him improve even more.
“Once, I fell asleep in a meeting, and when I woke up I was scared. Later he said to me, ‘If you sleep, it’s good. One day you’re going to open your head and listen. You’re going to be aware of everything.’ I saw, I learned and I asked him questions – it helped me a lot,” he added.
