Marcelo Bielsa is a manager that has left a huge mark in almost all the teams and nations he has coached. In fact, the only place Bielsa left no mark at was Lille, a job he held for seven months in 2017.
When Bielsa arrived at Lille after successful stops at Marseille, Athletic Bilbao, and Chile much was expected by one of the most renowned and recognized coaches in the world. Sadly, the results were not good, Bielsa compiled a 3-7-4 record and after various arguments with French media stating he would not leave his post unless fired.
That firing came on December 15th, 2017, as Bielsa was dismissed due to poor results and as a way to not pay his full compensation Lille stated that Bielsa broke his contract by not obeying the orders of Sporting Director Luis Campos, now at PSG, and inappropriate conduct by his assistant Joao Sacramento.
Bielsa takes Lille to court
In an effort to clear his name and receive his full compensation as per a clause in his contract, Bielsa took Lille to court and sued them for 19 million euros. The appeals court eventually settled that the sum owed to the now Uruguay manager should be 2 million euros.
Bielsa’s lawyer Benjamin Cabagno voiced his displeasure with the decision, Bielsa and Lille have been in litigation since 2021.
Since then Bielsa had a successful stint at Leeds United, returning the club to the Premier League and helping better a number of players who have since gone off to bigger clubs.
After Leeds, Bielsa became the manager of the Uruguayan national team where he holds a 3-1-0 record so far with La Celeste.