Last year, Marseille finished sixth, 29 points off the pace. They lost important players like Mathieu Valbuena and Souleymane Diawara over the summer. Yet Bielsa has turned it around almost exclusively with holdovers from last seasons disappointing campaign. Between them, the five newcomers signed in the summer -- none of whom Bielsa apparently wanted -- have started just one game. Bear this in mind the next time you hear a manager moan and whinge about the club backing him with money for new signings. Or complaining that he needs to bring in his players. Good managers do their work on the training ground. They make existing players better because they know that any fool can go out and buy talent if given the money. Thats what Bielsa has done thus far. Whether it can last all season remains to be seen, but for now, its both refreshing and entertaining. And something a lot of complaining managers could learn from. - Gab Marcotti, ESPN
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 05:23:58 +0000