Marcelo Bielsa took over as the new coach of Uruguay and was presented at a press conference attended by local but also Argentine media. And in the midst of the always juicy statements of the coach, the Fool was consulted for the first time about the World Cup in Qatar, the conquest of the title by the Lionel Scaloni National Team and the figure of Lionel Messi.
"
I'm Argentine, I'm proud to be Argentine, I like being Argentine. I love the football of my country, as it can not be otherwise, "started Marcelo, appealing to the emotional to analyze what happened last December.
He continued: "The other day I heard (Gerardo) Martino say that when he goes to see Newell's he doesn't care if the team plays well or badly, what he wants is for it to win. He does not analyze if (the coach, Gabriel) Heinze is right or wrong, no. The fans go to the pitch and the first thing we want is for the team to win. So I wanted Argentina to win anyway and then we would analyze it."
"The reward that (Lionel) Messi obtained is a reward much more linked to his obstinacy, patience and endurance than to his resources, which are obviously extraordinary," he said about Leo, whom he did not manage in the National Team since he resigned in September 2004, almost a year before the debut of the Pulga, already with José Pekerman in that position.
Marcelo Bielsa and his talk with journalists. Photo: Alejandro Bar.
"There were two things I loved about the (World Cup) final," Bielsa continued, more open than usual to contact with journalists. "Before the game I made a comparison between the two teams, I put every French player compared to every Argentine player, in their positions. My conclusion is that there were nine French players better than nine Argentines, and I said to myself: 'Whore, what a difficult match ...', said the Loco, without putting names to his presentation.
"Argentina not only deserved the win but dominated the game 80 minutes out of 90. For me that was the best compliment of all, for the coach, for the coaching staff and the players. They proved to be much better than the rivals when the previous analysis indicated otherwise, "completed the coach from Rosario.
Then Bielsa spoke about the Argentine public, mentioning the success with which football is usually analyzed in these latitudes. He suffered it in his own flesh, when he directed the National Team in the World Cup in Korea and Japan 2002. Argentina arrived as favorites to that tournament but ended up being eliminated in the first round, leaving the coach marked forever despite the good work he had done until that contest.
"I noticed something else that for me was defining, for the first time the public was going to accompany the team even if it did not win, and that is not typical of Argentine success," Bielsa said. And he stressed: "That was earned by the Argentine team. I always say that the social cost of defeat in Argentina makes players empower: no one wants to lose because going out after a defeat is more difficult in Argentina than in most places where football is passion. But here the audience was different, from the first moment. The message that went down to the team was that they were going to accompany him even if they didn't win."
Then, by way of conclusion, Bielsa closed his brilliant analysis on the adventure of Messi, Scaloni and company in the Middle East as if he were giving a dedicated talk about it.
"So, for me three very important things came together: players willing to overcome better opponents, legitimately, squeezing their conditions to the maximum; the second, a player like Messi in a state of mental grace, because the state of grace on his feet always has, and third, a public that blended with his team through an unconditional, unconditioned love. Unconditional love for any human being is very empowering, I love you, no matter if you win or lose. If you know you are loved in advance, it is much easier to release everything you are capable of."
