Marcelo Bielsa: Thirteen Steps to the Premier League

by Lee Scott

In June 2018 Leeds United made an appointment that shocked the footballing world. Despite being stuck in the second tier of English football and tagged the Championship's perennial chokers, they attracted one of the most revered coaches in world football. What followed captivated the hearts and minds of Leeds United's legion of passionate supporters worldwide. Marcelo Bielsa has crafted a team in his image, a team that plays in an almost bewildering attacking style with fluidity across the pitch. Leeds have become synonymous with exciting, attacking, vertical football and this style has seen them promoted back to the Premier League. Professional football analyst Lee Scott explains how, breaking down the tactics that have made Leeds so successful during Bielsa's time. He shows just how they occupy spaces and overload defences; how they press and cut off passing lanes to deny the opposition space to attack in the defensive phase; and more than that, he delves into Bielsa's mindset, to explain what makes the Argentine mastermind tick.

Genres: Football, Sports

287 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 8, 2021

Reviews

[Verdes Anos · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than a book about Marcelo Bielsa.
More than a book about football.
This book is a crash course lesson on football tactics and best practices both for attacking and defending situations, having as base the season of 2019/2020 on which Leeds United achieved the long-desired promotion to the Premier League. Real in-game situations and decisions are analyzed with comments on point.
Definitely a must-read for any football fan that would like to learn more about the topic of football tactics.

[Silvio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich habe dieses Buch gelesen, nachdem ich "Inverting the Pyramid" von Jonathan Wilson gelesen hatte, um einmal eine ausführliche Analyse eines Spielsystems zu bekommen. Genau das hat mir dieses Buch auch gegeben, aber am Ende war es mehr als das. Denn es analysiert zwar einzelne Spieler in Bielsas System bei Leeds United, erklärt aber auch allgemeine fußballtaktische Prinzipien. Der Autor bringt dies trotz des Nachteils des Textformats im Vergleich zum Videoformat sehr deutlich rüber.

Das Buch ist sehr schnell zu lesen, denn das Buch hat zwar 260 Seiten, aber nur die Hälfte davon besteht aus Text und der Rest aus Illustrationen. Auf jeden Fall hat das Buch bei mir das Bedürfnis geweckt, mir "Take Us Home: Leeds United" anzuschauen, um die Spieler und das Geschriebene nun auch in Aktion zu beobachten.

7.5/10