Indeed, it probably struck home back in Chile and Argentina, where Marcelo Bielsa has coached the national teams. Bielsa arrived in the summer tasked with building a team and imposing his style, but he has adapted it instead.
A fervent student of tactics, Bielsa has been responsible for some of the most entertaining football of recent years. He played with a 3-1-3-3 whilst Chile coach which looked to use all areas of the pitch, pressing high and trying to play in the opposition’s half with pace and precise passing. A clever system, it helped take Chile to the second round of the last World Cup.
He has inspired the Universidad de Chile side who have won the Copa Sudamericana, as Jorge Sampaoli, their coach, is essentially a Bielsaista. At times Barcelona even play with the 3-1-3-3 system, when Sergio Busquets drops back and Dani Alves bombs forward to join the midfield.
Bielsa’s Bilbao though, play with a back four, in the traditional style of the Basque side. Bilbao have a direct and physical style more attuned to the British game, but Bielsa has modified them brilliantly. On Thursday against Man Utd they showed they could do it all. Composed in possession, they played with the passing and pressing game of Barcelona, but faster. They look to get the ball forward as fast as possible, and indeed the third goal was a long ball they scored from. But they played with such brilliant passing and pace, it was incredible to think they were only fifth in La Liga. This wasn’t a case of Manchester United playing badly. But it was simply Bilbao playing brilliantly. They are after all, the team Pep Guardiola says have given his Barcelona team the hardest runaround.
Iker Muniain is an incredible talent, and the second goal was built around his passing and skill. A superb quick team movement which released Dos Santos, who fired home. And Fernando Llorente up front was strong on the ball but also clever and skilful to find space. When it was played into him, it stuck and usually found a good out ball. With Susueta playing so well on the flank, and Herrera displaying classic Spanish skill, Bilbao have the players, mostly young, to frighten much of the European elite.
And to do it at Old Trafford was all the more impressive. It must be stressed that United did not play badly. They simply came up against a brilliant team who would have swept away any of England’s top teams. And the top teams in most leagues. The clever tactics of Bielsa have clearly paid off here; Bilbao playing at a relentless pace. It was mesmerising for most of the match and a wonderful exposition of fast paced skill and precision. Bilbao may be here for a while.
