Latest news with #Bielsa
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Sir Alex Ferguson spotted making classy gesture ahead of Europa League final - 13 years after his Man United side were outclassed by Athletic Bilbao at San Mames
Ahead of the Europa League final, Sir Alex Ferguson made time for the San Mames museum and left a couple of priceless mementos before his former side Manchester United take on Tottenham. The legendary former Red Devils boss signed the match ball used when his side took on Athletic Bilbao in 2012. United were stunned by Marcelo Bielsa 's side at Old Trafford, losing 3-2, before suffering defeat in the Basque country a week later. In addition to the signed match ball, Ferguson also left the pennant from the last-16 second leg clash, when goals from Fernando Llorente and Oscar de Marcos condemned the Premier League outfit to an early European exit. Bilbao highlighted the classy gesture in a social media post on Wednesday that showed the 83-year-old all smiles in the museum at San Mames. The Scot's mood could be markedly different in a matter of hours after the Red Devils' all-English Europa League final against Spurs is complete. Ferguson's United were thoroughly outclassed by Bilbao in the last-16 of the Europa League in 2012 Around 80,000 supporters have flown out to Spain for the game, despite the San Mames having a capacity of 52,114. Both sets of clubs were allocated 15,000 tickets for the final, with thousands of ticketless fans still opting to descend on the city. United come into the tie as favourites, though neither themselves of the north Londoners can take much confidence from their domestic campaigns. Spurs and United sit 17th and 16th in the top flight respectively, with victory in Wednesday's final the only chance for either side to qualify for Europe next season.
Business Upturn
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Business Upturn
Athletic Club vs Manchester United: Head-to-head record ahead of Europa League clash
By Aman Shukla Published on May 1, 2025, 10:30 IST As Athletic Bilbao prepare to face Manchester United in the Europa League semi-final, football fans are revisiting a historic rivalry that has produced memorable European nights. This will mark the first competitive meeting between the two sides since 2012, and the latest chapter in a rarely told but thrilling story. Head-to-Head Record Total meetings: 4 Athletic Bilbao wins: 3 Manchester United wins: 1 Draws: 0 Despite Manchester United's rich European legacy, it is Athletic Bilbao who have had the upper hand in this fixture, winning three of the four official encounters between the two clubs. Historic European Encounters 1957: A European Classic The first meeting came during the 1956–57 European Cup quarter-finals. Athletic Bilbao secured a thrilling 5-3 win in Spain, but Manchester United famously overturned the deficit with a 3-0 victory at Maine Road (Old Trafford's floodlights were damaged at the time). That result sent the Red Devils through with a 6-5 aggregate win. 2012: Bielsa vs Ferguson Over five decades later, the clubs met again in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League Round of 16. Under the tactical brilliance of Marcelo Bielsa, Athletic stunned United with a 3-2 win at Old Trafford, followed by a 2-1 triumph in Bilbao. Despite a brace from Wayne Rooney in the first leg, United were outplayed over both games. Athletic eventually reached the final that season, knocking out the Premier League giants en route. Though they finished runners-up, their victory over Sir Alex Ferguson's side remains a highlight in the club's European history. Now, with the clubs set to clash in the first leg at San Mamés, Athletic Bilbao once again stand in United's way on the European stage. The La Liga outfit boasts a superior head-to-head record and home advantage, while Manchester United will be eager to rewrite history and reach another European final. Athletic ClubManchester United Aman Shukla is a post-graduate in mass communication . A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication ,content writing and copy writing. Aman is currently working as journalist at
Telegraph
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Raphinha's journey from Leeds to Ballon d'Or front-runner
Raphinha's story of how he arrived in English football is just as dramatic as the last-gasp Barcelona goals that have made him a Ballon d'Or winner in waiting. With the transfer deadline looming, the Brazilian found himself locked in the Rennes dressing room as his French club desperately tried anything to keep him. It was the summer window of 2020 and Raphinha played a key role in Rennes reaching the Champions League for the first time in the club's history. Just before the window shut, they were playing Reims and their star forward had scored in a 2-2 draw – but that was just the start of the drama. Rennes' board had accepted a bid from Leeds United for Raphinha but some officials at the club wanted him to stay, as did manager Julien Stéphan. He was locked in the dressing room as a delaying tactic as the clock ticked. When he got out, Raphinha had 20 minutes to decide whether to leave, with a private jet waiting to take him to Yorkshire. His decision shaped his career in the last five years, putting him on the brink of club and personal glory. La Liga is within sight and Barca can take a huge stride towards the Champions League final when they face Inter Milan on Wednesday night. If Raphinha's arrival at Elland Road reads like a Hollywood script, so does how Marcelo Bielsa discovered him. Like so many rags-to-riches stories, Raphinha was almost overlooked. Bielsa was actually looking for a left-back and was watching footage of Malang Sarr at Nice – but it was Raphinha who caught the eye. Even then, the chances of landing the player seemed remote. Rennes were dining at Europe's top table with one of the most promising young coaches in Stéphan. So Leeds focused on Bayern Munich's Michaël Cuisance and a deal was ready to be signed off. The French forward did not give a good first impression when he flew in and, when he failed his medical, attention was switched to Raphinha. It seemed Raphinha was destined for Leeds and the two years at Elland Road under the guidance of Bielsa were the making of him. It was the coaching genius of Bielsa that saw the rough diamond and polished it. He saw a player with exceptional technique who could run and run, even enough to cope with his infamous 'Murderball' training sessions and have something left in the tank. As a person, Raphinha took Yorkshire to his heart as well. He got married in Leeds and his wife Taia regularly posted on Instagram about their happy life in England. It was only two seasons but Raphinha still has hero status among Leeds fans and former team-mates alike. After another big performance for Barca, a congratulatory text message may come in from Kalvin Phillips, Stuart Dallas or Liam Cooper. According to those who worked with him at Leeds, Raphinha was only interested in football and family. He would practise long after training sessions, honing his technique to the point that 'it sounded different to other players when he connected with the ball'. Bielsa shaped the player, securing a top-10 finish in Raphinha's first season, then the Brazilian helped the club survive on the final day of the next campaign under Jesse Marsch. When Raphinha scored on the final day to help defeat Brentford, he crawled the entire length of the Gtech Community Stadium pitch amid the wild celebrations. It was a ritual from South America to repay God for granting a wish. Just becoming a footballer was a dream come true, given his background in Brazil. Raphinha walking the length of the pitch on his knees after Leeds United's win over Brentford ⚽ — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 22, 2022 Speaking to those who know Raphinha well, his background often comes up as a topic. To say he lived in poverty in Restinga, a favela in Porto Alegre, does not really cover it. He was begging for food after playing football as there was no money to eat. To get to matches, a family friend would have to top up his bus pass. 'When none of us had any food, we would ask strangers in the streets. You really had to be desperate to do that, but we were so hungry,' Raphinha recalls. 'They thought we wanted to rob them, you know? It was really sad, because we just wanted to taste food. A biscuit, a piece of bread … anything.' His saviour were the famous várzea tournaments, unstructured football where positions are obsolete and anything goes. There were threats to kill and gunshots heard in an environment likened to the Wild West. Raphinha was playing in the tournaments until he was 17 and clubs such as Internacional and Grêmio had rejected him. There was a real possibility of him training as a barber or working in a supermarket as a spell at Avai – six hours away from his home – was injury-hit. In the end, it did get him a move to Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães. The man responsible for his move to Europe was the Portuguese great Deco. After winning titles with Porto, Barca and Chelsea, he moved into football agency and scouted Raphinha. He would play a huge role in his development and they are so close that Raphinha no longer uses an agent with Deco now sporting director at the Nou Camp. Perhaps with that connection, Barcelona was destined to be where Raphinha ended up. He had the briefest glimpse of the magnitude of the club when he was a child. His father was in a samba band that played for a party hosted by Ronaldinho, who met the kid who would later follow in his footsteps to Catalonia. Deco (pictured below) was Raphinha's agent when he moved to Sporting Lisbon, where he struck up a friendship with Bruno Fernandes. Then to Rennes, followed by that dramatic move to Leeds. As the deal was being struck at Elland Road, some of those involved in getting it done were more starstruck by Deco than the £17 million signing. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Raphinha (@raphinha) But Deco had found the right home for his player, even if there was scepticism in some quarters. The BBC reported the deal, quoting a transfer data-analytics company's view of it. 'It places Raphinha's current intrinsic value at £14,590,000, which suggests Leeds are slightly over-paying,' they reported. But buying him for £17 million looks like one of the great Premier League bargains now, and well worth the fight to get him from Rennes. 'When I was on the plane to Leeds, Bruno texted me saying my style would fit the league. He was right again,' Raphinha recalled. That relentless running and stamina has served him well in Spain too. His late winner against Benfica in a 5-4 Champions League game in January was one of the moments of the season. But there could be more to come yet, adding weight to his case to be crowned Ballon d'Or winner.
BBC News
24-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Scars make it beautiful as Leeds deliver
Scar tissue from how it ended last time around in the Premier League in 2023 meant that promotion has felt quite different two years prolonged absence from the top flight, coupled with the club's biggest moment since winning the First Division title in 1992 being constrained in a Covid bubble, made the Marcelo Bielsa era even more couldn't share the moment communally once Bielsa's side had tossed Charlton aside 4-0 as an almost irrelevant prelude to lifting the Championship trophy at a sadly empty Elland were no longer falling apart, they were back in the joy it wasn't joyful. Bar that exquisite period when behind closed doors Leeds United finished ninth in the top flight, the experience was eventually to leave the club and players shell-shocked. That is why for some there will be a sense of PTSD ahead of a crucial summer at Elland moment of promotion, delayed by the increasingly staggered kick-offs of the crucial fixtures, was still sweet this time around though. The manner of the complete obliteration of an in-form Stoke City was spectacular... and so un-Leedsy. Until that point four straight victories had not happened all season across league and cup competitions. When it mattered, United delivered. Bielsa's extraordinary capability of coaching an average Championship side to greatness will always stand alone as a unique and beautiful moment. Due to the circumstances in which his success was secured it also makes it mean more this time because supporters celebrated together, drank together, cried together, hugged together but most of all bellowed out Marching on Marcelo performed a miracle then Daniel Farke produced a phenomenon. Calm, concentrated and composed Farke created two new sides, with this version less reliant on individual moments of brilliance than a collective creativity and a mental resilience than that of 2024. It feels like a vindication of his method and his ability to cope with obstacles, like selling or losing key players ahead of a campaign, and a reflection of the laser focus of the squad to redeem last season's play-off disappointment. So to Monday night and that rare feeling of an end of season game at Elland Road without jeopardy for the hosts, as promotion hopefuls Bristol City come in search of the one win which will secure them a play-off no mistake though, Farke and his side want that 100-point total and the title so after the lights of this week's party have faded and the "fire beast" has come down from the table, the fire will be back in Farke's to West Yorkshire Sport Daily, weeknights at 18:00, and subscribe to BBC Radio Leeds' Don't Go To Bed Just Yet podcast on BBC Sounds
BBC News
22-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Can Burnley & Leeds survive in Premier League?
Leeds and Burnley have sealed their places in the Premier League with two games to could yet end the season on exactly 100 points - yet will be immediately tipped for relegation next the Clarets it is an immediate bounceback, while the Whites took two years to secure their top-flight clubs' managers have similar records in English football management - with three promotions from the Championship, but zero seasons of actually staying up in the Premier how will they fare back in the top flight? The past two seasons have shown they will have their work cut out. Can Parker learn from Kompany mistake? Burnley's last season in the Premier League was under Vincent Kompany. They had cruised their way to promotion, playing attractive they continued trying to play like that in the Premier League and it did not work. Well it worked for Kompany, who was hired as Bayern Munich manager at the end of the season, but not for the Clarets who went down. However, this promotion campaign has been very different. It was based on a solid defence - conceding only 15 goals in 44 league games so far. They are on a club record 31-game unbeaten league Scott Parker had previously won promotion with Fulham and Bournemouth. His record in the Championship is three promotions from three his two and a half years with Fulham they were relegated from the Premier League twice, and promoted in Bournemouth he got them promoted in his first season in charge but left just weeks into the following season, after a 9-0 loss to Clarets defender Michael Duff told BBC Radio 5 Live: "There are going to be tough times next season [for Parker]. He's proven that he's a good manager, and he's not going to become a bad manager in three or four games."Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart, who played for Burnley from 2018 to 2020, added: "There is no way he is going to come away from that [defensive strategy] next season, absolutely no way, especially after what he has seen in the last two seasons from newly promoted sides." Can Farke ever compare to Bielsa? Daniel Farke has managed something only Marcelo Bielsa has done with Leeds since 1990 - winning promotion to the top German led Norwich to promotion from the Championship twice, but they went straight back down the first time and he was sacked in the November of the second Premier League have more points than they did in their 2019-20 Championship title-winning campaign under Bielsa (93) - having lost in last season's play-off no manager will ever compare to the iconic Argentine Bielsa - who was sacked 18 months into his Premier League stint - to Leeds Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford said: "When you've got players such as Archie Gray, Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville - three key players leaving last summer, after missing out in the play-offs, who would have foreseen the overturn in fortunes?"The players that came in - man for man - may not have been as good individually as the players that left. But what they did bring was unity and team spirit."We've scored more goals, conceded less goals, we've got more points [than under Bielsa]. It's phenomenal, but those stats do get overlooked because Daniel Farke is not Marcelo Biesla." How do promoted teams usually do? Leeds and Burnley will hope they can buck the new trend of promoted teams going straight back once between the Premier League's foundation in 1992-93 and 2022-23 had all the promoted teams gone straight back it is set to happen for the second season in a row now. Last season it was Sheffield United, Luton and Burnley. This season Leicester and Southampton are down and Ipswich will join them only that but, barring a huge turnaround in the final few weeks, they will be the two lowest ever points totals for three relegated used to be more common for no promoted teams to go back down - happening four added: "I think fans are going to have to get on board that their teams are going to be looking to grind out results, earn their status in the Premier League. "I think it has been shown over the last two seasons what an impressive league this is, and you really have to be squeaky clean if you want to play that sort of football - because you will get picked apart and hurt."One thing hindering promoted clubs is the profit and sustainability rules (PSR) - which punishes clubs which post losses of more than £105m over a three-year reporting chief finance officer Sasha Ryazantsev told BBC Sport: "A promotion to the Premier League has the obvious positive impact of the higher broadcasting and commercial revenues, yet, Burnley will have one of the lowest revenues."Player wages is the best predictor of on-the-pitch performance in the Premier League. "In 2024, the average wages of the three promoted clubs were five times lower than the average for the top three clubs, and half of the average of the seven clubs immediately below them. "Such disparity means that it has become increasingly difficult for newly promoted sides to stay up, and clubs need to find a way to outsmart the opposition, as outspending them is just not a viable option." Are their current players good enough? Leeds have been more impressive going forward this season, with Burnley more impressive at the back."Dan James, Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu look capable of coping with the step up," said BBC Radio Leeds reporter Adam Pope of the Wales James has played in the Premier League with Leeds, Manchester United and Fulham and centre-back Rodon, also 27, has been there with Ampadu, aged just 24, has already played in the top flights in England, Germany and Italy."There is an argument to suggest Ao Tanaka, Jayden Bogle and Willy Gnonto could follow suit, with the latter pair having had 74 appearances between them in the Premier League already," added Pope."Joel Piroe has the quality to finish at the top level, if not the pace required."Dutch forward Piroe is the Championship's top scorer with 19 goals - including four in Monday's 6-0 win over man who has dominated headlines for Burnley this season has been England Under-21 goalkeeper James has kept 28 clean sheets in 43 Championship games, including a run of 12 in a row, conceding 15 goals - one every 258 season he had conceded 62 goals in 28 Premier League games, with only two clean Clarets keeper Hart said: "I love him, he is so confident and charismatic. He really believes in himself and I know for a fact he has been working hard on his physical development. He will be at the centre of plenty of activity this summer."Ex-Clarets winger Glen Little, who is BBC Radio Lancashire's summariser, says their centre-backs - who like Trafford are both 22 - have been their best two players."I'd have Maxime Esteve as the player of the season and CJ Egan-Riley right behind him. The defence have been really good," he said. Will they have money to spend this summer? Both clubs are owned by Americans, with investment from people linked to American Capital LLC has majority control of Burnley, with Alan Pace the chairman. Former NFL player JJ Watt is a minority stakeholder in the are owned by the San Francisco 49ers Enterprises group, with investors including American golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Bull has a minority stake in the reporter Pope said: "I expect Daniel Farke will be backed by the owners, unlike his time post winning two titles at Norwich City. "Financially Leeds United are in as solid a position as I can recall."The one concern is that the club has £142m to fork out in unpaid transfer fees, but the profit from the sales of Crysencio Summerville, Archie Gray and Georginio Rutter will offset some of that."Burnley's owners have a decision to make. Two summers ago they spent a fortune and got relegated with 24 points."A couple of years ago they shocked everyone," said Little. "They spent about £100m. It was a disaster. It didn't work. "Will they reign it in a bit this time and go for more experienced Premier League players? Or will they take the money and say 'it's a young team, shall we go with it and see how we get on?'"The one thing they didn't do last time, which was a mistake, was they didn't sign a proper centre-forward. This time around hopefully they've learned their lesson there. That would be my first business."
