Marcelo Bielsa has spoken out about his desire to make a return to the dugout at Athletic Bilbao. Bielsa has been without a club since leaving Leeds United in February and he has spoken for the first time since his Elland Road departure to address his plans to step into management once more.
The Argentine is still loved by many at Leeds after securing the club’s long-awaited return to the Premier League and despite only spending two seasons there, he is a favourite in Bilbao, too. The 66-year-old coached Los Leones between 2011 and 2013 and managed to secure appearances in the Europa League and Copa Del Rey finals.
And, it seems he could be set to return to the Spanish outfit, should Iñaki Arechabaleta win the club’s upcoming presidential elections. Arechabaleta has promised supporters that he will take Bielsa back to Bilbao should he be elected to replace Aitor Elizegi and that could bolster his support ahead of Friday's vote.
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In an interview with Spanish media outlet El Chiringuito, Bielsa appeared keen to make a return to the La Liga club, but Arechabaleta would, of course, have to win the upcoming election first.
“In the month of March I had contact with Iñaki Arechabaleta, he proposed this possibility to me,” Bielsa said, as per Sport Witness.
"It is a great responsibility to be Athletic Club’s coach. I needed some time to give him an answer. I told Arechabaleta that the best thing was for Marcelino to continue because he had room for growth.
“Finally, after Marcelino’s decision (to leave), I began to think about giving him a positive answer. The quality of this team is comparable to what it was ten years ago. It makes me dream to join a group that can try to have a version of a similar level to that of 2011-2013.”
Bielsa also gave an online presentation of what he would bring to the club, going into his usual forensic detail of his personal history, the current Athletic squad and also included plenty of statistical information on what his Leeds United players achieved under him. The talk is available here on YouTube and will remind fans of his legendary 'spygate' presentation that followed the Derby County controversy in 2019.
Bielsa isn’t the only man being spoken about when it comes to the Bilbao job, though, with one presidential candidate reportedly eyeing former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino.
If Arechabaleta were to win the election, Bielsa would be tasked with taking the club back into Europe after finishing eighth last season. The election takes place on June 24 and, intriguingly, Athletic visit St James' Park to take on Newcastle United in a pre-season friendly on July 30.
