Became The Premier League’S Youngest Manager [EN]: Chapter 43

43: Why is Rose Derby here?

It was Boxing Day, four days after a disappointing comeback loss at Manchester United’s home ground, Old Trafford.

Clearly, in the coaching staff meeting, we agreed to aim for winning only one of the matches against Leeds United and Southampton in early December, but…

The results of the last six games, with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses, made Hyungmin anxious, as he failed to achieve even half the victories in December.

He persuaded assistant coach Arthur and fitness coach Paulo Morão, arguing that they should focus on each game right in front of them, and fielded the best possible lineup Burnley could muster for the match against Leeds United.

However, only 18 minutes into the game, Hyungmin stood at the edge of the technical area at Turf Moor, his face etched with shock and horror as he watched the scene unfolding on the field.

“Oh… so this is Bielsa-ball.”

“That’s right. This is Bielsa-ball,” Arthur replied blankly, standing next to Hyungmin and watching the game together.

A tactic named ‘Bielsa-ball’ after Marcelo Bielsa, the renowned Argentine manager who championed and first implemented it.

Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, praised him as the best in the world, and his tactical approach had a significant impact on numerous players who became managers themselves, including Mauricio Pochettino, Diego Simeone, and Marcelo Gallardo.

The initial formation might vary, but in actual game situations, it effectively unfolds as a 3-3-3-1 formation.

All players simultaneously participate in both attack and defense, and if possession is lost, they quickly and aggressively press forward to regain it, immediately launching a counterattack from the regained position.

This tactic requires all players to have a high level of tactical understanding, teamwork, and tremendous stamina to sustain the pressing and counterattacking throughout the 90 minutes.

Bielsa himself is so fanatical about soccer and analysis that he demanded a bed be installed in his office at the training ground.

In the infamous ‘Spygate’ incident a few years ago, it was revealed that he had ordered the spying on the training of Derby County, a rival team in the Championship [the second tier of English football], which drew immense criticism.

However, in a press conference held to explain this, Marcelo Bielsa chose to confront the issue head-on by revealing the depth of information he had collected on every opponent in the league for over 60 minutes, astonishing and convincing the journalists present.

He collected and analyzed every conceivable piece of data on each player, not only in the first team but also in the reserve and youth teams, including their playing style, activity level, temperament, tendencies, various metrics, and recent condition.

When he was the manager of Athletic Bilbao, Pep Guardiola, who was then in charge of Barcelona, met with Bielsa and exclaimed with admiration and dismay, “He knows more about my team than I do.”

Leeds United, the team that this legendary manager dragged up from the Championship, was now crushing Hyungmin’s Burnley.

Hyungmin and Arthur glanced at the opposing team’s bench as if by agreement.

In the away team’s technical area, there was an unidentified object that looked like a plastic bucket turned upside down.

The elderly manager in a tracksuit had brought a substitute for a chair to the technical area, where there usually aren’t any chairs, and sat on it casually with his arms crossed, silently watching the game.

Hyungmin, having confirmed the figure of the person who brought revolutionary changes to the soccer world, turned his gaze back to the field.

“They call him El Loco (Note: *El loco* is Spanish for ‘the madman’)… He really is crazy.”

“You’re from Red Bull, aren’t you? The Red Bull system claims to be Bielsa’s successor, doesn’t it?”

Hyungmin shook his head vigorously at Arthur’s sarcasm.

“Red Bull is more on Ralf Rangnick’s side, not Bielsa’s. And even there, they don’t go this far!”

In front of Hyungmin, who was watching with shock and horror, the 10 field players of Leeds United rushed at the Burnley players like mad dogs, pressing them one-on-one.

And after taking the ball, they ran towards the opponent’s goal and shot as if they had found an oasis just before dying of thirst.

Leeds United was deploying the fast and strong pressing in high positions and the quick and concise counterattacks that Hyungmin aimed for, but at an even higher level.

Watching their tremendous amount of activity, Hyungmin was confident enough to bet his managerial position that even the opposing goalkeeper, Illan Meslier, could manage more sprints than any player in Burnley right now.

In fact, as soon as the game started, Burnley, who conceded a goal to Leeds’ left winger Jack Harrison amidst Leeds’ relentless attacks, were struggling and floundering under Leeds’ pressure.

While watching the game, Hyungmin kept glancing at the opposing team’s technical area.

“I’ve watched it on video dozens of times, but actually getting hit like this is incredibly intense. But I really want Bielsa’s bucket chair too, you know? It looks so cool.”

“You think *that* looks cool? It’s a good thing your tactical skills aren’t at the same level as your aesthetic sense,” Arthur sneered.

“But you’re well aware that your team is getting hammered right now, aren’t you? The very team where you’re the manager and I’m the assistant coach.”

Hyungmin shook his head at Arthur’s grumbling.

“I know. But I don’t think there’s anything we can do right now. When a storm comes, you just have to endure it.”

Hyungmin looked at his team, who were struggling helplessly, with a sense of regret.

“Everyone is too unfamiliar with the tactics to make big changes in the middle of the game. But if we back down any further here, we could be completely devoured. Anyway, they won’t be able to keep up this pace for the full 90 minutes, so we’ll have to look for opportunities in the second half.”

“Leeds United usually have such an intense training regime that their regular training is called Murderball, you know? ‘That’ Marcelo Bielsa has put his heart and soul into raising the Leeds first team for three years, so wouldn’t they be able to maintain their stamina for about 90 minutes?”

Hyungmin shook his head at Arthur’s worried question.

“Those guys have had a lot of games too. Moreover, we were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup [League Cup] by fielding mostly reserve players, but those guys continued to play in the quarterfinals and semifinals with their main players.”

Burnley’s squad was thin, but it was inevitable that Leeds, an equally small club, would be affected by fatigue as they juggled league and cup competitions with their thin squad.

As Hyungmin predicted that the stamina of the Leeds players, who had gone through a December schedule as tough as Burnley’s, would be worn down, Burnley’s equalizer came sooner than he expected.

Burnley’s left winger Dwight McNeil and right winger Karim Adeyemi, who started the game, simultaneously penetrated the space behind Leeds’ defense at high speed, pulling Leeds’ defense to the left and right.

The one-on-one defense advocated by Bielsa was good in that it made it clear who should mark whom, but it had the disadvantage that if you avoided the one defender in charge of you, you could exploit the open space for quite a long time until you were checked again.

As Dwight McNeil and Karim Adeyemi, who had each outpaced Leeds United’s left and right fullbacks, Junior Firpo and Luke Ayling, with pure speed, sprinted into the open space, Leeds’ goalkeeper Illan Meslier, who was watching the situation, quickly issued instructions to the defense.

“Pascal! Diego! To the sides! Kalvin to the center!”

The moment Pascal Struijk, one of Leeds’ central defenders, approached Dwight McNeil, and the other central defender, Diego Llorente, approached Karim Adeyemi, Burnley’s central striker Chris Wood, whose opportunities had been limited by Pascal Struijk’s persistent defense, was released.

Leeds’ defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who was coming to support in order to stop Chris Wood instead of Pascal Struijk, was still running.

Josh Brownhill, who was in charge of Burnley’s attack, did not miss this opportunity and sent a high cross from central midfield towards the penalty spot.

If you receive the ball, you have to rotate 180 degrees again to face the goal.

Burnley’s tall striker, calmly watching the incoming ball with his back to the goal, quickly made up his mind at the sound of the opposing goalkeeper approaching him, and jumped high in time with the ball.

The opposing goalkeeper was not yet close enough to punch the ball or interfere with him.

The remaining Leeds defenders and midfielders did not approach Chris Wood to prevent him from passing the ball to other Burnley players with a header, but instead checked the Burnley players they were each in charge of.

Chris Wood, Burnley’s tall striker, who had gained freedom through Burnley’s tactical movements, simply tilted his head back and sent the ball behind him with a header.

“Ugh!”

Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier, who had rushed forward and was caught in reverse motion, jumped up with a bewildered cry, but the ball, which had passed over the stepping stone of Chris Wood, drew a second soft arc and disappeared into the goal past the fingertips of the goalkeeper’s outstretched hand.

“Uaaaaaah!”

As Chris Wood, who scored his 15th goal in 19 games in the first half, ran to the corner flag and roared at the home fans, Hyungmin hugged Arthur and rejoiced.

“I think the opportunity might come sooner than I thought!”

However, the joy of scoring the equalizer was only temporary.

Bielsa, who had risen from his seat after conceding a goal, began to shout at his players, using gestures and shouts.

And then the game restarted.

Leeds United began to press Burnley by increasing the speed by one tempo from the previous fierce pace.

“The speed is going up from *there*?!”

As Hyungmin and Arthur were shocked, Burnley, who were being pressed one-on-one by everyone, were quickly dispossessed of the ball, and the crisis of being counterattacked began to repeat itself.

Eventually, less than 10 minutes after scoring the equalizer, Leeds’ Spanish striker Rodrigo intercepted a pass between Burnley’s central defenders Ben Mee and James Tarkowski.

He easily scored a goal, widening the scoreline to 2-1 again.

Now that they had scored, it would have been nice if they were satisfied, but watching the relentless barrage of pressure that is unique to Bielsa-ball, Hyungmin and Arthur began to pray earnestly that no more points would be scored during the first half.

The reason they didn’t concede any more goals despite being relentlessly beaten was thanks to Ben Mee and James Tarkowski, who provided the excuse for the goal, but then made up for it by throwing their bodies on the line in defense.

However, Hyungmin, who had rushed into the locker room for a tactical change in the second half, received unexpected bad news.