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Marching on together

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Leeds United.

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One of the most famous clubs
in British football history.

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Champions and winners of titles
and trophies in England and in Europe.

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Leeds have one of the largest,
most passionate fanbases

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in world club football.

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Despite now plying their trade
in England's second division,

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The Championship.

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Yeah, yes!

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At the turn of this century,
Leeds went from Champions League heroes

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to the brink of extinction
within a few seasons.

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Disastrous financial mismanagement
and a series of off-field scandals

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left the club in ruins.

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Since then, new owners and managers

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have tried to revive the sleeping giant.

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Until now, all have failed.

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But there is new hope

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in the shape of ambitious,
Italian entrepreneur

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Andrea Radrizzani.

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His goal is to rebuild the club

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and fulfil the demands
of a worldwide fanbase

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and get Leeds United
back into the Premier League,

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the most prestigious football
competition in the world.

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This is a story that plays out
in one of the most extraordinary seasons

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in this remarkable club's history.

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This is Take Us Home: Leeds United.

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Pizza margherita.

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Ciao, auf wiedersehen!

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Impossible bets is what he specialises in.

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Turning the table to his favour.

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It takes guts; energy,
which he has plenty of; stamina.

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With that he made a lot of money.
I keep telling him

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- not to waste it on bloody football.
- Mmm, I'm unstoppable.

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Because football doesn't make any money.

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So he said, "You don't trust me?"

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I said, "Yeah, I trust you.
You are a smart, young entrepreneur."

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I will show him the opposite.

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And I said, "Please,
for your kid who loves football,

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make sure he doesn't hate it
when he's big enough to understand

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that you wasted
all your fortune behind."

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Andrea Radrizzani was born
in Milan and created his fortune,

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an estimated £450 million,

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after founding his own
global investment company,

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specialising in trading
television sports rights.

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So, I left Milan in 2003.

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I went to... to Shanghai,
then Tokyo, then Singapore.

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Then I started to share my time
between Singapore and London,

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so I've been away
more than 15 years, 16 this year.

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And then this year I decided
to come back to Milan for one year

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to stay here with my family
so that my son can learn Italian

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and go to school here
for the first year of school

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and kindergarten.
He's only three years old.

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And then... So, my family is here

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and me, I'm up and down
between London, Leeds and Milan.

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We have a deal with the wife,
with Nedine, that if we get promoted,

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we're going to move
to Leeds for one year.

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Andrea bought a 50% stake
in Leeds United in January 2017

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before completing a full buy-out
five months later.

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Hey.

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You still awake?

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So I told them,
this is our football pitch. Right?

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- Yes.
- Where is your goal?

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Okay. Show him which football shirt
you use when you play.

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Look, even this one.

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- This one is your favourite, ah?
- This one.

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This is your favourite.

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I like to make money, of course.
When I work, as a consequence,

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I think my reward
is to make money and be profitable.

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I take risks, I like to. I like to,
because at the end it is like a game.

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One day, I'm going back
to the dust like everybody,

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so money doesn't count.

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I like to invest in things
that give me adrenaline

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and business is one of them.

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Football is one of them.
So, I enjoy that.

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You're really against
my investment in football.

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No, I'm... I'm not against,
I think that doing it...

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The risk is very high.

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...alone, it took a lot of courage
and maybe a little bit too much.

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That's all. I'm saying
that you could've done it

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with a team, a group of investors.

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Yeah, but nobody is full of crazy ideas.

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- That's true.
- They follow after you're successful.

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I thought there were
a lot of crazy guys in Leeds!

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- When you deliver, they follow.
- I thought in the town of Leeds

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there were enough crazy people
for football.

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It's a club that
is perfectly suited for a one-club city.

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It's a club that embodies the city

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and attracts the interest
and captures the interest of everybody.

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It's an incredibly loyal city
and that loyalty has persisted

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despite there being so many occasions

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when the crowds could've dipped
to a worrying level,

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as has happened
to other clubs across the country.

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But the support always seems to be there
and it's always ready to come back.

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And I think it is an institution
that the city needs,

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the city will always need
and will always flock to.

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For the amount of fans that go
to Elland Road on a weekly basis,

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and the numbers they get,

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and the people from around the world
who are watching it live

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from every country around the world,
it's unbelievable.

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We're a big city who wants one team in it.

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Every other big city
has a couple of teams in,

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so there's a divided support,
whereas Leeds, everyone's Leeds.

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It's truthfully my religion.

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That's what I say to my kids.

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They say, "Mum,
are you going to football again?"

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I'm like, "Yep, it's my religion.
I'm off praising, I'm off to church."

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We are Leeds!

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It reinvigorated my life.
My focus, it's all Leeds now.

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I work, yeah, I have children.

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I have family and then I have Leeds.
Leeds United.

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To me, what it means
to be a Leeds fan is camaraderie,

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family, emotion, passion, one-team city.

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All Leeds, aren't we?
All Leeds, aren't we?

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All Leeds, aren't we?

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Andrea bought a club that had
suffered a humiliating fall from grace.

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Under legendary manager Don Revie,
Leeds established themselves

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as a dominant force
during the 1960s and '70s.

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Leeds United, all in white,
against the Gunners, Arsenal.

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Jones as he kicks to Allan Clarke,
who heads it in!

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On the pitch, captain Billy Bremner
was their leader.

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They became England's top team

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and were feared and respected
across the whole of Europe.

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Jack Charlton, Bremner...
Oh, beautiful goal!

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What a superb goal by Bremner!

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After Revie left to become England
manager in the mid-seventies,

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Leeds had over a decade in the doldrums

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before returning to be crowned
English champions again in 1992.

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At the turn of the century,
they became a force in Europe again

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and reached the Champions League
semi-finals in 2001.

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But, after over-spending
and financial mismanagement,

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Leeds went into freefall.

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A fire sale
of their greatest talent was inevitable.

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Rio Ferdinand became
Britain's most expensive player

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when he moved to bitter rivals
Manchester United for £30 million.

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And Leeds were forced to sell stars

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like Robbie Fowler, Jonathan Woodgate
and Harry Kewell.

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You were never quite sure
where the next crisis was coming from,

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whether the people who were in charge
of the club could manage the crisis.

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What many considered the most
exciting young side in England

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was ripped apart.

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Leeds were relegated
from the Premier League in 2004

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and dropped to the third tier
three years later.

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New owners and managers
have come and gone.

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Their long-suffering fans,
convinced they are a cursed club.

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But after 15 years in the wilderness,

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hope is returning to Elland Road.

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In terms of a city and a club
being combined,

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or the potential for it to be combined,
there's not another city like it.

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Andrea is someone who throws
himself in literally the deep end

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and he goes, and he grabs everyone.

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He's someone very approachable

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and he likes to have contact with people.

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So, either if it's someone really high

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or someone who has the job as the janitor,

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or in the kitchen, that's cooking,

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he goes and he greets them.
He says, "Thank you."

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For him it's important,
because everyone brings value to the club.

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Everyone works together
for the same cause

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and I think it's very important

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that they can feel
that they can speak to him as well

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and he's not someone "up there,"
because he's not that type of person.

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When Andrea came in,
I didn't know much about him,

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to be quite honest,
but there were no skeletons.

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You know, you search, you have a look,

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and you thought,
"Wow, this guy seems clean."

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I have to say, we've been through
a very dark era with the former owners,

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but Andrea, the new owner
and his team that've come in

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have been very outward-focused.

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Andrea's first move

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is to recruit a Premier League-quality
management team

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to put Leeds back on track
both on and off the pitch.

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Spaniard Victor Orta was recruited

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from Championship rivals Middlesbrough
and appointed director of football.

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Victor is now responsible
for assembling a squad

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capable of challenging for promotion
to the Premier League.

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In all the headlines,
in all the history that they are making,

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obviously, like a crazy football fan,

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I know the history
about this kind of club.

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And it was a big challenge for me
to arrive to a club like Leeds United

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to try to get back to its real position,
that was the Premier League.

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When you meet Victor,
you understand his knowledge on scouting.

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I think he's a database.
He's very knowledgeable about everything.

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Andrea has recruited a CEO
with a Premier League pedigree

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in former West Ham managing director,
Angus Kinnear.

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It's the best job in football.

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I genuinely believe it's the best job
in football if we can take Leeds United

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back to where they belong. I don't think
there's a bigger challenge or prize.

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It's a club with such fantastic history,
such fantastic potential,

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so I didn't think twice about it.

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With Victor and Andrea, we over-index
on Latin American and Hispanic passion.

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I'm definitely the boring Anglo-Saxon

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who tries to steer through
the middle path.

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It's a fantastic
work environment, it's a...

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they're friends as well as colleagues.

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I think we all want
to achieve success together

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and I think, with the skills,
we're actually well-balanced.

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The way that you work
with Victor and with me is...

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Victor tries to spend money,
I try to save it and make it.

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And we don't speak
about football after the games.

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That was a critical mistake
from last year.

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Last year was the new management team's
first full season in charge.

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It was a steep learning curve as Leeds
finished 13th in the Championship.

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The board decided more change
was needed at the very top.

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The search was on for a new,
world-class head coach.

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One that could transform the club.

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Andrea and Victor suggested his name
as somebody we should be looking at.

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I had a wry smile,
because neither of them lack ambition,

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but sometimes,
their ideas aren't rooted in reality.

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He's not motivated by money or comfort.

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He is motivated by big challenges.

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It's the way he handles himself,
and how honest he is,

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how much of a great manager he is.

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I think he's one
of the best managers in the world.

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00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:23,120
In the early '90s, an ex-player
of Argentinian side Newell's Old Boys

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returned to his former club
and transformed their fortunes.

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After winning two league titles,
he remains a legend to this day.

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For the Newell's fans, he is an idol,
a God to us.

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He is like a synonym for teacher.

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A teacher that I had
for seven or eight years

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in the youth team of Newell's
and the first team of Newell's.

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A person who taught us a lot.

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A person that makes the whole team
want to be a manager.

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To lead, to live and breathe football.

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Marcelo Bielsa brought pride
and passion back to Newell's Old Boys.

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Newell's, carajo! Newell's!

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Carried shoulder-high by his players
on winning the 1990 league title,

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his defiant and expletive,
"Newell's, carajo!"

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remains the fans' war cry to this day.

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He went on to become one of the most
respected coaches in world football,

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leading Argentina
to Olympic gold in 2004,

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transforming Chilean football
as national coach,

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and again at a club level
with Athletic Bilbao.

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His admirers are many,

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including Manchester City coach
Pep Guardiola

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and Tottenham Hotspur manager
Mauricio Pochettino,

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00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:01,080
who Bielsa signed as a thirteen-year-old
at Newell's Old Boys.

237
00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:06,560
Marcelo Bielsa has a vision of life
which is admirable.

238
00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:09,640
The principles that he applies
to his day-to-day life.

239
00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:12,800
There is an enigma about him.

240
00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:18,200
He creates an aura,
surrounded by pupils,

241
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,720
otherwise known as disciples,

242
00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,320
and that creates a cult personality.

243
00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,160
Victor and I went over to Buenos Aires.

244
00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:39,200
We sat in a hotel with him
for effectively twelve hours.

245
00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:43,240
What we found very quickly was
he's not a man who wanted to be sold to.

246
00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:47,480
We felt that were going to have to explain
to him the vision and potential of Leeds,

247
00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,600
but he got that straight away.
He understood it.

248
00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:54,000
He is a person
that likes to focus on goals

249
00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:56,680
that aren't easy to achieve.

250
00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:01,920
Things that are easy bore him.

251
00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,640
He is interested in difficult challenges,

252
00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:08,400
challenges that have a lot to do

253
00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:14,400
with the heart that he can put into them
and the people that he works with.

254
00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:16,360
Regarding Leeds,

255
00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:21,360
it's a great English football team
that is not great right now.

256
00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:25,760
In his imagination he saw

257
00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,480
Leeds returning to be
of the greatest clubs in England.

258
00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:30,600
And this motivation, this goal,

259
00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:34,040
definitely encouraged him
immensely to try and achieve it.

260
00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:36,200
In going for Bielsa,
I think it was an admission

261
00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,880
that they needed to bite the bullet
with the head coach.

262
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,520
They needed to find somebody
with that track record,

263
00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:43,160
with that proven ability,

264
00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:46,880
or at least that kudos and that aura

265
00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,880
that could get a hold of the club
and change the culture of it,

266
00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,280
change the way in which they played,
gain the respect of the players,

267
00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,200
which I think at times over the years
has definitely been an issue.

268
00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:00,680
One of my jobs was to get the contract
signed and agree the commercial terms

269
00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,680
and one of the frustrating things
was I couldn't get him to talk or debate

270
00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:06,440
or engage in that subject at all.

271
00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:10,600
He looks closely at all
the details of every club he manages,

272
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:15,240
not only the sports part
of Leeds as a club.

273
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:20,520
He studies the people,
he studies the city,

274
00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:25,520
he studies everything about Leeds
as a city.

275
00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:29,040
Where the people like to go,
what they read,

276
00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,000
how people move through the city.

277
00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:39,000
If Bielsa does not fall in love
with a city, he will not go.

278
00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:42,800
Bielsa did not go to manage Leeds
for just the football club.

279
00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:45,840
Bielsa went to manage Leeds
for the city as a whole.

280
00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:51,640
Even though we were only
in Buenos Aires for 24 hours,

281
00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:54,960
we shook hands knowing
that he was going to be

282
00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:56,560
the next Leeds United head coach

283
00:18:57,360 --> 00:18:59,800
but not knowing
what the contract would contain.

284
00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:13,520
I considered the strength
of the institutional sports project.

285
00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:18,000
I analysed the sporting possibilities

286
00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:23,840
and that made me make the effort

287
00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:28,480
to be the one they chose in the end.

288
00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:36,120
As managers, we have no choice

289
00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:40,040
but to impose what we think,

290
00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:45,680
because we can't convince

291
00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:51,120
by proposing something
that we don't believe in.

292
00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:55,600
He comes with the nickname "El Loco"

293
00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,240
and because you only have
the chance to read about him

294
00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:02,120
and to analyse him in that way
before he arrives,

295
00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:06,160
you have this picture of a crazy
individual, in no way level-headed,

296
00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:08,560
a loose cannon who could do anything
at the drop of a hat.

297
00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,120
But I think in the flesh and in practice,

298
00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:14,720
obsessional is the word.
He wants things to be right.

299
00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:18,560
I think he's great. I think he's honestly
one of the best in the world.

300
00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:23,840
He had a great impact on me
and I hope he promotes, honestly.

301
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:27,960
He's single-minded in a way that very few
head coaches I've seen before are.

302
00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,280
He keeps the players at arm's length,
he keeps the media at arm's length.

303
00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:33,960
He strikes me as a guy
who has nothing on his mind,

304
00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:35,960
at any stage of the day,
apart from football.

305
00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:37,840
It's been his life for a long time.

306
00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:39,800
All of us were like, "Well, wow.

307
00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:43,440
We're about to work a whole season
for one of the best managers."

308
00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:45,320
Everybody speaks so highly of him,

309
00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:47,920
so, straight away,
no matter what he wants done

310
00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:50,960
you're saying, "Yeah, yeah,
absolutely. No problem."

311
00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:54,800
I thought this could be a spectacular
failure or be spectacularly brilliant.

312
00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:58,480
Do my homework, start to think,
"Wow this guy's a bit different.

313
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:00,640
People are talking about him
in quite a special way."

314
00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:05,600
Probably the most honest guy
that I've ever met in football.

315
00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:10,280
He was very, very obsessed
with no cheating, never cheating, never,

316
00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:14,560
try to be honest
every time you are on the pitch.

317
00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:20,520
Marcelo was very, very specific
on the additions we needed to make

318
00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:22,320
and was actually much more focused on

319
00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:24,720
what he could get out
of the existing squad

320
00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,640
and so the players
that he said would step up,

321
00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:30,760
players who might have been
written off by the fanbase,

322
00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:34,680
like Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips,
they were specific players

323
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,320
that Marcelo said, "I'll make them
the best in the league."

324
00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:43,960
What do you think of him, Gran?

325
00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:46,040
What, Bielsa?

326
00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:48,680
Oh, I think he's lovely.

327
00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:53,400
No, I'd love to bump into him.
He walks around Wetherby sometimes.

328
00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:57,040
I'm always going to get the bus
and go to Wetherby see if I can see him.

329
00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:00,040
I heard he goes in Costas.

330
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:04,400
I'd like to bump into him and say,
"I'm Kalvin's grandma."

331
00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:09,360
He was going to Huddersfield as well.

332
00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:11,400
- I was going to Huddersfield first.
- And Leeds, yeah.

333
00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:14,960
Yeah. I went to Huddersfield first
but I didn't like it, did I?

334
00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:17,680
- No.
- I went to one training session - "Nah."

335
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:21,680
He wanted to go to Leeds. Leeds were
interested at the same time, weren't they?

336
00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:23,760
And his heart was at Leeds, wasn't it?

337
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,800
I had like a six-week trial and...

338
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:30,240
Scored a few goals, didn't he,
and then didn't score.

339
00:22:30,360 --> 00:22:34,760
Scored like five goals
in three games and then got signed,

340
00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:38,080
and then didn't score
for the rest of the season.

341
00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:42,960
I've always liked Phillips

342
00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:45,960
but I was always unsure
if Phillips was going to develop.

343
00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:50,040
You know, he's still young
but he's not 18-19 anymore,

344
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:54,000
so he's in that sort of era now of,
right, I'm gonna be early twenties.

345
00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:57,600
Being a local lad, you know,
he knows what we're all about.

346
00:22:57,720 --> 00:22:59,160
He knows what the fans are about.

347
00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:03,160
And he is a fan. So, he's on the pitch
doing it for us and for the team.

348
00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:05,600
When players come in on loan,
we've had a lot over the years,

349
00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:08,800
they don't know or feel
what we feel about Leeds,

350
00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:11,040
but Phillips, for me, does,
because he is.

351
00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:13,920
I think he wants Leeds
to be where they belong

352
00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:16,200
and I think he's Leeds
through and through.

353
00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:21,320
He's like me when I was young, Kalvin;
he's just a dead down-to-earth kid.

354
00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:24,240
I've played with Kalvin
for four years now

355
00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:30,440
and he is a great young lad. He's got
everything to become a top, top player

356
00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:33,080
and it's all about his application.

357
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,680
If he applies himself, he can go on
to do massive things in the game.

358
00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,760
Obviously, he's a Leeds boy as well,
he supports Leeds United like myself

359
00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:44,640
and other players
and it'll be great for him,

360
00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:46,600
especially being Leeds born.

361
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:50,680
It'd be an unbelievable achievement.
And he's got the world at his feet

362
00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:54,360
and to do it at a club he supports
and he's been at all his life,

363
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:56,840
it'd be unbelievable for him.

364
00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:01,000
He'll be like me. He'll want to do well
and make his family proud

365
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,920
and make his loved ones proud
and that's the way it should be.

366
00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:08,480
At the end of the day, we are all people
and we're all normal people.

367
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:12,640
You get caught up in this stereotype:
"Oh, he's a footballer,

368
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,200
he's a young lad.
He's doing this, he's doing that."

369
00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:18,040
But at the end of the day
we want to be successful

370
00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:22,040
and we want to get the best
out of ourselves like all footballers do.

371
00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:26,720
He is a good person.

372
00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:33,320
The values that he transmits
are encapsulated by the fact

373
00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:36,560
that he's more concerned about
the wellbeing of other than himself.

374
00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,280
He generously helps people

375
00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:47,680
and he is humble enough to accept help.

376
00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:54,280
These two things combined
make him an example for us all.

377
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:01,040
We've got a really good base
of local lads.

378
00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:03,040
It's just...
and he's doing the right thing,

379
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:05,480
it seems, giving them
little minutes here and there,

380
00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:07,960
like develop them
so in a couple of years' time

381
00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:10,760
we should have a good base of players
as well as Phillips.

382
00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:13,320
Yeah, English-based Yorkshire lads.

383
00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:17,760
The way he's working with players
is improving the whole team, definitely.

384
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:19,200
There's not one player now

385
00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:21,640
- that I'd say is a weak link for us.
- No.

386
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:28,400
Very good. Very good!

387
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:31,520
He's a coach
to whom you can give the talent

388
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,360
but he always improves the talent,
improves the capacity of the player.

389
00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,400
There are a lot of examples
in his career where he developed players.

390
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:45,480
He is very demanding.
The way he plays demands a lot from you

391
00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:49,800
in terms of effort,
in terms of cardio capacity.

392
00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:54,760
I've seen some of the players going off
the pitch vomiting, absolutely exhausted.

393
00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:58,360
But after, when you're playing, you fly.
You absolutely fly.

394
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:05,880
His work this summer
has been meticulous to the nth degree.

395
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:09,920
The players have been in at Thorp Arch
through pre-season for 12-hour days,

396
00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,520
in at eight o'clock in the morning,
leaving sometime after seven o'clock.

397
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,640
He didn't go as far as he did at Lille
where he had accommodation

398
00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:18,440
and bungalows built
at their training ground

399
00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:21,080
so the players could sleep,
but they've been there all hours.

400
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:23,280
Obviously, you can see his reputation.

401
00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,120
Yeah, he's kind of crazy
when you look at him from the outside

402
00:26:26,240 --> 00:26:29,440
and he is kind of crazy
when you're with him at the time.

403
00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:31,240
I don't know if it's because

404
00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:33,360
I don't understand the language
that he's speaking.

405
00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:35,560
- Phillips!
- I'm sorry!

406
00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:39,440
Absolutely fastidious about body fat.
Luke Ayling spoke to us

407
00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:43,760
and said that he considered himself
to be a pretty skinny, lean player

408
00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:47,440
but Bielsa's first advice to him
was to lose four kilograms.

409
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:51,160
Every morning, we're trying to make
weight, which can get tiresome.

410
00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:55,120
You know, you come home and you just want
to have a little take away or something,

411
00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:56,400
you can't be bothered to cook,

412
00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:58,600
but then you think, "Ah,
I've got to weigh in, in the morning."

413
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:06,280
We are a very young squad but I think,

414
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:12,600
coming under the new regime and stuff,
it's sort of, it's made the lads

415
00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,760
become experienced
whilst still being young

416
00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,280
and we're very lucky in the way
that we have got a young team

417
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:20,560
which is willing to learn.

418
00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:23,680
He's just,
he's a breath of fresh air, really.

419
00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:27,720
Since he's come into the club
I've acted like a sponge.

420
00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:30,080
I started making notes, actually,

421
00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:33,760
just on things that I'm learning
and taking from him.

422
00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:36,760
The way he used to tell us

423
00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:39,800
that the best way to defend
is to keep attacking.

424
00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:42,560
The best way to get the victory

425
00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:45,600
is to score more goals
and more goals and more goals.

426
00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:48,880
He has raised everybody's game.

427
00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:54,040
This is not just the players. The players,
the staff, in the offices, even the fans.

428
00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:57,560
Everybody is right now very switched on,

429
00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:00,520
clued on or trying to understand
what he's doing.

430
00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:03,520
But really just giving extra.

431
00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:07,000
I felt, number one,
that he's doing the biggest,

432
00:28:07,120 --> 00:28:10,200
most important thing
one single individual can do

433
00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:12,280
with a club of the stature
of Leeds United.

434
00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:14,520
He's changing the culture of the club.

435
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:18,400
For me, he's a reminder that football
is not about the results.

436
00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:23,600
Football is about enjoying the work
that you put in, the day to day,

437
00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:25,760
enjoying the people
that you cross paths with.

438
00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:37,600
When you've made the type of commitment
we'd made to secure Marcelo,

439
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:43,680
it would've been very short-sighted to not
give him the tools he felt were needed

440
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,680
to get us promoted. He takes a very
measured and sensible approach,

441
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:48,960
so rather than being a manager
who makes, you know,

442
00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:51,160
who has a list of ten players
he wanted to sign,

443
00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:55,120
Marcelo was very, very specific on the
positions that needed to be strengthened.

444
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:57,480
And then, when Victor
presented him with the options

445
00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,440
he was very specific on the choices
he wanted to make.

446
00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:02,320
So, actually,

447
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:06,480
it felt like we were working in tandem
and in partnership with the manager

448
00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:09,000
rather than it can often feel
like you're working against them

449
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,600
to secure targets
which were really going to strengthen us.

450
00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:15,160
So, I think the buys
that we made showed ambition,

451
00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:17,080
they required financial commitment,

452
00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:19,440
but I think
they were pretty judicious as well.

453
00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,400
Leeds decide to invest heavily
in a proven marquee striker,

454
00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:27,240
Patrick Bamford, who signs
from promotion rivals Middlesbrough

455
00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:29,840
in a deal worth up to £10 million,

456
00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:33,400
the club's most expensive signing
for 17 years.

457
00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:38,280
He says, "Leeds really want you."
He said, "Bielsa," he says,

458
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,280
"I'll tell you now, he's crazy,
he's got something about him

459
00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:43,600
but he's one of the most respected
managers in the world."

460
00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:47,280
And he said he is, they've had,
they've been looking at different strikers

461
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:50,520
and he said he's pointed out
that you're the one he wants.

462
00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:54,160
I said, "Okay," I said that,
obviously I'm smiling down the phone

463
00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:58,680
I'm like alright, okay, I said, "I don't
think Middlesbrough will let me go."

464
00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:00,360
Victor had worked with him before

465
00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,720
but when we met him we knew
he was just what we needed.

466
00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:05,960
He was somebody
who wanted to play for Leeds United

467
00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:09,120
and shoulder the burden
of being the club's number nine.

468
00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:11,320
He wanted to be the first-choice striker.

469
00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:17,520
Patrick, he's arriving in the key moment
for our one key player of the season.

470
00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:21,720
And then Victor, obviously,
and he gave me a big hug and embraced me

471
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:26,760
and he was like, yes, finally. He said,
I remember exactly what he said.

472
00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:28,320
He said, "If I wasn't before

473
00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:30,920
I'm definitely now the most hated man
in Middlesbrough."

474
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:33,720
He was like,
"I just stole their main guy."

475
00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:37,160
And, yeah,
there were the documents to sign.

476
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:39,040
I remember he took me
to see the gaffer.

477
00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,680
All he said to me,
tapped me on the shoulder: "Good luck,"

478
00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:43,200
and I was like, cheers.

479
00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:47,760
Left-back Barry Douglas,
who helped Wolverhampton Wanderers

480
00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,440
gain promotion
to the Premier League last season,

481
00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:53,360
signs in a three-million-pound deal, too.

482
00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:58,920
It can be a daunting experience
walking into a new dressing room

483
00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:03,120
but what I will say
is the guys here were really open.

484
00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:07,240
Not just with me.
With new staff, with other players,

485
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:13,720
so it was really easy to adapt quickly
and get to business and feel involved.

486
00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:18,960
I met Victor in Birmingham.

487
00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:22,400
We just had a bit of lunch,
a bit of a chat about football,

488
00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:25,520
nothing too serious or formal.

489
00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:27,360
It was more a get-together

490
00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:30,760
and see how their plans were
for this year

491
00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:33,160
and, yeah, kind of went from there.

492
00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:38,640
I was optimistic and happy
with what the journey was going to bring

493
00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:42,320
and the challenge ahead,
so, yeah, we signed for Leeds.

494
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,120
The Championship is a gruelling
46-game season

495
00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:51,120
and is considered one of the toughest
football competitions in the world.

496
00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:57,480
The teams that finish first and second

497
00:31:57,600 --> 00:32:00,360
are automatically promoted
to the Premier League.

498
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:05,280
The teams finishing third to sixth
must enter a play-off series

499
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:10,240
with a one-match final played
at the iconic Wembley stadium in London.

500
00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:15,280
The winners of the play-off final
are promoted to the Premier League,

501
00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:19,720
which is worth around £170 million.

502
00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:23,680
It is the most lucrative
sporting fixture on the planet.

503
00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:31,280
Leeds' first game of the Championship
is at Elland Road against Stoke City,

504
00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:35,400
who played in the Premier League last
season and are favourites to finish top.

505
00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:43,600
Coming up first game against Stoke,
it's one those where you think,

506
00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:45,720
"They've just come down.
Are they gonna do us in?"

507
00:32:45,840 --> 00:32:48,240
First game of the season,
if it's four or five nil,

508
00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:51,960
what's gonna happen there,
Bielsa, what, five games in goes?

509
00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:54,480
What normally happens
is we'll get off to a good start,

510
00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:56,880
and then before Christmas
we'll absolutely mess it up

511
00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:00,280
and finish 14th, which could happen.

512
00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:05,640
A point against Stoke
in the first game of the season

513
00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:07,520
would be a good start
to the season for me.

514
00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:11,760
They are number-one favourites
to go straight back up, aren't they?

515
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:15,040
With the money and the players
that they've got and they've retained.

516
00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:19,640
I think the best we can hope for,
in all honesty, is a draw.

517
00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:24,120
It's the start of the season.
I'm always optimistic.

518
00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:26,200
We've got Marcelo, who's just come in.

519
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,120
I like what I see and what I've read.

520
00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,520
He's giving me visions of Don Revie.

521
00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:37,800
Deciding that Stoke are our biggest rival

522
00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:40,960
before the competition
has started is a little bit risky,

523
00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:44,800
but naturally they are a powerful rival.

524
00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:49,200
Well, obviously
we all want to get promoted,

525
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:51,320
we all want to go back
to the promised land.

526
00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:54,120
It's time we got back
to where we should be.

527
00:33:55,760 --> 00:33:57,480
Very, very nervous prior to Stoke.

528
00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:00,440
It was exactly the fixture
I wouldn't have chosen to have.

529
00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:02,720
I thought they'd be the strongest team
in the division.

530
00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:05,960
I'm a pessimist.

531
00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:08,920
I'll be optimistic
after the last game of the season.

532
00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:13,480
I'm superstitious that way.
Yes, sir. Thank you. Next please.

533
00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:17,520
- A little bit tense but...
- We can do it, we have faith.

534
00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:19,480
- We're gonna go up. It's their time.
- Leeds forever.

535
00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:20,960
- They can do this.
- Come on.

536
00:34:21,680 --> 00:34:24,200
Number two: Luke Ayling.

537
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:28,680
Number three:
please welcome Barry Douglas.

538
00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:32,160
Leeds United has a new king.
He's from Argentina.

539
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:35,480
As Marcelo Bielsa
makes that first walk down the tunnel

540
00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:38,880
to get the full Elland Road experience.

541
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:42,120
34,000 here packed and expectant.

542
00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:45,520
Will Leeds be mid-table mediocrity
once again?

543
00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:50,000
Or will their new leader
take them to real promotion potential?

544
00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:53,280
They are up against Stoke City,
the promotion favourites

545
00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:55,320
and we are about to get underway.

546
00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:01,000
From the first whistle,
Leeds tear into Stoke...

547
00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:02,960
Early chance for Leeds. Roofe so close.

548
00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:06,080
Beaten away by Butland
and scrambled clear by Stoke.

549
00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:07,880
Somehow, it remains nil-nil.

550
00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:11,320
...and look a side transformed
from last season.

551
00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:14,200
Saiz for Leeds.

552
00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:18,840
Klich is onside.
This is the chance... and he scores!

553
00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:22,200
And Mateusz Klich gets Leeds United
and Marcelo Bielsa

554
00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:25,080
off to the dream start
after just fifteen minutes.

555
00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:27,320
What a start. They lead one-nil.

556
00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:32,120
Bielsa has a vision
for how the game should be played

557
00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:35,240
and his players
are actioning his plan to perfection.

558
00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:39,520
Alioski has Hernandez, Hernandez is going
to strike and it's in at the near post!

559
00:35:39,640 --> 00:35:42,240
Leeds United are now
two up against Stoke City.

560
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:46,920
Hernandez celebrates
and they simply cannot believe

561
00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:48,520
what they are seeing here.

562
00:35:50,720 --> 00:35:55,640
At half-time, it's two-nil
and this has been an outstanding start

563
00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:58,640
for Marcelo Bielsa
and this Leeds United side.

564
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:06,160
At the start of the second half,
Stoke begin to compose themselves.

565
00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:09,680
Oh, that looks clumsy,
and a penalty awarded.

566
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:14,120
And Afobe straight down the middle
halves the arrears.

567
00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:15,800
Stoke are back in it.

568
00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:24,520
Last season, Leeds might have
buckled after such a setback.

569
00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:28,560
But this is a new Leeds United.

570
00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:33,440
Barry Douglas to deliver.
In goes Cooper, oh, what a header!

571
00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:35,760
And Liam Cooper the captain steps up

572
00:36:35,880 --> 00:36:39,560
just when the skipper is needed
to restore a two-goal advantage.

573
00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:42,840
Leeds United now three-one ahead
against Stoke City.

574
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:48,400
What a start for Leeds United.

575
00:36:48,520 --> 00:36:52,040
They have absolutely crushed Stoke City
by three goals to one.

576
00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:57,240
Massive, massive that was,

577
00:36:57,360 --> 00:36:59,440
I haven't seen Leeds United
like that for years.

578
00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:04,160
I thought we played really well today.
I was a bit surprised.

579
00:37:04,280 --> 00:37:06,840
With the team they picked,
I didn't fancy our chances

580
00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:09,080
but they really excelled,
so yes, I'm very pleased.

581
00:37:09,800 --> 00:37:13,120
Great result. Fantastic.
Couldn't have imagined anything better.

582
00:37:13,240 --> 00:37:16,040
- Great game, played very well.
- Three points, second in the league.

583
00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:17,280
We're going up!

584
00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:21,160
I think it shows what happens
when you've got a world-class manager.

585
00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:24,240
You know, that team,
with the exception of Douglas,

586
00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:26,720
was available to us
all through last season,

587
00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:30,680
and, you know, some of those players, I've
never seen them play like that before.

588
00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:33,320
Liam Cooper
looked like a different player.

589
00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:37,000
Roofe looked superb.
Phillips was awesome in that midfield.

590
00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:40,320
I don't know what he's done over the last
six weeks, but it's paying off.

591
00:37:40,440 --> 00:37:44,160
I didn't expect that. I'm really looking
forward to the rest of the season.

592
00:37:54,560 --> 00:37:57,840
It was a beautiful day.
The performance was outstanding.

593
00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:02,160
The crowd was sold out and was fierce.
Elland Road was properly fierce.

594
00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:06,000
And... it was the best feeling,
coming away thinking,

595
00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:08,760
"Hang on, this is going to happen."

596
00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:12,200
And after the momentous Stoke victory,

597
00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:17,000
Leeds' start to the season
begins to truly lift off.

598
00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:20,600
Next in their sights, Derby County.

599
00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:24,840
Hernandez,
into the Poland international Klich.

600
00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:26,120
He's lining up one...

601
00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:30,160
Oh, what a strike!
And that's two in two for Mateusz Klich

602
00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:33,080
and he gets Leeds off again
to the perfect start.

603
00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:38,080
Alioski, a drifting cross,
up between them goes Roofe...

604
00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:39,640
Oh, that's an imperious header!

605
00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:42,640
And Kemar Roofe gets his season off
to a scoring start.

606
00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:49,600
Leeds take on and dismantle promotion
contender after promotion contender.

607
00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:52,200
Norwich City are trounced at home.

608
00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:56,240
Oh, lovely move, this. Here comes Alioski.
And he's driven it through the keeper!

609
00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:59,760
This could well be the result
that makes the rest of the championship

610
00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:03,920
sit up and take note.
Leeds United could well be the real deal

611
00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:07,520
as they head towards life in
the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa.

612
00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:13,960
The most valuable thing is the happiness
that we are able to provoke

613
00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:19,640
in those that struggle to find happiness

614
00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:22,320
in other ways away from football.

615
00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:27,520
Mid-September and Leeds take on
Preston North End at Elland Road.

616
00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:31,280
It's an opportunity for home fans
to enjoy the Bielsa-inspired,

617
00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:34,800
all-action style
that is fast becoming their trademark.

618
00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:36,720
Leeds are in again here...

619
00:39:36,840 --> 00:39:39,720
Tyler Roberts at the Kop end
looking to lob home...

620
00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:42,560
Oh, what a way
to open your account for Leeds United.

621
00:39:42,680 --> 00:39:46,520
Tyler Roberts with a really calm
and composed finish over the keeper.

622
00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:48,840
There really is no stopping them now.

623
00:39:49,520 --> 00:39:51,280
Saiz, looking for Klich.

624
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:55,240
Roberts alone in the centre
and he's got a third!

625
00:39:55,360 --> 00:39:57,000
Two for Tyler Roberts.

626
00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:00,960
Leeds United cruising
to a three-nil victory

627
00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:05,040
and they are showing every bit
of their promotion credentials once again.

628
00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:09,240
The board believe it,
the players believe it

629
00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:12,440
and now the Leeds United supporters
are believing it as well.

630
00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:15,200
We're top of the league
We're top of the league

631
00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:19,000
We're Leeds United
We're top of the league

632
00:40:19,520 --> 00:40:21,040
After eight games,

633
00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:24,920
Leeds are undefeated in the Championship
and top of the league.

634
00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:29,600
But there is a long, twisting road ahead.

635
00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:33,280
And what is about to unfold

636
00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:38,160
will be one of the most dramatic seasons
in this club's history.

637
00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:48,960
- Should we have let Aston Villa score?
- Absolutely not.

638
00:40:50,240 --> 00:40:53,200
What the fuck is going on!

639
00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:06,440
We're Leeds United
We'll spy where we want

640
00:41:06,560 --> 00:41:09,320
Leeds United, we're top of the league

641
00:41:10,240 --> 00:41:14,080
We're top of the league
We're top of the league