Former Marseille president Vincent Labrune has revealed that he signed up Marcelo Bielsa as the club’s head coach as he wanted a big personality and a star in the dugout, as the club were not in a position to spend big on players.
Bielsa has been a success at Leeds despite failing to earn promotion last season, while this term he has the Whites sitting top of the Championship table.
The Argentine is known for his fiery temperament and had a tumultuous spell in France, when he spent a little more than a season at Marseille before leaving the club due to disagreements with the management.
Labrune played a big role in bringing in Bielsa and he revealed that the idea to appoint him was down to the fact that he wanted the coach to be the superstar because the club were financially not in a position to spend big sums on big players.
The former Marseille president told French sports daily L’Equipe: “PSG had Ibra [Zlatan Ibrahimovic], their megastar.
“We couldn’t afford players of that calibre. The idea was to make Bielsa the star, a god at the stadium.
“The Velodrome is an arena and he, a character who totally adapted to the local culture, [was] almost mystical.”
Bielsa’s Marseille finished fourth in the 2014/15 season, fading late in the campaign; they had sat on top of the Ligue 1 standings at Christmas.
