Marcelo Bielsa

With the latter, his team became the first Latin American team to win the Olympic title in football since 1928 (when Uruguay beat Argentina in the final), the first Argentinian Olympic gold medal in 52 years.

Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed El Loco Bielsa, meaning 'The Madman Bielsa'; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who is the current manager of the Uruguay national team and the Uruguay national under-23 team.

He is widely regarded as one of the most influential coaches of all time.

Bielsa is a former player having played as a defender for Newell's Old Boys, Instituto and Argentino de Rosario.

Bielsa played as a defender in Newell's Old Boys' First Division team, but retired when he was 25 to focus on coaching.

Bielsa has managed several football clubs and also the national teams of Argentina and Chile.

In 1980, after retiring from playing in football, Bielsa decided to start a career as a football manager.

His first job was coaching the youth divisions of Newell's.

Chile soundly beat Peru 3–1 in Lima, a location where they last won in 1985.

Bielsa then led Chile to a 2–0 win at the Defensores del Chaco Stadium against hosts Paraguay, obtaining an away triumph on this location for the first time in almost 30 years.

He developed his career as coach of Newell's Old Boys where he won several titles in the early 1990s, before moving to Mexico in 1992, briefly coaching Club Atlas and Club América.

In 1990, he was given the task of managing their first team, where he would go on to win the 1990 Torneo Apertura and the 1990–91 Torneo Integración, defeating Boca Juniors on penalties.

Bielsa managed the squad that competed in the final of the 1992 Copa Libertadores, losing to São Paulo on penalties.

Weeks after the Libertadores defeat, Bielsa and Newell's won the 1992 Torneo Clausura.

Bielsa returned to Argentina in 1997 to manage Vélez Sarsfield, leading them to the 1998 league title (Clausura).

With Chile, he achieved cult status due to the improved results of the national team under his leadership.

His personality and gestures during his stint in Chile captured the attention of media and unleashed a series of minor controversies both in sports and politics.

After a period in Mexico, he returned to Argentina and won another league title – the 1998 Clausura – while coaching Vélez Sarsfield.

In 1998, Bielsa was given the job of manager at Spanish La Liga side Espanyol, but he soon left after being offered the management of the Argentina national team later that year, taking over after a four-year period by Daniel Passarella as manager.

At the 1999 Copa América, Argentina were beaten 3–0 by Colombia in a game where Argentina forward Martin Palermo missed three penalties and Bielsa was sent off.

On Bielsa's post match reaction, Tim Vickery of the BBC wrote:"In the press conference he sat staring into space, refusing to make eye contact with anyone – his usual stance. He was asked what he had made of the referee's performance. If the question was predictable, the answer was anything but. 'One doesn't usually have the habit of commenting on referees, but…' he said, leaving everyone to believe he would continue with a rant about a joker running amok with a whistle. Instead he proceeded with, 'but in respect of my expulsion, the referee was absolutely correct because I protested in an ill mannered form.'"

Argentina won the qualification group for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but did not progress through the first knockout round at the tournament.

Despite this, Bielsa stayed on his position as Argentine manager.

The Albicelestes were runners-up in the 2004 Copa América and won the 2004 Olympic Games' gold medal.

Bielsa, however, resigned at the end of 2004, being succeeded by José Pékerman.

Under Bielsa's guidance, the Chile national team underwent many positive and negative historic firsts.

For the first time in its history, Chile was able to earn a point playing Uruguay away in Montevideo.

Chile also suffered their worst defeat ever when playing at home during qualifiers losing 3–0 against Paraguay.

This historic low was repeated with a Chile loss of 3–0 against Brazil, which also marked the first home loss against Brazil in a qualification game in nearly 50 years.

On 15 October 2008, however, Bielsa masterminded a 1–0 win over his native Argentina, Chile's first win ever over Argentina in an official match; Argentina's loss prompted the resignation of its coach Alfio Basile.

The team continued the road to the 2010 World Cup with a victory over Bolivia, 4–0.

After a 2–2 tie against Venezuela in Santiago, and travelling to Brazil to lose 2–4, Chile finally achieved qualification to the World Cup after defeating Colombia 4–2, a result that was also Chile's first ever away win against the Colombians.

By helping Chile qualify for a World Cup after two tournament absences, Bielsa attained great popularity there.

His appointment brought about visible changes in the Chilean set-up, with the fast-tracking of young talents and a more attacking mindset away from home.

He had a two year-spell in Spain at Athletic Bilbao between 2011 and 2013, leading them to domestic and continental cup finals in the first season, though they lost both.

In May 2014, Bielsa was appointed as coach of Marseille, starting with good results but finishing outside the expected first three places in Ligue 1, resigning after just over a year at the French club.

He remains highly regarded by OM fans for his offensive playing style and personality.

In June 2018, Bielsa was appointed manager of then-Championship club Leeds United, leading the club to promotion back to the Premier League in 2020 after a 16-year absence as a result of winning the 2019–20 EFL Championship.

Leeds United is the club at which he spent the most time as manager in his career; taking charge of 170 games before departing in February 2022.

He is considered a cult figure among Leeds fans.