Bielsa: A Chance At Redemption

By Gordza Fleet, writing from New York City

There he was, standing on the touchline, wondering what could have been. The man was Marcelo Bielsa, coach of his home nation of Argentina. The stage, the 2002 World Cup in South Korea-Japan. Argentina had just drawn 1-1 with Sweden at the Miyagi Stadium. The result meant Argentina were out of the group stages of the 2002 World Cup. After being tipped for greatness, Bielsa’s star had burnt out. It was now a black hole, consuming all the dreams and hopes of a nation, and leaving despair and desolation in its wake. The next big coach out of South America had met a disastrous end in his first appearance on the big stage. So Argentina’s 2002 World Cup campaign met a fateful end. They were on the plane back home after the first round.

Fast forward to 2009, again Bielsa stood on the touchline at the end of the match but in entirely different circumstances. He was now manager of Chile, and the only feeling among the fans and players was unbridled euphoria. They had just beaten Colombia 2-4 away from home to officially secure a place in the 2010 World Cup. Leading Chile to the World Cup has made the Argentine a National Treasure. He is adored by the Chilean people - not only for achieving World Cup qualification - but for leading their football out of the doldrums it had been in before his arrival in 2007. This was not solely a victory for Chilean football. After the disaster in 2002, Argentina did go on to win the Olympic Gold Medal and finish second in the Copa America in 2004 with Bielsa at the helm. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that the memory of 2002 would not have disappeared. In leading Chile to the World Cup, Bielsa had also earned a chance to redeem himself and his modus operandi.