We had our fights’ – Raphinha launches impassioned Marcelo Bielsa defence after Luis Suarez attack

 

Raphinha has defended Marcelo Bielsa after their work together at Leeds United following the criticism by Luis Suarez in recent days

Good times, bad times, fights, some ugly, but Raphinha still thanks Marcelo Bielsa for everything he is today. Two of the most important figures of the past 10 years at Leeds United have been making headlines for different reasons in recent weeks.

While Raphinha is scaling new heights with Barcelona, Bielsa has continued to make an impression in coaching circles with his impact at Uruguay. It is in Uruguay where these recent headlines have surfaced.

Luis Suarez has generated a lot of column inches with criticism of Bielsa as a head coach who has made life hard for their nation’s players. Among other accusations, the legendary striker suggested Bielsa would not say good morning to the squad when they arrive for training, which supposedly had a negative impact on morale.

Raphinha, arguably the highest profile of the players Bielsa coached at Elland Road, has been asked about the Argentine while on international duty with Brazil. The 27-year-old admitted it wasn’t all plain sailing with Bielsa, but insisted this was the norm for all footballers and their coaches.

“Everyone has a difficult side to deal with, a very complicated side to deal with people or situations,” he told Globo. “Individually, I have a way of dealing with some things that, suddenly, are not as good as other things and other people.

“All people are different. Everyone has difficulty at a certain point in managing something. I don’t know what happens with the Uruguayan national team, what I know is what happened to me at Leeds.

“I had good times and bad times with him, it’s natural, like a big family, for example. At home I was with a lot of people, naturally, there would be conflicts and there would be good times and bad times.

“I believe within football, in a club, in a national team, it ends up being the same. There are moments that are good, there are moments that are not so good.”

The Brazilian winger has become something of a talisman for Barcelona, wearing their captain’s armband, playing more minutes than any other player and generating nine goal involvements in nine La Liga appearances. Raphinha credits that rise with club and country to Bielsa’s influence in West Yorkshire.

“Each person has a different personality and a different way of dealing with things,” he said. “We can’t just judge without understanding what goes on in someone’s head, what happened in someone’s life to make them that way.

Get more related news on https://sportviewers.com