Rumours about the possible hiring of Marcelo Bielsa as the new manager of the Japanese national team are not new. For several months there has been discussion on the arrival of the Argentine coach.
After the scandal that engulfed Mexican Javier Aguirre and led to his departure, the Football Federation urgently needs to take a new direction – and Bielsa seems to be chosen for the task.
However, is this the right time to Marcelo Bielsa to leave Olympique, when he still has a contract year? With his team just three points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain and with several matches in hand, even to dispute any decision that the Argentine coach takes would seem to be hasty.
However, if we carefully examine the situation, we realise that the Japanese national team can be a lifesaver for the Argentine coach.
The overwhelming start of Marseille in Ligue 1 soon positioned Bielsa as a sort of Guru, both for fans and sports journalists.
The newspapers emphasised his philosophy of work, the players showed delighted with the way he led training sessions and Olympique fans adored the way that the team was playing. But as in every love story, passion only lasts a few months.
The painful elimination in the French Cup against Grenoble (an amateur team of the Fourth Divison) and some missteps in Ligue 1 soon made Marcelo Bielas the perfect target for criticism of those who, only a few months ago, praised his work.
The Argentine coach is a smart man. He knows very well that, both in football and in life, no one is the best when it wins but neither is it the worst when it loses. His philosophy of life is governed by that mantra.
Unfortunately for him, football is not ruled by these codes. Life as manager of a football club is not easy. If you do not win, your work is worthless. In the maelstrom of every day is very difficult for anyone, whether you’re Bielsa, Cruyff or Guardiola. Impose an idea; shape a project.
Perhaps those who have better working conditions are the coaches of the national teams. Time is measured on a different scale for them. The objectives, either win the World Cup or just participate in it, is a long-term goal.
For Bielsa, his stint as coach of the Chilean national team was, perhaps, the best time of his career. Sporting performance, coupled with the level of acceptance of his figure in the Chilean public (who considers Bielsa the refounding of the national football) gave him an unusual transcendence.
Even in Argentina, where his work was always regarded with a critical eye after the catastrophe of World Cup 2002, the press had no choice but to surrender at the feet of the coach.
Given this, it would not be unreasonable to think that the Argentine coach aspire to occupy a similar position again. And is there a place better than Japan to do it?
The dynamic and fast style of Japanese football is perfectly suited to the tactics of Bielsa. In addition, the Blue Samurai tradition of discipline and hard work is very similar to the way of working of the Argentine coach, who is considered by many a monk of football.
In Chile, one of the first targets of Marcelo Bielsa was to impose a regime of appropriate behaviour within a group of players who used to star scandals, both on and off the field. The logic indicates that, in Japan, the Argentine coach will not have that problem.
The Japanese football has stopped its evolution and has stalled. Their poor performance in the last World Cup is proof of that. The arrival of Marcelo Bielsa could be the key to the Asian country to resume its growth.
Japan needs someone like Marcelo Bielsa. Does Marcelo Bielsa need Japan?
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