BIELSA'S BUCKET - THE AWESOME POWER BEHIND A PREMIER LEAGUE ICON

 The Guardian 8 August 2021  - by Hannah Jane Parkinson

‘I love the idea of young Leeds fans doing the Bielsa squat in local parks, rather than copying how Patrick Bamford slots the ball home.’ Illustration: Christophe Gowans/Guardian Design

You’ll see him prowling the touchlines, the lenses of his glasses dappled with droplets of water, his tactical brain scanning the angles of the pitch, then there it is: the squat.

Marcelo Bielsa is known for various eccentricities – his nickname is El Loco Bielsa, madman Bielsa – but the most visible is surely his habit of eschewing the dugout seats to get down low on his haunches, hands clasped between his knees, in the position of a plumber considering the problem with your washing machine.

The Leeds manager’s unusual positioning has become something of a trademark, much loved among dedicated Leeds fans but also football fans in general. It is a big contribution to his cult status in the game.

When did this particular Bielsaism begin? And how, I am desperate to know, does a man who is 66 years old manage to hold such a posture for significant periods of time when my knees would crumble to dust in mere seconds?

Tim Rich, who has written a book on Bielsa (The Quality of Madness has a photograph of Bielsa in full squat on the cover) believes the stance began when Bielsa started managing Marseille in 2014. “Before that he didn’t crouch. He simply did what most managers do and stood by the touchlines and often got sent to the stands for losing his temper.”

But Marseille’s stadium, the Stade Vélodrome, has a very low dugout and Bielsa began to sit on an icebox on the sidelines. “You don’t get a very good view sitting in that dugout, and soon Bielsa was on the icebox, rather ostentatiously directing his forces.”

There was an unfortunate incident when Bielsa sat down on his icebox without realising his assistant had used it to park a cup of hot coffee. Perhaps it was this trauma that led to Bielsa beginning to crouch as well as perch on something solid.

By the time he arrived at Leeds in 2018, this quirk was well-established. When not giving his best impression of an unsupported Rodin’s The Thinker, Bielsa choose to sit on an upturned bucket. The Leeds hierarchy soon created a custom, cushioned bucket complete with club insignia. Replicas of this creation even went on sale in the official club shop – for £80. “Bielsa has made bucket manufacturers in Yorkshire very happy,” says Rich.

Elland Road has a similarly sunken dugout to Marseille’s ground. Rich reminds me that Alex Ferguson had Old Trafford’s dugouts rebuilt – the home positioned higher than the away for a slight managerial advantage. Ole Gunnar Solskjær has taken to sitting at the back of that dugout for a higher view, as Ferguson did before him.

© Provided by The Guardian Marcelo Bielsa looks on from his preferred vantage point. Photograph: Robin Jones/Getty Images

It seems somewhat strange, then, for Bielsa to ensure he is not sitting in a low dugout but then to crouch down close enough to smell the grass. But there may well be additional motivations.

The Argentinian comes from a family of politicians – Rich likens the clan to the Benn dynasty in the UK – so Bielsa will recognise the power that props and symbols, overt or otherwise, can have.

Somewhat more prosaically, Bielsa is well known to have longstanding back problems. He walks rather than drives to the club’s Thorp Arch training ground, which is supposed to help. It has been mooted that his crouching eases the strain. Rich also points out that Bielsa used to be prone to outbursts and has become calmer since he entered the era of the crouch.

I am still extremely impressed, however, that he can physically manage it. I ask Steve Caulfield, a personal trainer based in Bromley, London, who has the kind of thighs that could crush watermelons, for his take. Caulfield says lsa, as a former player, probably developed a sense of strength, coordination and conditioning from a young age.

Caulfield says: “It looks like Bielsa has excellent hip flexibility and the low squat is relying on mobility in his hips, knees, back, and ankles.” He agrees with the back-pain relief theory. “It may well be more comfortable for him than a seated position on his lower back. There was a lot of unsatisfactory research in the 1960s and 70s about protecting backs by not bending down or squatting.

“But children can often be found sitting in this position for hours while playing; it comes naturally to us. So Bielsa has obviously ignored that and at 66 years old is still making it look pretty relaxing.”

© Provided by The Guardian A mural of Marcelo Bielsa in the pose of Christ the Redeemer in Leeds. Photograph: Peter Powell/EPA

Despite the fact I topple over within seconds of scrubbing my bathroom floor, Caulfield says we could all emulate the Bielsa squat. “Even taking five minutes a day can make sedentary adults improve their flexibility. A great starting point is to lie on your back and let your knees fall to the side.

“Over time you can push your knees to the ground, working on the rotation in your hips. As with all forms of movement, consistency is key. Bielsa has been doing it for ages – that’s why it’s still comfortable for him.”

I love the idea of young Leeds fans doing the Bielsa squat in local parks, rather than copying how Patrick Bamford slots the ball home. To elaborate on the popularity of the squat: the Leeds podcaster Micky P Kerr recorded and released a song entitled Bucket Man to the tune of Elton John’s Rocket Man, now enthusiastically sung on the terraces. Then there’s The King of Elland Road (“with your bucket as your throne”) by fan Paul Wilson. There are at least three Twitter accounts dedicated to the bucket.

The twin idiosyncrasies of bucket and squat, then, are confirmed phenomena. They are up there with other managerial hallmarks: Jürgen Klopp’s transparent spectacles and simian chest-beating or the character marks of the past such as Alex Ferguson and his penchant for furiously chewing gum and Arsène Wenger’s sleeping-bag coat (gone but never forgotten).

All of this attention has led to Bielsa being asked about the squatting, the bucket perching. “It belongs to the folklore you find in football,” one journalist said.

“You want me to tell you more than what it is,” the manager responded. “It’s just a bucket. I have nothing to add.” But then, a pause, and a twitch of the eyebrows, and he did add something. “It’s a comfortable bucket.”