West Brom manager Carlos Corberan has admitted that former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa had a massive influence on his coaching career during their time together at Elland Road

 

Corberan’s West Brom are in the hunt for promotion and he has proved himself as a manager in the Championship since leaving Leeds.

 

The Spaniard was part of Bielsa’s staff at Leeds and also was their Under-21s manager during his time with the club.

 

 

 

He admitted that being part of the first-team coaching set-up and also managing the Under-21s was tiring but says he evolved as a coach while working under the Argentinian.

 

Corberan stressed that Bielsa is a genius and he learned a lot under the former Leeds boss about facets of management while onboarding new training methods working under him.

 

 

He conceded that the days were tiring but he was willing to make those sacrifices as he inculcated a massive amount of knowledge from Bielsa.

 

Corberan told Spanish outlet Plaza Deportiva: “Every day with Marcelo if you take advantage of it, you evolve.

 

 

“I remember spending months working with only one day off between the first team and the reserve team. They were intense days where I learned leadership, group management and training.

 

“Bielsa has a strong point and that is that he does not have a weak point at a tactical and training level.

 

“He’s a genius because you have to be a genius to keep up with him for so long.

 

“In the city they adored him. The way of training, defending and attacking are different from what I was used to until I met him.

 

“We are all products of people we influence and who influence us. I lived with him for two years he made a mark on me.

 

“One absorbs when he is willing to learn and the ego positions him in a place where it does not prevent him from learning. You give without expecting anything in return and with that behaviour you grow and learn.

 

“They were very sacrificial years. To take the car at night and drive from where we had played with the reserve team to the first-team hotel. I resisted everything in exchange for learning.”

 

Bielsa has remained a cult figure at Leeds despite leaving the club two years ago, with many fans still unhappy he was sacked.