Report: Marcelo Bielsa becomes Uruguay coach – 3rd station as national coach

Without a club for over a year

Marcelo Bielsa is set to return to the sidelines more than a year after leaving Leeds United in charge. As the Argentine TV channel “TyC Sports“ reported, the 67-year-old takes over the national team of Uruguay. Accordingly, the coach and the football association agree on a cooperation, “in the next few days” the official confirmation is expected.

The post of national coach has been vacant since Diego Alonso split in February. Alonso had overseen the Celeste in 12 games, including the World Cup in Qatar, which ended for Uruguay in the group stage. There is talk of Bielsa getting a contract until the end of South America’s World Cup qualifiers – with the chance of an extension should Uruguay secure a ticket to the 2026 finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Uruguay would be Bielsa’s third position as national coach, having already looked after Chile (2007-2011) and Argentina (1998-2004). He led both teams to one World Cup each. While Argentina 2002 finished in the preliminary round, he reached the round of 16 with Chile 2010.

Most recently, Bielsa worked for Leeds for more than three and a half years until February 2022. He led the Whites to promotion to the Premier League, among other things, and was on the touchline 170 times – more than at any other station before. On average, Bielsa scored 1.61 points per game until they parted ways in the middle of the relegation battle. Since then, the coach has been loosely linked with AFC Bournemouth and ex-Bilbao Athletic Club, among others.

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