Marcelo Bielsa called an extraordinary press conference to express his ‘shame’ two days after his Uruguay side were on the end of a 5-1 humbling at the hands of the USA.
The former Leeds United boss, 70, has led the South Americans to next summer’s World Cup but they were thumped in a shock loss to Mauricio Pochettino‘s heavily-rotated side on Tuesday.
Uruguay were 4-0 down within 42 minutes before pulling one back on the stroke of half time. But after Spurs midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was given his marching orders after 64 minutes, Bielsa’s men were down and out.
It was a defeat that sparked fury among the Uruguayan press, with one reporter directly telling Bielsa in the post-match press conference that it was a ‘disaster’.
The Uruguay boss, who hails from rival nation Argentina, said there was ‘no way to justify this result’ and ‘in no way should the best Uruguayan players lose a match against the second-string group of the United States’ on Tuesday.
After addressing reporters in Florida, Bielsa then spoke with the national team’s sporting director Jorge Giordano amid pressure to resign – and called a dramatic press conference 48 hours later where he astonishingly branded himself ‘toxic’.
Marcelo Bielsa called a shock press conference to express his ‘shame’ at Uruguay’s defeat
Mauricio Pochettino’s second-string USA side thumped Bielsa’s men 5-1 in Florida on Tuesday
‘I’m a generator of tension,’ Bielsa said in Montevideo on Thursday. ‘When I arrive, the environment becomes tense. That’s why I appear infrequently.’
He continued: ‘I’m toxic. To associate yourself with me makes you worse off. Do you understand me?
‘There are toxic types who only see the errors that they are correcting, who are demanding, who are never satisfied with anything. He talks only about the work he is doing. When he goes out to eat, he reads the newspaper because he doesn’t want to integrate with those around him, so that he doesn’t have to talk about things that distract him from all that. Don’t think I enjoy it. For me, it’s karma.’
In a further insight into Bielsa’s typically cagey personality, the Uruguay manager added: ‘I am shy, obsessive. I’m a robotic person. I don’t like clutter. Those are my flaws. I find it difficult to act free-spirited and friendly.’
He said his inclination to hold a press conference ‘stemmed from the need to explain, especially after a defeat like that’.
‘Losing 5-1 is certainly not something that can be ignored. There’s a term for it that’s meant to be private, but one feels ashamed when results like this occur,’ Bielsa admitted.
The Argentine did, however, stress that he plans to remain in charge in the run-up to next summer’s World Cup – though stopped short of saying he will lead the team out in America, Canada and Mexico.
‘I spoke for many hours with the president and with Jorge – the conclusion is that the project will continue exactly as planned until the World Cup,’ he said.
Bielsa admitted there was ‘no way to justify’ the loss and cut a dejected figure during the game
‘That’s the summary and final conclusion of the conversation with the president. Therefore, I’m passing on that information. That’s how the conversation ended.’
Bielsa led two-time World Cup winners Uruguay to next summer’s event after beating Peru 3-0 in September, securing their fourth-place finish in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers.
He took the Uruguay job in May 2023, more than a year after he left Elland Road, where he had spent three-and-a-half seasons endearing himself to the Leeds faithful before results began to go awry.
