Marcelo Bielsa makes vow on Leeds United repeat with admission in Uruguay press conference

Marcelo Bielsa has made a job vow in a Leeds United press conference repeat with his Uruguay national side.

Legendary promotion-winning former Whites boss Bielsa has been in charge of Uruguay since May 2023 but his team suffered their heaviest defeat since 2012 on Wednesday in a 5-1 loss against the USA in an international friendly.

Having already qualified for the World Cup, the Uruguay FA then announced on Wednesday evening that Bielsa would hold a press conference at the Centenario Stadium on Thursday, sparking speculation that the 70-year-old might resign.

In similar fashion, Leeds announced a Bielsa press conference with just a few hours notice and no explanation following the Spygate saga back in January 2019.

That too sparked fears about Bielsa’s future but the Argentine used the press conference to detail his tactical analysis and attention to detail when looking at opponents.

Six and a half years on, Bielsa used Thursday’s press conference to vow that he would remain in charge of Uruguay until the World Cup, despite admitting that the 5-1 defeat to the States had left him feeling “ashamed”.

“Certainly not something that can be ignored”

As quoted by ESPN, Bielsa said: “My inclination to hold a press conference after losing 5-1 to the United States stemmed from the need to explain, especially after a defeat like that, which always generates concern.

"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.

"What one does is analyze it personally and then share the questions that arise to explain such a negative performance with [sporting director] Jorge [Giordano], who is a specialist, and what he has to say has the added benefit of his specific professional knowledge.

"The president [of the Uruguay football federation, Ignacio Alonso] has many concerns; he conveys them, presents them, raises them, and I answer them."

Bielsa added: “From the conversation - 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.

“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."