Marcelo Bielsa brings relentless video analysis to Uruguay’s World Cup bid

Marcelo Bielsa is bringing the same compulsive preparation that once filled 2,000 videotapes to Japan into Uruguay’s 2026 World Cup campaign. At 70, the former Leeds United manager is set to lead a national team at the tournament for the third time, and Uruguay’s route will run through Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde and Spain.

Bielsa’s résumé has long been built on immersion. Born in Rosario, Argentina, he left playing at 25, after a career as a defender who never had pace to spare, and moved into coaching through the Buenos Aires university football team and Newell’s Old Boys reserves. He took charge of Newell’s first team in 1990 and won the Argentine championship, launching a reputation that later influenced Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino, Jorge Sampaoli and Diego Simeone.

The method behind that reputation remains his signature. More than two decades ago, Bielsa carried 2,000 video tapes to the 2002 World Cup in Japan, with clips of his own players at club level and the opponents Argentina would face. Modern technology has replaced the luggage, but not the habit: Bielsa is expected to travel with a large library of match clips and detailed video analysis for Uruguay’s campaign in North America.

FIFA says Bielsa has managed Uruguay since 2023 and has worked to absorb the country’s football culture rather than impose on it from outside. That has meant showing up at smaller grounds and learning local customs, a process that journalist and former player Agustin Lucas said helped him understand Uruguay’s distinct football identity. For a federation seeking continuity, that matters. Uruguay have qualified for a fifth straight World Cup, and Bielsa will draw level with José Pékerman as the Argentine coach to have led teams at the most editions of the tournament, with three.

His Leeds spell still defines how many see him. Bielsa arrived at Elland Road in 2018, and the club’s rise back toward the Premier League was accompanied by a wider fascination with his obsessive routines. One of the enduring images from that period was his instruction that players litter-pick in the local area, a gesture that connected preparation, humility and public responsibility. That same belief in discipline will now be tested at international level, where training time is scarce and every session has to count.