Leeds United goalkeeper affectionately admits wanting ‘to kill’ Marcelo Bielsa after some training sessions

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Leeds United goalkeeper Kiko Casilla has been discussing life at Elland Road in an interview with the Spanish press this week. 

The one-cap Spanish international was speaking to L’Esportiu De Catalunya about playing in West Yorkshire and how he is currently coping under the current global health crisis. 

But he was also asked about working for Marcelo Bielsa, a coach revered in Spain for his exploits at Athletic Bilbao. 

Casilla admitted that there were times when he felt like ‘killing’ Bielsa after a tough training session but that it was always worth it when watching the end product. 

“Bielsa is Bielsa. Speaking affectionately, there are days that you would want to kill him, but then you see how he prepares every week, how he analyzes each game as if it were the last and this is what the footballer notices. 

“He knows a lot of football and, although his method is very demanding, he is tough, all of us at Leeds have improved a lot with him. It is worth the effort because you raise your head and you see that the team is attractive, that many teams do not stand the pace of play and physical.”

The former Real Madrid star just reiterates what nearly every Leeds United player appears to suggest about Bielsa’s training methods. 

The Argentine has worked the Leeds squad hard to get them up to his high standards when it comes to their fitness levels and the goalkeepers are not immune to this. Jamal Blackman famously had to lose weight after signing on loan from Chelsea. 

But Casilla, who is currently serving a suspension from action due to a charge of racially abusing an opponent, is clearly buying into the fact the Leeds United are better off because of Bielsa’s intense methods.