Marcelo Bielsa was called a 'football genius' by Pep Guardiola and slapped builders he felt were 'cheating' Athletic Bilbao while in Spain... his antics at Leeds are just the latest in the long career of 'El Loco'

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Marcelo Bielsa's recent behaviour at Leeds has surprised no one in Spain. 

The man who Pep Guardiola is proud to call one of his most important mentors gave Athletic Bilbao two unforgettable seasons when he coached them from 2011 to 2013.

It was back in 2006, when Guardiola was embarking on his managerial career that he sought out Bielsa at his home in Rosario, Argentina.

Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa is raising eyebrows with his behaviour at Leeds United

He admitted to spying on all the club's opponents this season and demonstrated his meticulous research and findings in a Powerpoint demonstration to the press on Wednesday

The man known as 'El Loco' on the touchline at Old Trafford when his Athletic Bilbao side defeated Manchester United in the 2011-12 Europa League

The idea was to have a brief chat over a morning coffee but he ended up staying long into the night – gathering as much information as he could from the man he considers to be a football genius. You never quite get what you expect from Bielsa.

When a group of young Athletic Bilbao supporters waited for him at the gates of the training ground so he could sign their sticker album he declined.

Instead he took the album from them and told them to come back and see him at the same time and place the next day. When they returned he gave it back to them signed by the entire squad.

He likes supporters. Especially the bright-eyed young ones waving sticker books. He tends not to have the same affection for reporters

During those two seasons in Bilbao one journalist felt the force of his disdain when he dared to ask him why he had appeared in the technical area during a game against Villarreal meticulously pacing out his steps.

Bielsa's Athletic Bilbao celebrates scoring during their 2011-12 Europa League campaign

Bilbao beat Manchester United 3-2 away and 2-1 at home in the Europa League last-16 

It was bizarre behaviour but Bielsa – who hates the 'El Loco' (the Crazy One) nickname didn't take too kindly to the enquiry. 

'Was it a coincidence that after every Villarreal attack, you got up from your haunches and paced to the other side of his technical area, taking exactly 13 steps?' asked the reporter. 

'What is a coincidence,' Bielsa replied, 'is that, when there's such a great game going on, someone would rather spend the time counting out my paces.'

His first year at Athletic Bilbao perfectly encapsulated the best and worst of him as a coach. 

He got them to the finals of the Copa del Rey and the Europa League but they were too exhausted to turn in decent performance once there and lost both games 3-0 against Barcelona and then Atletico Madrid.

He was a domineering figure at Athletic's Lezema training ground, cuffing building contracters round the head Brian Clough style because he was unhappy with their workmanship. He later admitted his misdemeanour to authorities.

Never one to hide his frustrations, Bielsa had two very memorable years with Bilbao 

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola keeps an eye on a crouching Bielsa during a Nou Camp game

He stayed away from the training ground for three days after the altercation and on his return called a press conference where he delivered a 20-minute monologue describing how the builders were ripping off the club with a sub-standard job.

'When someone does not carry out what they have promised to carry out, for me, that is the same as robbery or fraud,' he said. 

'I got hold of him and shook him with force,' he said describing his row with one workman, before admitting that when he denounced the shoddy work he also admitted having gone too far with the tradesman.

'I knew he was trying to cheat me and the club,' he added.

Athletic distanced themselves from their maverick coach's comments and said they were pleased with the contractors. 

They parted company with Bielsa after just two roller-coaster seasons in which they had lost two finals but played the best football in their recent history.

The Argentine attacked the press verbally and builders physically during his time in Spain

Iker Munain scores Bilbao's third goal in their March 2012 away victory over Man United 

He left the players with mixed feelings for him. He had opened their minds to new systems and new ways of understanding the game but they had grown to hate the five-hour video sessions and the punishing training regimes.

The view of him in Spain is tainted by losing by those two finals but most commentators agree that anyone so well respected by the likes of Mauricio Pochettino and Guardiola has something very special.

Bielsa set the bar for staying in his office into the early hours poring over endless matches looking for clues for future games. Guardiola followed his meticulous example.

Bielsa was just as unpredictable in France. On the first day of the 2015-16 season with his Marseille team having just lost 1-0 to Caen, he announced to stunned reporters: 'I've finished my work here, I'm going back home.'

Bielsa makes his feeling known during a 2013 La Liga match between Bilbao and Real Madrid

He didn't mean he was done for the day; he meant he was done for good – resigning and returning to Rosario in Argentina where he stayed after a fall-out with the board.

The previous season he had Marseille top of Ligue 1 at the winter break and they ended up finishing 14 points behind the league winners PSG and out of the Champions League places.

He is a man willing to go to extremes others wouldn't consider. That coupled with the football his teams play and his genuine love for the supporters make him a manager no club will ever forget having gambled on hiring.