Football news - Marcelo Bielsa admits spying on all opponents in extraordinary press conference
ByReuters
Updated 16/01/2019 at 18:47 GMT
Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa said on Wednesday his staff had been watching all the club's opponents in training this season, after the English Football League (EFL) launched a formal investigation into the 'spygate' controversy.
Marcelo Bielsa, Manager of of Leeds United
Image credit: Getty Images
"In a few words I can tell you we observed all the rivals we played against and we watched all the training sessions of the opponents before we played against them," Bielsa told reporters.
Derby County complained to the EFL that Bielsa sent a spy to their training ground before they visited the Yorkshire club in a Championship (second-tier) clash on Friday.
Following Derby's 2-0 defeat at Elland Road, coach Frank Lampard described the incident as unethical, claiming it had disrupted his team's preparations for the match.
Argentine Bielsa told a specially-convened news conference on Wednesday he wanted to make the EFL investigation into the incident easier by providing all the information required.
"My goal is to make the investigation easier and I don't think that something is going to make worse what they are looking for than what I'm saying right now," he added.
The 63-year-old former Athletic Bilbao coach said what he had done was not illegal and maintained that gathering information on opponents was "professional behaviour".
Using Derby as an example, Bielsa showed a presentation to the media on the number of formations Lampard's side had used, as well as the formations they struggled against, this season.
"We feel guilty if we don't work enough, it (watching the opponents train) allows us to have less anxiety and in my case I am stupid enough to allow this kind of behaviour," he added.
"As Lampard says, he doesn't believe I have bad intentions. He believes I violated the fair play spirit so I have to adapt to the rules and habits of English football."
Throughout the briefing Bielsa went into extraordinary detail about how often he and his team watch their opponent to build as complete a scouting report as possible.
Bielsa said he and his team watched every match of Derby over the past two years as well as watching Luton Town to get an idea on how new Stoke City manager Nathan Jones may play.
Leeds, who in their heyday were three-time winners of the English top flight as well as lifting the FA Cup and League Cup, have apologised to Derby and reminded Bielsa of the club's principles of "integrity and honesty".
Bielsa, who replaced the sacked Paul Heckingbottom at the start of the season, has been a revelation at Leeds with his attractive brand of pass and move football.
Leeds, four points clear at the top of the table after 27 matches, visit 15th-placed Stoke City on Saturday.
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