Following West Brom's 2-1 defeat against Huddersfield Town on Friday, Leeds United have been promoted to the Premier League after 16 several years absent. Leeds will be crowned champions of the EFL Championship (2nd Divison) if Brentford do not defeat Stoke City on Saturday or the Whites earn a victory against Phillip Cocu's Derby County on Sunday.
Argentine Marcelo Bielsa has successfully led the Yorkshire facet to promotion after finishing third in the EFL Championship for the 2018-19 season. Despite the team's mistakes and defeats in the first half of the season, notably their back-to-back loss against Sheffield Wednesday and QPR, they have not repeated their errors and from previous matches and seasons, allowing them to stay in Top 2 position since November.
It has been a long and painful journey back to the promised land for Leeds and the fans, who had seen their team reach the semi-finals of the prestigious UEFA Champions League in 2001. The club was in a dreadful financial position when they were relegated to the EFL Championship in 2004, and though manager Kevin Blackwell brought stability and nearly took them back up in 2005-06, Leeds entered administration* and were relegated to League One (3rd Division).
Worse was to come in the form of a 15-point deduction to start the next campaign, and it took the team three seasons to eventually win promotion back to the second tier under the management of Simon Grayson.
Owner Andrea Radrizzani's decision to appoint renowned coach Bielsa in June 2018 was the missing piece to the club's success. The veteran's experience working with Argentina, Chile, and Athletic Bilbao during his coaching career brought hope to the fans and was the starting point of prosperity. Bielsa had been widely praised by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola and former Tottenham Hotspurs boss Mauricio Pochettino for the way he approached the game.
Under Bielsa, Leeds started the 2018-19 season brilliantly, with few teams able to cope with their high tempo play-style, Gegenpressing*, and incisive passing. Their 3-1 victory against Stoke City and 4-1 win against Frank Lampard's Derby County were clear signs of improvement and development. Nonetheless, they fell away badly at the end of the regular season after losing their last two league matches against Hull City and Nottingham Forest. QPR also crushed their dreams of winning the FA Cup in the 3rd round.
There was no denying them in 2019-20 though, and as Captain Liam Cooper said in an interview with BBC Sports, Leeds find themselves back to "where they've always belonged." Congratulations to Leeds United and looking forward to what they will achieve next season!
Leeds United Promotion Video (Leeds United Official YouTube Channel)
*A tactic in which a team, after losing possession of the ball, immediately attempts to win back possession, rather than falling back to regroup (90min.com)
*Football clubs sometimes choose to enter administration when they are unable to pay off outstanding debts (Wikipedia)
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