Pep Guardiola had a brilliant reaction when Marcelo Bielsa told him he had spied on his Barcelona team during his Athletic Bilbao days.
Leeds United manager Bielsa came under serious fire after 'spy-gate', but he calmly batted away the criticism by calling a press conference.
Advert
Fans and critics alike thought he was going to call it quits, though 'El Loco' actually disclosed his extensive pre-match analysis.
He admitted that he sent spies to every opponent that season while revealing a conversation he had with then-Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola and its gold.
"Guardiola had a look at it and he told me 'you know more about Barcelona than me'," he said.
Advert
Barcelona went onto beat Bilbao 3-0 so his analysis proved inefficient.
"But it was useless information because they scored three goals," Bielsa added.
The Argentine gaffer confirmed he observes all Leeds' rivals which includes watching their training sessions.
Advert
"I observed all the rivals we played against and watched the training sessions of all opponents," he explained.
The 65-year-old continued by saying: "All the information I need to clarify, I gather it without watching the training session of the opponent, so why did I send someone to watch them?
Advert
"Just because I thought I wasn't violating the norm. I gathered information that I can obtain in another way. 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."
Bielsa's Leeds won the Championship to secure promotion to the Premier League last season.
Advert
And he's enjoying a brilliant start to the new season having won two of their opening three games, beating Fulham and Sheffield United.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Manchester City, Football News, Marcelo Bielsa, Football, Pep Guardiola, Barcelona, Leeds United
