When Bielsa Scared The Newell’s Brave Bar

The ‘Loco’ was close to detonating a grenade

They don’t call Marcelo Bielsa “El Loco” in vain. Madness refers to that thoughtless act, lacking some kind of logic that pushes us to perform acts that, in moments of lucidity, we would never perform. So, now is the time to ask yourself, why is Marcelo Bielsa called ‘El Loco’?

When Bielsa scared the Newell’s brave bar

Among the many stories that circulate around the figure of the Argentine coach, there is one that stands out above the others. Let’s put ourselves in context, Marcelo Bielsa, an enraged brave bar and a hand grenade. Much has happened since Marcelo Bielsa coached Newell’s Old Boys and won the First Division Championship in the 1991 season, and then added the Clausura Tournament to his newly released record. The leprous fans were happy, the team responded with titles to a dedicated fan and Bielsa started his journey on the benches on the right foot. Perhaps for this reason, the hopes placed on what was the third Copa Libertadores that the team played were enormous.

Marcelo Bielsa will always be remembered as one of the best coaches the leper team has ever had.

A team formed, among others, by two acquaintances of the Spanish league (Eduardo Berizzo and Mauricio Pochettino) who attended one of the biggest defeats of the Rosario team at home against San Lorenzo de Almagro. The scoreboard reflected an impassive result. First one, then another … So until showing a forceful 0-6. The fans attended a Dantesque show and watched as their team was humiliated as the minutes passed. The referee whistled the end and the anger of the brave bar led a group of about 20 members to the doors of Marcelo Bielsa’s house. With a background of shouting and insults, they began to pound on the Rosario coach’s door. The answer was silence. Who was going to go out to stand up to the brave bar?

The door kept getting banged, and then… it opened. On the other side was Marcelo Bielsa, enraged and with a grenade in his hand. “If they don’t leave right now, I’ll take out the fuse and throw it at them,” Bielsa said. There was silence. All the anger and annoyance that the brave bar that showed the technician of his team vanished in an instant. Bielsa kept her gaze and stepped forward. Madness twinkled in his eyes. He was able to remove the fuze from the grenade and launch it. Each step in front of the Rosario technician was another step back from the ultras. No one could hold his gaze at Bielsa, they all had their eyes fixed on that grenade in his hand. “We could expect him to come out with a shotgun, but never with a grenade,” said one of the fans.