'Almost invincible' - Leeds United favourite pays emotional tribute to Marcelo Bielsa

Stuart Dallas has thanked former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa for turning around his career. The Northern Ireland international was a key component of Bielsa's side as the Whites secured promotion to the Premier League in 2020, ending a 16-year top-flight hiatus.

Dallas endeared himself to the United faithful with his tireless performances in a number of different positions during a nine-year stint at Elland Road. He was forced to call time on his career at the age of 32 earlier in 2024 after a two-year lay-off with a knee injury. He suffered nasty leg break against Manchester City and was unable to make a full recovery.

Speaking on LUFCinema this week, Dallas praised Bielsa's management style. He said: “He [Bielsa] saw something in me that nobody else saw. My biggest strength was my running power and the way we played, especially when we were in midfield, the way we played with a number eight, he just wanted you to run.

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“And if you looked back to the goals, even when [Mateusz] Klich was playing in the No 8 position, the runs he used to make all the time, and Marcelo used to show me these clips before games, he would obviously have done an individual meeting with the players every Friday night or Saturday morning, and he used to tell me, ‘You can make that run’."

Dallas racked up over 250 appearances for United as well as earning 62 caps for his country. He added: “He [Bielsa] used to make me feel, almost at times, invincible. Marcelo made me. Let’s be honest.”