How Marcelo Bielsa Has Made Immediate Impact in Ligue 1 with Marseille

Marseille were expected to improve this season with the appointment of Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa, but it has come as a welcome surprise to see just how quickly he has transformed this sleeping giant into a genuine title contender.

Unlike most new coaches, Bielsa has not come in and made wholesale changes to the existing playing squad. For the most recent game against Toulouse, all of the starting XI was playing at the club last season, and that was the sixth time this campaign that he has picked that same lineup.

It may have taken a few weeks for Bielsa’s methods to take effect within the Marseille team, but once it did, the results have been incredible. The 2-0 win over Toulouse was the club’s eighth straight win and leaves them seven points clear at the top of Ligue 1 after 10 games.

Claude Paris/Associated Press

The two main reasons behind Bielsa’s immediate success this season have been his attacking tactics and his ability to get the best out of players that disappointed last season.

As expertly described by James Eastham on Fourth Official, Bielsa has taken Ligue 1 by storm by adopting an attacking philosophy, something that is all too rare in French football.

Too often the game plan is to avoid defeat, rather than take the game to the opposition. Tactically French teams are always well setup, they are always technically sound, and even the teams that struggle for results are always comfortable on the ball and well-organised.

There is a precedent for this attacking success. Back during the 2010/11 season, Lille OSC won their first title in 57 years by playing free-flowing, attacking football.

Claude Paris/Associated Press

With an attack that featured Eden Hazard, Gervinho and Moussa Sow, Lille scored 68 goals and won the league by eight clear points. In the same season, FC Sochaux surprisingly finished fifth, due to Francis Gillot taking the game to his opponents.

Les Lionceaux played two up front and relied on the service from Marvin Martin and Ryad Boudebouz. Martin finished the season with 17 assists and both Ideye Brown and Modibo Maiga finished with 15 goals each.

There was hope that these two clubs showing the way forward with attacking football would change some of the backwards attitudes within the French game, but it failed to materialise.

Even when Carlo Ancelotti took charge at Paris Saint-Germain, his initial game plan was to turn PSG into a more possession based side. Regularly he played the Christmas Tree formation, loading the midfield and passing teams to death.

It back-fired on the Italian coach, losing the 2011/12 title to surprise winners Montpellier after joining the club when they were on top of the league at Christmas. He did lift the title the following year, but the football was far from spectacular.

Bielsa has come in, and without ever being part of the French league before, he hasn’t been bogged down with the institutional defensive issues that plague the league.

The Argentinian coach has Marseille pressing high up the pitch, not allowing the opposition to confidently play the ball around at the back, something that French teams love to do in every game.

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Marseille then win the ball back quickly and go about attacking the opposition defence at pace. When OM finished second two seasons ago, they won 21 games in all competitions by just a single goal. Quite often they had to rely on the heroics of goalkeeper Steve Mandanda to win all three points.

Marseille are no longer satisfied with winning by a single goal, they are taking the game to each opponent and consistently pushing forward, even when they are already two- or three-nil ahead.

Last season both Elie Baup and Jose Anigo struggled to get the best out of Marseille. Florian Thauvin, Benjamin Mendy, Gianelli Imbula and Brice Dja Djedje all joined the club but struggled to make an impact.

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37 - Giannelli Imbula has completed 37 dribbles this season in Ligue 1, more than any other player. Diamond.

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 20, 2014"

Under Bielsa’s influence and unique man-management style, every one of them has shown signs of improvement in just 10 games this campaign. Even much-maligned left-back Jeremy Morel has looked a player reborn playing in the centre of Bielsa’s defence.

One of the biggest transformations has been that of centre-forward Andre-Pierre Gignac. Often criticised for his weight and effort, the 28-year-old has blossomed under the Argentinian coach. He looks leaner, quicker and is hungry for nothing but goals.

Gignac has scored 10 goals in the opening 10 games, the best-ever start to a season for the French international. Not since Karim Benzema was at Lyon has another striker managed a start as good as the Marseille forward.

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10 - @10APG is the 1st French player to have scored 10+ goals after 10 Ligue 1 games since Karim Benzema in 2007/08. Internationals.

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 19, 2014"

After the opening 10 games of the season, Marseille have scored 25 times and conceded only eight. For the last two seasons, at the same stage, OM had only managed to scored 13 times; Bielsa has almost doubled their efficiency up front.

The hope among regular Ligue 1 viewers is that Bielsa’s influence spreads around the league and more managers realise that attacking is ironically the way forward and that teams try to combine the well-organised defensive play with a more attacking philosophy.

Bielsa’s time in France will hopefully not only usher in a new era of success for Marseille, but also open the eyes of some of Ligue 1’s more cautious coaches and perhaps change the mentality in what can be a very conservative league.