Humility and passion for soccer. He could have obtained a VIP ticket to bid farewell to one of his pupils in the national team, but he arrived at the stadium like anyone else, paid for his ticket, sat in the stands, took selfies with the fans, and applauded the "Payasito" in his last show.
That's Marcelo Bielsa. The coach who just left Lille in France came to Rio Cuarto to watch Pablo Aimar's last official match, whom he coached in the Argentine national team.
The midfielder, who triumphed in River Plate, Porto, and Valencia among other clubs, said goodbye to soccer in Estudiantes de Rio Cuarto's 0-0 draw against Sportivo Belgrano de San Francisco in the Copa Argentina. The draw was not enough for "Celeste" from the southern Cordoba city, and "La Verde" advanced to the next phase.
But that is secondary. Marcelo Bielsa was the coach who called Pablo Aimar for the first time to be part of the senior national soccer team in 1999. From the debut against Mexico in a 2-2 draw, the Cordoba native was always present on the coach's list and played in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
Another soccer madness from Marcelo Bielsa...