Leeds USA fans: Will they support Marcelo Bielsa or USMNT at Copa America?

Leeds fans in the United States face a challenging dilemma when Gregg Berhalter’s USMNT take on Uruguay in their Copa America group final next week – when the chips are down, who do you pick? Does your country have priority? Or is it the love of your (footballer) life?

The object of their affection in this case is Marcelo Bielsa.

A tactical genius and enigmatic figure held in high esteem by a generation of managers, Bielsa also holds a special place in the hearts of Leeds supporters after restoring the club to the Premier League after 16 years away in the second and even third tier of English football. , by insistently winning the championship title in the summer of 2020.

Walk around Yorkshire today and there are murals strewn in lasting tribute to the Argentine.

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This summer, however, there are divided loyalties for the Stateside Leeds supporter as Bielsa leads Uruguay at this Copa America – his first job since being sacked by the relegation-bound Elland Road club in February 2022.

Berhalter and Bielsa meet at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City in their teams’ final Group C match on Monday (early Tuesday UK time), and given Uruguay’s win and USMNT defeat in their respective games on Thursday night (early Friday , UK time). ), the match is now crucial for the tournament hosts. Fail to win and Panama could beat them into second place – and a place in the knockout stages. So who will Leeds fans in the US be rooting for?

Bielsa’s Uruguay face the USMNT on Monday (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

There seems to be a divide between those born in the US and those who have made the country their home, explains Niki Foster of the Dallas and Fort Worth Whites fan group in Texas.

“I usually cheer for the US – I became a citizen last year,” says Foster, who moved to America a decade ago after growing up in Leeds. “It’s not the same way I’d support Leeds, there’s always more passion there for them and England. But it’s Leeds, then whatever team Bielsa manages, then probably England; because he is a hero. For people who were born here, they are crazy about supporting their national teams.

“I have a friend here and his dad was a Leeds fan, supported the team for years and went through all the tough years. Someone like him, who went through that and then experienced Bielsa changing everything, would probably have a soft spot for a Bielsa team over USA teams. A newer fan here who has been attracted in the last five years will be more likely to apply to the US. They are much more patriotic here than we are in Britain.

“I watched the England game against the USMNT in the (2022) World Cup and there was rivalry there, so it could be the same depending on who Bielsa wants to win. I’m a new American, so if it wasn’t for Leeds, England or Bielsa, I’d be all in with the US Nationals.

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“It really feels like soccer is growing (in popularity in the United States), which bodes well for the next World Cup (in 2026, which it will co-host with neighbors Canada and Mexico). Although, if England keep playing like they are now and Bielsa is still in charge of Uruguay, I’ll be rooting for them instead.”

Leeds’ fan presence in the US, as in the rest of the world, is strong.

The regional groups form the Leeds United Americas network. They each host regular gatherings for fans, new and old, from cities across the country to watch the games together. In Dallas, Foster estimates a regular crowd of between 15 and 50 for the club’s games, while the wider Leeds Americas organization also organizes national meetings and trips to Elland Road.

The Athletic asked the Dallas fan group to conduct a poll – who would have their support, USA or Uruguay? Bielsa’s team just won, with 55 percent.

One of the biggest groups in the US is the New York Whites.

“On a good day, we can get up to 100 people to watch the games where we meet in midtown Manhattan,” says Sean Lear, who moved from Leeds to New York in 2003 and formed the group. “We have a lot of tourists who come through Leeds and are Leeds fans because it’s (their usual location) on the same block as the Empire State Building.

“My support is with England. I’m interested in Team USA, but I don’t support them as such. As for the Copa America, I want Bielsa to lift that trophy more than anything in the world. (But) There are probably very few American members of our group who would choose that over the US which is doing well.

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“We had quite a few new members after we appointed Jesse Marsch (an American, as Bielsa’s successor), but the culture is a bit different between us. They (Leeds fans) admire Bielsa and the deeper you go into his mind the more fascinating it becomes. He could have been a teacher, whatever he wanted, but the fact that he got into football benefited the whole planet. Nobody knows football like him, so even if you don’t support him when he plays against your team, you have to admire him.”

For Leeds fans born and bred in the States, the country is more likely to come before the club, despite the Bielsa factor.

Mike Meirovitz, from Leeds United DC in the national capital Washington, fell in love with Leeds as a teenager. His connection came through his grandmother, who was from the city, and his bond with the team grew after they watched a game together in 2002.

Leeds fans flock to Dallas to watch their side in last season’s Championship play-off final (Niki Foster)

“I’ve always followed Leeds but during the lockout when we got promoted it became a bigger part of my life,” says Meirovitz. “I was looking for people to watch games with and found a missing fan group that was part of Leeds United Americas. We picked up an offshoot of that and got to the point where last month for the play-off final we had around 50 or 60 people watching the game. It’s really grown up.

“I can’t speak for the non-American members of our group, but for the most part we support the United States.

“I would support any team in the USA, regardless of sport, but we all have enormous respect and love for Bielsa. So I was cheering for him too. We cheer for our country, but we respect Bielsa and hope he does well.

“You can say the opposite for Canada and Jesse Marsch (now their head coach, who only lasted a year at Leeds). We certainly will not support them. It should be a really interesting match. If the U.S. doesn’t advance at any stage of the tournament, then we’ll all become Uruguay fans.”

The real test of Bielsa’s hold on the Leeds fans would be whether England fans find themselves in a similar situation to their American counterparts at the next World Cup. Even then, love for the Argentine runs deeper than national loyalty for some.

“You eat sleep and breathe being a Leeds fan to the point where if Wales played England tomorrow I’d probably want Wales to win, to see the Leeds lads do well (Leeds have had five internationals Wales in their team last season)’ says Lear.

“Leeds is in your heart and in your gut. No other coach brought out the level of emotion in me like Bielsa. We speculated if England played Uruguay in the World Cup final, what would we do? And I think I’d like Bielsa to lift the trophy, even as a red-blooded Englishman.

“He overcomes bitter rivalries because you want him to do well, he won and he deserves it. Once you have him as your coach, where do you go from there? He’s a genius.”

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(Top photos: Getty Images; Niki Foster)