Leeds fans in the United States face a challenging dilemma when Gregg Berhalter’s USMNT take on Uruguay in both teams’ Copa America group finale next week — when the chips are down, who do you choose? Does your country take priority? Or is it the love of your (footballing) life?
The object of their affection in this instance is Marcelo Bielsa.
A tactical genius and enigmatic figure held in high regard by a generation of coaches, Bielsa also holds a special place in Leeds supporters’ hearts after restoring their club to the Premier League, after 16 years away in the second and even third tiers of English football, by emphatically winning the Championship title in summer 2020.
Walk around the Yorkshire city today and there are murals dotted all over in lasting tribute to the Argentinian.
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This summer, there are split loyalties for the Stateside Leeds supporter, however, because Bielsa is managing Uruguay at this Copa America — his first job since being sacked by the Elland Road club, with relegation looming, in February 2022.
Berhalter and Bielsa face off at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium in their teams’ final match in Group C on Monday (early Tuesday, UK time), and given Uruguay’s win and the USMNT’s loss 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 to second spot — and a place in the knockout stages. So, who will Leeds fans in the U.S. be supporting?
Bielsa’s Uruguay face the USMNT on Monday (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
There seems to be a split between those who are U.S.-born and those who have made the country their home, explains Niki Foster of the Texas-based Dallas and Fort Worth Whites fan group.
“I usually cheer on the U.S. — 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 would support Leeds, there’s always more passion there for them, and England. But it’s Leeds, then whatever team Bielsa is managing, then probably England; because he’s a hero. For people who were born here, they are mad for supporting their national teams.
“I have a friend here and his dad was a Leeds fan, he’s supported the team for years and he went through all the tough years. Somebody like him, who has been through that and then experienced Bielsa changing everything, would probably have a soft spot for a Bielsa team over the U.S. teams. A newer fan over here who got hooked in the past five years will be more likely to cheer on the U.S. They are way more patriotic over here than we are in the UK.
“We watched the England match against the USMNT at the (2022) World Cup and there was rivalry there, so it could be the same again based on who wants Bielsa to win. I’m a new American, so if it wasn’t for Leeds, England or Bielsa, I would be all-in with the U.S. national teams.
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“It really feels that football is growing (in popularity in the United States), which bodes well for the next World Cup (in 2026, which it will co-host with neighbours Canada and Mexico). Although if England are still playing like they are now and Bielsa is still in charge of Uruguay, I’ll be cheering them on instead.”
Leeds’ fan presence in the U.S., like across the rest of the world, is strong.
Regional groups make up the Leeds United Americas network. Each of these hosts regular meet-ups for fans new and old in cities across the country to watch matches together. In Dallas, Foster estimates a regular crowd of between 15 and 50 gather for the club’s games, while the wider Leeds Americas organisation also arranges national meet-ups and trips over to Elland Road.
The Athletic asked the Dallas fan group to conduct a straw poll — who would have their support, the U.S. or Uruguay? Bielsa’s side just won out, with 55 per cent.
One of the bigger U.S. groups are the New York Whites.
“On a good day, we can get up to 100 people watching 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 get a lot of tourists who are passing through and are Leeds fans, because it’s (their regular haunt) on the same block as the Empire State Building.
“My allegiance is with England. I do take an interest in the U.S. team but I don’t support them as such. As far as the Copa America is concerned, 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 U.S. 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 slightly different between us. They (Leeds fans) admire Bielsa, and the deeper you get into his mind, the more fascinating he becomes. He could have been a professor, anything he wanted, but the fact he went into football has benefited the whole planet. Nobody knows football like him, so even if you don’t support him when he’s playing against your team, you have to admire him.”
For Leeds fans born and raised in the States, country is more likely to come before club, despite the Bielsa factor.
Mike Meirovitz, of Leeds United DC in national capital Washington, fell in love with Leeds as a teenager. His connection came through his grandmother, who was from the city, and his connection to the team grew after they watched a match together in 2002.
Leeds fans gathering in Dallas to watch their team in last season’s Championship play-off final (Niki Foster)
“I’ve always followed Leeds, but during lockdown when we got promoted it became a bigger part of my life,” Meirovitz says. “I was looking for people to watch matches with and found a defunct fans’ group that was part of Leeds United Americas. We restarted an offshoot of that and we’ve grown to a point where, last month for the play-off final, we had around 50 or 60 people watching the game. It’s really grown.
“I can’t speak for the non-American members of our group but, for the most part, we are supporting the United States.
“I would root for any U.S. team, regardless of the sport, but we all have enormous respect and love for Bielsa. So we’re cheering for him as well. We’re cheering for our home country but we respect Bielsa and hope he does well.
“You can say the opposite for Canada and Jesse Marsch (now their head coach, having lasted only a year at Leeds). We definitely won’t be rooting for them. It should be a really interesting match. If the U.S. don’t advance at any stage of the tournament, then we’ll all become Uruguay fans.”
The true test of Bielsa’s hold over Leeds fans would be if England fans find themselves in a similar situation to their U.S. counterparts come the next World Cup. Even then, love for the Argentinian runs deeper than national allegiance 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 boys do well (Leeds had five Wales internationals in their squad last season),” says Lear.
“Leeds is in your heart and it’s in your gut. No other coach has 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 would want Bielsa to lift the trophy, even as a red-blooded Englishman.
“He transcends fierce rivalries because you want him to do well, he’s earned it and deserves it. Once you have him as a coach, where do you go from there? He’s a genius.”
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(Top photos: Getty Images; Niki Foster)
