MIAMI — Marcelo Bielsa was involved in an awkward exchange with a reporter at the World Cup Monday which concluded with the Uruguay coach saying: “I’m not a model.”
The 70-year-old Argentine was miffed after a journalist asked him about an official FIFA portrait following his side’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia in the Miami heat.
The colourful Bielsa — nicknamed “El Loco” (mad man) — was asked why he was looking downwards in the promotional video rather than straight into the lens.
There have been suggestions it might be some kind of protest.
“I don’t have to give any explanation, the picture was taken the way it was taken,” Bielsa fired back.
“I’m not a model,” he said according to AFP.
Rather than leave it there, Bielsa continued: “No, no, I have no answer for that.
“Should I also explain why I don’t look to the people who are speaking to me at this moment?”
Bielsa was then asked a different question, but he refused to let it go. “There is a limit in terms of what we need to explain,” he told his post-match press conference.
“If I’m wearing glasses, why am I wearing glasses?
“You look somebody in the eye, why do you do that?
He concluded: “There is nothing wrong about wearing glasses or looking into somebody’s eyes or looking down.”
Bielsa, whose long managerial career has taken in the Argentina job and club sides including Athletic Bilbao, Lazio and Leeds United, has his quirks and is known as a bit of a maverick.
They include sitting sometimes on an ice box on the sidelines during matches.
But he also widely respected among his peers, his bold attacking approach an inspiration to a younger generation of coaches including Pep Guardiola and USA boss Mauricio Pochettino.
