Argentinian coach Marcelo Bielsa.

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Michael Regan / AP / SIPA

  • More than three years after his dismissal for serious misconduct at Losc, Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa still wants to settle accounts with the northern club.

  • During the hearing, he spoke of his bad relations with Luis Campos, sports advisor to Gérard Lopez, then president of Losc.

  • He claims about 18 million euros at Losc, in the name of a pre-contract signed in February 2017 between Gérard Lopez and him.

“I never managed to talk about football with Luis Campos, that doesn't interest him.

Only the commercial part interests him ”.

During the hearing at the Prud'hommes de Lille, this Friday, the former coach of Losc, Marcelo Bielsa, did not mince words to say all the harm he thought of Gérard Lopez's sports advisor, to then president of Losc.

It has been three years since "El loco" (nickname of the Argentine coach) had not spoken directly about his dismissal from Losc, in November 2017 for serious misconduct.

Dismissal he contests by claiming today about 18 million euros in damage.

Was there serious misconduct or not?

It will be up to the industrial tribunal to decide.

Decision on July 2.

A contested pre-contract

In the meantime, in this dispute that has opposed him for three years to the northern club, Marcelo Bielsa spoke of his version of the facts, live, by videoconference from Leeds, the English city where he currently trains.

And in the course of the battle of legal arguments raised by the two parties, we especially learned a little more about the scenes of football.

Thus, before signing his contract, in July 2017, Marcelo Bielsa had negotiated a pre-contract, five months earlier, in February, with the president of Losc at the time, Gérard Lopez.

In this pre-contract, it was expected that, even in the event of dismissal, Marcelo Bielsa and his deputies receive their full salaries over two years, or 8.5 million.

The agreement also provided for the provision of an Audi 8 for the coach and a Citroën DS4 for each of its four assistants, and other benefits in kind.

Nothing really surprising.

The transfer that annoyed "El loco"

But in his plea of ​​about twenty minutes, Marcelo Bielsa above all returned to his relations with Luis Campos - who had, moreover, no official function at Losc - then he referred to the conditions in which he worked for four and a half months.

And there, it takes your hair a little.

“We worked together with Luis Campos on recruitment,” says Marcelo Bielsa.

He offered me three players for each position, ie 33 players and we agreed on a choice.

The replacement had to be defined before transferring a player who was at the club.

But none of the 33 planned came to Lille.

We had to look for the 4th, 5th, or even 8th option.

"

According to him, the club had planned, in parallel, to recover 45 million thanks to transfers.

"In reality, they only pocketed 15 million, it was already a problem to carry out the project."

And it was the transfer of striker Nicolas de Préville that angered “El loco”.

Meeting with the players, without Bielsa

“To replace him, Campos offered me a less good player who cost 50% more than Préville.

I told him it was better to wait for the winter transfer window.

Campos told me: "We cannot wait. The credit we have can only be used now. In December, we will no longer be allowed to recruit by the DNCG [the financial policeman of football]."

I understood that the plan to finish in the top five would become that of fighting for maintenance.

"

Relations between the two men will therefore continue to deteriorate.

Sporting results deteriorate and relations are strained.

On October 22, President Gérard Lopez asks his trainer to collaborate with Luis Campos.

Excerpt from the SMS response: "Although the chances of communicating with him are zero, I will behave in a civilized manner in his presence."

However, the situation will deteriorate when the president's adviser returns to Lille at the beginning of November, after two months of absence.

The latter organizes a meeting with the Lille players, behind Bielsa's back.

“He criticized my management to destabilize me and set the players against me,” complains the coach.

"How can you say hello to such a bandit?"

"

A few days later, a meeting was organized between Marc Ingla, the sports director of Losc, Luis Campos, Marcelo Bielsa and his deputy Pablo Quiroga.

This time, it is Me Bertrand Wambeke, lawyer of Losc, who tells.

“Upon entering, Quiroga said hello to Campos.

He is scolded by Bielsa: "How can you say hello to such a bandit?"

".

The discussion escalates.

"Luis Campos gets up and when he passes Bielsa, he puts a finger on his shoulder, saying" You will answer for what you come to say in court ".

It was Quiroga who prevented Bielsa from hitting Campos ”, affirms Me Wambeke.

Marcelo Bielsa's version is quite different.

He assures us that it was Luis Campos who wanted to hit him.

An executive assistant, in the next room, testifies to having heard loud voices without being able to confirm the remarks allegedly made, nor to arbitrate the two versions.

On November 20, 2017, Losc was defeated in Amiens 3-0 and plunged to the penultimate place in the standings.

Two days later, on November 22, around 10 pm, the Losc officially announced “suspend” its trainer.

The problem is that Marcelo Bielsa did not want to accept the registered letter brought by the bailiff to his hotel two hours earlier.

He is therefore not officially aware of his layoff.

The legal battle can begin.

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