And It Was Beautiful cover art

And It Was Beautiful

Marcelo Bielsa and the Rebirth of Leeds United

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And It Was Beautiful

By: Phil Hay
Narrated by: Phil Hay, Ralph Ineson
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About this listen

Updated to include the 2021/22 season

The instant Sunday Times Top ten bestseller

The behind-the-scenes story of the Marcelo Bielsa revolution at Leeds United and their first season back in the Premier League after sixteen years of hurt.

Featuring fresh personal insight from Marcelo Bielsa

On 27th February 2022, after 170 matches in charge, promotion to the Premier League and some of the most exhilarating football the English game has ever seen, Leeds United parted company with their most beloved and successful manager in a generation: Marcelo Bielsa. His parting gift was to embrace the crowds of adoring fans who turned up to say thank you as he left the club's training ground for the final time.

In And it was Beautiful, The Athletic's Phil Hay chronicles Leeds United's glorious first season back in the top flight—which saw them finish ninth—after a chaotic sixteen-year absence. Phil pulls back the curtain on the hallmarks that now define the Marcelo Bielsa era, from his gruelling training schedule—including his infamous 'murderball' sessions—to innovative tactical methods that elevated Championship regulars into Premier League stars. Bielsa performed miracles, turning football into high art and making an extraordinary cultural impact on the city of Leeds. The result is a unique and fitting tribute to a Leeds United icon.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Phil Hay (P)2021 Orion Publishing Group Football (Soccer) Sports Inspiring Thought-Provoking

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I have loved reading Phil’s work over the years and this book encapsulates much of the emotion of the last few years. Thank you for this book. Ralph Ineson’s narration is fantastic

Sheer brilliance

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the reader had a bit of a gruff voice, it was hard to understand at times.

brilliant book

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A well written and expertly narrated book. Phil Hay has hit the mark precisely in his well researched and exceptionally well presented story of one of the great turnarounds in football history.

A Great Insight

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great book about a very private man that changed the way people look at football across the world

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A LEEDS FAN TO LISTEN TO THIS

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Firstly, I’m a big Leeds United fan and have been for many, many years. I can recall Don Revie, Howard Wilkinson, David O’Leary and the many other managers that have run the team at Elland Road over the years, brilliantly or badly. Perhaps only Revie comes close to Bielsa for his determination and commitment to the club, and that was in the days when managers and players were far more likely to stay with the same club.
Bielsa is a whole other person in today’s football. There is not much in this book that a keen fan of Leeds over Bielsa’s reign won’t recollect in terms of events. It is the insights that Phil Hay offers, the manager’s history that he’s researched that provides the real interest. It’s a pity that Bielsa didn’t grant Hay an interview for the book, it would have added a more personal aspect, but that isn’t the Argentine’s way, he’s too private for that.
Ralph Ineson, the most well-known of modern British Leeds’ fans, does an excellent job of narrating. I wasn’t sure that his very deep voice would be suited, but as a fellow fan he just slipped into it.
So, if you’re a Leeds fan give this a go. I bought this just before he left the club, but it didn’t matter, I was just as keen to hear about this unusual and private man who was happy to give up lots of his own time to fans that he met on the street or in the supermarket or wherever. The man whose personal and professional standards are essential to him; because he knows that it’s the passions in the game that matter, that carry us forward, that provide the commitment to your club however great or lowly that is. Leeds United won’t see his like again, and I wish him all the best whatever he does now.

A great man and manager.

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