Former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa named head coach of Uruguay

Marcelo Bielsa has been appointed as Uruguay head coach.

The 67-year-old had been out of soccer administration since leaving Leeds nearly 15 months in the past.

The Uruguayan Football Association confirmed Bielsa’s appointment on a deal operating till the 2026 World Cup.

He succeeds Diego Alonso as nationwide workforce boss.

Alonso’s contract expired after the World Cup in Qatar earlier this season, the place Uruguay suffered a shock group-stage exit.

Bielsa served as supervisor of Argentina from 1998 to 2004 and he additionally had a four-year stint in cost of Chile.

Bielsa guided Leeds again to the Premier League from the Championship in 2020 and was one of the preferred managers within the membership’s historical past.

But he left in February final 12 months following a run of 4 successive league defeats.

His prolonged managerial profession has additionally included spells with Athletic Bilbao, Marseille and Lille.

Uruguay are at present sixteenth in FIFA’s world rankings, with Bielsa’s first main marketing campaign on the helm set to be subsequent 12 months’s Copa America within the United States.