"Loco" Chile Storm the World Cup

It turns out that there are two crazy managers from Argentina at this summer’s World Cup. One is Diego Maradona, the only manager at the tournament who has requested his own luxury toilet seat. The other is Marcelo Bielsa, whose meticulous – almost obsessive – attention to detail has earned him the nickname “El Loco.”

Marcelo Bielsa was pulling the strings when Argentina crashed out of the World Cup in 2002. He’s back this time around as the chief of Chile.

After Argentina’s poor showing in 2002, Bielsa was run out of town, but he’s since become the toast of Chile. The nation’s parliament has even considered making him an honorary citizen. Why? Because Bielsa has restored pride to the national team, guiding them through a tremendous World Cup qualifying campaign. Chile finished only a point behind group winners Brazil – even though they had more wins.

Bielsa has enough quirks to fill a team bus. He is bordering neurotic about his pre-match preparations. He’s got one of the biggest collections of football videos on the planet. He sometimes holds press conferences that last three or four hours. But one quirk that is his habit of fast-tracking young talent and his preference for a no-holds-barred attacking style. Chile have thrived under such an approach. Although the team’s defence is its obvious Achilles’ heel, the squad’s attacking verve more than makes up for it. And that should be a welcome antidote to a tournament that has so far lacked goals and luster.

Keep an eye out for the lethal Humberto Suazo, an attacker with Mexico’s Monterrey, who was the top scorer during the South American qualifiers. The explosive Alexis Sanchez is pretty handy on the wings. And Matias Fernandez, who plies his trade with Sporting Clube de Portugal, runs the midfield. They don’t have much of a shot of usurping Spain’s talented squad. But with Honduras and Switzerland representing their other opposition in the group, an appearance in the knockout stages is not so crazy.

Marcelo Bielsa's crazy never gets old