Marcelo Bielsa

In his first season at Leeds, the charismatic Argentinean led his team to the top of the table before narrowly missing out on promotion in the play-offs. Leeds stylish attacking football was the talk of the division during a swashbuckling campaign but it was an incident in a crucial game against Aston Villa that really stood out. After Leeds had scored with an opposition player lying injured, Bielsa insisted that his players let Villa equalise unopposed. Given the importance of the match it was a tremendous gesture, one subsequently recognised when Bielsa and the team were awarded the 2019 FIFA Fair Play Award. Let’s hope the 2019/20 season ends with the reward this manager so richly deserves.