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ROSARIO, Argentina – How much do you like your club?
The answer is probably not as great as Marcelo Bielsa loves the Newell Old Boys.
For those who may not have followed much of Bielsa's busy career, last Wednesday's press conference, during which the Argentine gave a 70-minute lecture on the Detailed details of how his team of coaches spent 300 hours preparing for a match, including spying during opposition training sessions, provided a brief introduction .
Take this level of detail, combine it with his love for Newell, introduce the concept of a building inspired by Bielsa and you will get the hotel "Jorge Griffa", which opened its doors last November in the Argentine club training premises on the outskirts of Rosario.
The story goes that Bielsa had a discreet word with the club's president, Guillermo Llorente, in 2014 and told him that he would like to build a hotel for the club's first team.
The catch? Not one. It was simply an act of gratitude from a former head coach to a club struggling financially, although the Rosario native spent about $ 2.5 million – probably more than Bielsa won with Leeds in his first six months at the club – to make it happen.
Oh, and this had to be done according to the specifications of Bielsa, which he had described in a detailed master plan with his sister architect Maria Eugenia.
Bielsa kept regular contacts throughout the construction of the hotel and unconfirmed rumors even let him know that he was regularly going to the scene before taking the job in Leeds, obviously in the evening when everyone had gone home.
"He could have intervened and said:" Here's the project, I want them to do it and here are the two and a half million [dollars], "Explained hotel building manager Jose Luis Conde at ESPN FC during a recent tour of the facilities. He took a step further by engaging his family … so it's not just about an economic aspect, but a total commitment by saying "I'm giving a finished product." . & # 39; It is different to hand over money and nothing else. "
Jorge Griffa's five-story training ground – until recently known as Bella Vista – is for the first team, which must be used between workouts to sleep before home games and for the pre-season if necessary.
This is not a luxury hotel; it is a building designed for football players to remain focused on their work, although it is probably more comfortable than the military barracks formerly designed by Bielsa. prepare his Newell players for his coaching position between 1990 and 1992. There are 12 rooms for players – each has two beds and a private bathroom – on one side of l & # 39; hotel. On the other side is the coaches section. It contains a large room to share for the badistants and a more spacious and private room for the main coach, with stairs leading to a general planning and meeting room for coaches, which overlooks golf courses. ;training.
There is a kitchen and a dining room, a computer area, a ping-pong table, spaces for the typical Argentine barbecue, an elevator and a large lounge in which team meetings can be organized and events organized. tactics and coaching plans discussed.
The entire building is decorated from top to bottom in Newell's red and black colors, from sheets to furniture and cutlery. The walls are decorated with pictures of characters from the club's history, such as Gabriel Heinze, Gabriel Batistuta, Gerardo "auntie"Martino, Maxi Rodriguez and Jorge Valdano, and the important title wins through the years, or motivational phrases.
Soundproof materials were used in the halls to allow players to focus fully, the doors are higher than the norm in Argentina and the enormous steel staircase was sent to Buenos Aires to be galvanized, so that the club does not have to pay for it. it must be painted every few years.
"You have to solder [the staircase, railings and beams] before galvanizing or otherwise the solder has dissipated, "said Conde." There is no big enough tank here in Rosario, so we put it in a truck and transported it to Buenos Aires to be galvanized and do the same with all the beams. These are the small details that most people do not like, but that highlight the commitment to the project. "
But there is a detail that Bielsa has not designed and which was probably added by his sister: there are 22 holes in the parking wall in tribute to the brains behind the hotel – the phraseology of Paris # 22 in Argentina is "El Loco. "
"What Marcelo Bielsa has done here is an important detail," Griffa said at the opening of the hotel. "It fills us with satisfaction to think that someone who still loves and loves Newell has made such an important gesture for its growth, not only in terms of football, but also in everything that surrounds it."
Griffa ended his speech by saying that Bielsa "will one day return to the club".
While visiting the building and especially in the coaching quarters, the only thing that seems to be missing is Bielsa himself, although Leeds United fans are hoping that this day will not happen too soon. West Yorkshire is currently at the top of the English league and aims to play in the Premier League for the first time since 2004.
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