'I'm not a model' - Bielsa defends bizarre World Cup portrait

Marcelo Bielsa stared stonily downwards, hands in pockets, refusing to look at the camera during Fifa's official World Cup photoshoot — and the Uruguay coach had no time for questions about it. After his side's 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia in Miami on Monday, the 70-year-old former Leeds United manager hit back at journalists. "I'm not a model," he said. "I don't have to give any explanation, the picture was taken the way it was taken." The image, shot by photographers Michael Regan and Molly Darlington on 10 June in Cancún, Mexico, has become one of the first viral pictures of the tournament. Unlike the players, who gave emotive portraits, Bielsa stood statuesque. When reporters moved on, he returned to the subject. "There is a limit in terms of what we need to explain," he added. "If I'm wearing glasses, why am I wearing glasses? You look somebody in the eye, why do you do that? There is nothing wrong about wearing glasses or looking into somebody's eyes or looking down." The Argentinian, nicknamed 'El Loco', has long been a maverick. During his time at Leeds, he sat on a plastic bucket to relieve chronic back pain and paid the £200,000 fine the club received after spying on Derby in 2019. Uruguay's second pool game is against Cape Verde on Sunday (23:00 BST).