"For me, he's the finest coach in the world," Pep Guardiola once remarked about him. And this from a man who many regard to be the finest coach in the world. "I appreciate Bielsa a lot because he develops players so much," Guardiola stated. It makes no difference how many titles he's won in his career. What matters is that he's considered one of the best coaches in history. His idea of football is simple but effective: possession football that involves a lot of passing and little scoring opportunity. This means that when you play against Bielsa's teams, the majority of the time you will be in control of the game. His teams defend deeply and quickly break down their opponents' attacks. They are known for their unique style of play that is based on strong defense and fast counterattacks. Bielsa was born in Bilbao in 1949. He started out as an amateur player before turning professional at age 20 in 1975. The following year, he took over as manager of Athletic Club de Bilbao and led them to their first ever La Liga title. He continued to lead Athletic until 1997 when he took over as manager of Chile at the age of 40. In his only season with Chile, he led them to the quarter-finals of the 1998 World Cup where they were defeated by Brazil after conceding two goals in the last 15 minutes of the match. He stayed in charge at Athletic until 1999 when he moved to New York City FC where he's been till today.