You need to watch Mateusz Klich’s jaw-dropping assist that’s made Leeds fans cry
As the final whistle blew at Elland Road, with Leeds having failed to break down previously pointless Sheffield Wednesday to remain rooted in mid-table of the English second tier, the home faithful could’ve been forgiven for reflecting on sunnier times.
It’s not been too long since Marcelo Bielsa ruled the roost in this corner of west Yorkshire, subjecting his charges to murderball and his opponents to the kind of press that sent them back to the Victorian era.
One of the main proponents of the Bielsa era, where Leeds proved a nuisance to the richest and most self-important Premier League clubs, was Mateusz Klich.
He had the humility and stamina to do the relentless running demanded. He also possessed the technical ability and positional intelligence to carry out tactical instructions. And Leeds were half the side without him once Jesse Marsch marginalised him last season.
So, as Leeds toil in the Championship, the sight of Klich dropping laser-beamed assists on the feet of his DC United team-mates will produce the kind of sniffles normally associated with a dusty room or chopping onions.
The MLS side, managed by Wayne Rooney, boosted their play-off chances with a thumping 4-0 win over Chicago Fire and it was all kickstarted by Klich’s moment of divine inspiration.
Collecting the ball inside his own half, the Poland international lofted a pass forward as if the ball was flying on a magic carpet towards his destination.
It was so good that Christian Benteke, the former Liverpool and Crystal Palace striker who hadn’t scored in three months, was transformed into prime Ronaldo as he swept the ball home.
That sound you can hear, above the cheers, is Leeds fans weeping at this Mateusz Klich assist.pic.twitter.com/6GjSy9PSsq
— Planet Football (@planetfutebol) September 3, 2023
“I have friends in Leeds, a flat, we had everything arranged with my family. Six years in one place is a lot though. I cried a lot, especially when people wrote to me. Fans asked me not to leave,” Klich said in March, reflecting on his exit from Elland Road.
“I wanted to finish my contract at Leeds and leave in one-and-a-half years. I knew before the season that I wouldn’t be a core player and would be coming on from the substitutes’ bench. I agreed to this role and was curious to see how I would handle it myself.
“For the first few games it still looked good, I felt OK. Then we started to play very poorly and I thought I should have had a few chances to play from the start. However, I didn’t get any, which I was angry about.
“I saw that the coach was tinkering with the line-up, throwing other players in different positions and not taking me into account at all, even though I had played well in the previous game, for example. In the end, I started to get frustrated.”
As it became apparent Klich’s importance to Marsch’s Leeds was on the wane, the offer to secure his family’s future by joining MLS as a designated player was on the table.
Despite this, the Pole claims members of the Leeds dressing room urged him to stay: “Even the guys in the team kept telling me not to fool around and don’t do it.”
But Klich decided to take the plunge and move Stateside. And, as Leeds struggle to readjust to Championship life, watching Klich drop Hall of Famer assists will cause the Elland Road support to become all melancholy.
By Michael Lee
You can watch every single MLS match from wherever you are in the world with an MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
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