Playing under Marcelo Bielsa is no joke.
Bielsa has demanded a complete overhaul at Elland Road since taking over as Leeds United boss this summer and it’s paying dividends, with his side top of the Championship table after six games played.
The Argentine has committed himself to the Leeds project and reportedly rejected the opportunity to become the Mexico manager in recent weeks.
Pontus Jansson arrived late to the Bielsa party, having taken an extended summer break after representing Sweden at the World Cup.
And the centre-half has revealed how he’s already lost a lot of weight since he began adhering to Bielsa’s methods.
“The first week I came back, I almost got a shock. We were in at nine in the morning and at home at five in the evening, and that is not usual for a football player,” Jansson told Fotbollskanalen, as translated by the Daily Mail.
“It was a shock. But now it’s calmed down because we have so many matches.
“Then, for my part, physically, that’s an incredible difference. I have gone down four kilos and lost a lot in body fat which for him is basically the beginning to start playing.
“If you are not in the right sense, you can hardly train. There is a weighing-in every morning, if you’re not right there, you’ll hear it.”
Jansson no longer treats himself to a celebratory beer after matches and the 27-year-old has credited the cutting out of alcohol as one of the main reasons for trimming down.
“You think about everything,” Jansson added. “Whatever you eat and whatever you drink, you think about it.
“To me, I think (giving up) alcohol is what has caused me to lose so much. You usually have a beer after a match and enjoy it, but I’ve stopped having that now, so I think it’s the one that helps most if I’m to be honest.
“But all you do, all you eat, the food we have at the training ground is incredibly good and the club is careful about it.
“You do not mind, and it has yielded results. It is pleasing.”
