A friend of Erik ten Hag’s has taken aim at Marcelo Bielsa’s use of a translator in an interview following the Dutchman’s announcement as the new Manchester United manager. It was confirmed that he will be taking over from Ralf Rangnick in the summer after the Red Devils and Ajax agreed on a compensation package.
The ongoing fire between Manchester United and Leeds United has already been stoked by one of Ten Hag’s friends prior to his arrival in England. In an interview with our sister site the Manchester Evening News, Leon ten Voorde made the claim that English is a well spoken language in the Netherlands.
"He is always himself. Not a man who will seek the spotlight," he said. "It [media scrutiny]'s part of it. The English media landscape cannot be compared with the Netherlands. We stick to the game itself.
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"In Holland, we can speak English. Erik is not Bielsa."
The name drop of the former Leeds manager at the end of his interview seems somewhat strange and plays into the two club's bitter rivalry. Bielsa would often give a clear explanation of why he opted to use a translator.
Instead of communicating in unfamiliar English during his pre and post-match interviews, the Argentine believed he was better served using a translator in order to better articulate the points he was trying to make. Patrick Bamford also explained why his ex-manager opted against conducting his press encounters in English.
"I think his English is actually very good in terms of understanding it," The Whites striker told Astro Supersport a couple of years ago. I think he can speak it a fair bit as well, but because he is so respectful, I don't think he wants to make a mistake in the English language by saying something wrong.
"So I presume that's why he uses the translator all the time."
The comment made by Ten Hag’s friend about Bielsa is even more odd given that almost 90 percent of the people in the Netherlands are proficient at speaking English, compared to just 14 per cent in Argentina. It is hardly surprising, based on those figures, that a Dutchman is more capable of speaking English than an Argentine.
