'Not a model' - Bielsa refuses to engage with World Cup photoshoot

Marcelo Bielsa looks down at a World Cup promo photoshoot

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,

All teams and managers at the World Cup are taking part in different photoshoots

ByElizabeth HudsonBBC Sport Journalist

Published57 minutes ago

One thing about Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa is that he is definitely his own man.

Whether it is his nickname of 'El Loco' (The Crazy One), his obsessive attention to detail or sitting on an ice box during matches, the former Leeds manager is well known as a maverick.

And the 70-year-old seems to have kept up his reputation in his official Fifa portrait for the World Cup.

Unlike most players and managers who play up to the camera and enjoy their moment in the spotlight, Bielsa stared stonily downwards rather than straight into the lens looking like he would rather be at the training ground or analysing yet another match.

After his side's opening 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia in Miami on Monday, he was unimpressed with journalists querying his stance, amid suggestions it might be some kind of protest.

"I don't have to give any explanation, the picture was taken the way it was taken," he said.

"I'm not a model."

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Figure caption,

Bielsa refuses to engage during Fifa promo filming

Fifa have photographed all the teams and their staff at this World Cup, with the photoshoots becoming a staple of coverage of their biggest tournaments in the last decade.

The Argentine, one of the most respected coaches in the game, who is managing his third nation at a World Cup after previously achieving the feat with Argentina and Chile, was then asked a different question, but he returned to the same 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."

Uruguay's second pool game is against tournament surprise package Cape Verde on Sunday (23:00 BST).