'I'm loving life' - Jaka Bijol lifts lid on his Leeds United experience and watching the Marcelo Bielsa years
Jaka Bijol lifts the lid on his Leeds United experience - and his viewing of the Marcelo Bielsa years
Leeds United defender Jaka Bijol has revealed he is loving life at Elland Road - and insisted the club has “huge” potential.
The 27-year-old, a £15m acquisition from Udinese, has impressed since making the move to England last summer.
He had to wait until October for his Premier League debut but is now a key figure in Daniel Farke’s backline and has racked up 28 appearances across all competitions.
Jaka Bijol loving life at Leeds United
In an interview with FourFourTwo, the Slovenia international has spoken candidly about his love for life in West Yorkshire.
He said: “I had a really nice upbringing and my family gave me opportunities to try and do things I wanted to do, so I was fortunate in that respect.
“I get a bit emotional thinking about my childhood because I have so many nice memories, but I’m loving life here in Leeds now.
“I will often have a drive out visiting nice places like the Yorkshire Dales. It’s proper England up here. I really enjoy it.”
Watching the Marcelo Bielsa years
Bijol may have only joined last summer but he has been familiar with Leeds for years. Like many, the centre-back was captivated by the club when Marcelo Bielsa was at the Elland Road helm.
He said: “It’s (the club’s potential) huge, especially with the job that the manager is doing. I knew Leeds had a big history and a worldwide fanbase and I watched a lot of games under Marcelo Bielsa when the club had a lot of success.
“We have stayed up and reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup this season. Maybe we can be disappointed we didn’t show our best at Wembley against Chelsea but it was still a great experience for the players and fans.
“As a club we can grow a lot and just need the hunger to do it. Crucially, I think everyone at the club has that same desire to keep progressing. The vision from the ownership encourages, I hope that we can keep taking steps forward in the coming years. In football there will always be a bad couple of games, but we have to stick together with our fans and keep going.
“We’ve done this all season, especially when the results weren’t going our way earlier in the campaign, and that helped get us through. I meet Leeds fans all the time and always enjoy chatting to them because they have been fantastic with me. I want to keep making more memories and put this team in the history books as well.”
Desire to keep winning
Leeds are preparing to visit Tottenham Hotspur safe in the knowledge they will be playing Premier League football next season.
Their safety was secured over the weekend, when West Ham United failed to get a point against Arsenal.
Bijol said: “When I came here, you could see the togetherness in the squad and as a new signing I thought ‘What can I do to help it grow even more and make us even better?’ I think with the new guys that came in last summer, we have adapted really well and helped the club to enjoy a very good season.
“I just want to do more and more and be here always. I want to keep winning with this team because we have so many good players and personalities.”