Cheers Klich, Bobs Crying.
Salutations, today is a very sad day for Leeds fans. Mateusz Klich is leaving the club and taking a sojourn over to Major League Soccer joining DC United.
This was announced by the club following our 2–2 draw with West Ham, immediately following the full time whistle(At which point we didn’t know what was happening) you could tell something was wrong, Klich had tears filling his eyes while he was clapping the fans.
I was seeing this myself through a haze of tears, Klich has for a long time been one of my favourite players, to start with for his relentlessness in the press then for his many memorable 20 or 30 yard goals, but finally it was for the remarkable human we ended up discovering.
He was a unique character one who we won’t ever be able to replicate, he just got Leeds. He understood what Leeds fans were like and his trademark Klichhousery was indicative of this close connection with the fans. He would badger opponents in subtle ways or in at other times quite overtly.
Opponents would be riled up and confront him and he would flash them his cheeky grin and play innocent and Klich knew the Elland Road crowd loves this kind of thing. One incident comes to mind is when he squirted water down Joe Williams back during a touchline fracas against Bolton.
He started his Leeds United career with little applomb, in the season before Bielsa joined the club, he was just one of many new faces we had seen throughout the years of misery.
Probably his only memorable moment being a calmly taken penalty in an EFL cup penalty shootout win against Burnley. He only played 135 minutes in the league in the 17/18 season and was sent on loan to FC Utrecht in the January window, most fans not reacting to this news and figuring he wouldn’t be seen of again in a Leeds united shirt, how wrong we would end up being.
He then ended up being one of the most committed players this club has ever seen, and while it is hard to encompass all the things which make me love Mateusz, he will forever be linked with Marcelo Bielsa in my eyes for the seasons that followed.
To this day he remains the player to have made the most appearances for Bielsa. He played in 157 matches for Bielsa across all competitions scoring 22 goals and laying on 21 assists, but Mateusz was about so much more on the pitch than just limiting him to goals and assists.
The true skills of Mateusz lay in everything else football is all about. Goals and assists are secondary even if they are the most loved part of a players game. Klich at his best under Bielsa helped us to Klich. He was a part of attacking moves from the defensive third right up to the opposition box, he was a relentless part of Bielsa’s high press and would be seen deep in our own half trying to win back possession.
He would occupy spaces incredibly well, trying to always be in a position to contribute to our attacking play. Especially well known for his combination play in wide areas where he would shuttle from flank to flank giving assistance whenever needed. Most of what Mateusz does wouldn’t be noticed by the average football fan, but his football IQ is one of the best I’ve seen at Elland Road.
One other thing he was known for is being constantly available to play, in the two seasons under Bielsa in the championship he started 91 out of 92 league games. Only not being able to play in one game and that was because he celebrated our promotion back to the Premier League very hard and was either too hungover or even still drunk from the night before’s celebrations.
Even then going into the Premier League he was still constantly available starting in our first 18 games back in the top flight and starting in 45 out of 61 games, including 11 app’s from the bench meaning there was only 6 games in which he didn’t play any minutes during Bielsa’s 3 and a half year tenure.
But this ended up being to his detriment as he burned himself out and while he wasn’t officially injured, his performances ended up suffering because he wasn’t physically at 100%. Because he wasn’t only playing non stop for Leeds, he was also representing the Polish national team.
So when most of the rest of the squad were having breaks from games he was away with the national team, which meant for 2 seasons straight he really hadn’t had a break away from football and this naturally is going to affect even the most physically fit footballers.
It is this dedication and sacrifice on top of all the rest I have spoke about which has led to Klich being loved so much by Leeds United fans. More than most he has embodied the “Side before Self” motto Leeds have taken as a mantra and he has probably hindered the amount of time he was able to play at the highest level and while I would have preferred him to look after himself and his career, I respect and admire him for his commitment.
It’s not only his contributions on the pitch that will be remembered, he has literally made a physical mark on Elland Road, he is a lover of Graffiti art and he sprayed a lovely lasting commemoration of our 2020 Championship win which will be there forever.
Photograph taken by @RiotBadger
On top of this physical mark, he had quite a digital presence on Twitter and Instragram, with his signature wit and humour he has made many Leeds fans evenings, his most memorable tweet was him calling out a Leeds fan named Bob, Bob had directly tweeted Mateusz with lets say, criticisms. Mateusz responded in typical fashion with a simple “Fuck off. Bob.”
Klich has since forgiven Bob for his transgressions in his goodbye letter he published on Twitter & Instragram. By simply saying “PS, Bob, I forgive you.” As you can see at the bottom of the below digital letter.
I could go on for much longer but I don’t want to take too much of your day, this was always meant to be just a little thing expressing my love for Mateusz.
I’ll end with saying the following. Mateusz, if you’re reading, I love you and I will be watching your games in MLS. I hope you and your family settle in well and your new fans soon get to know why Leeds loves you so much.
Martin Riley
PS — Mateusz may have forgiven you, but I haven’t Bob.
