Exclusive: Don Goodman names his two most remarkable EFL Championship moments ever | OneFootball

Don Goodman has told FLW his two most remarkable memories of the Championship

Don Goodman has highlighted two moments involving Marcelo Bielsa’s time as Leeds United manager as his standout remarkable memories of the Championship.

The second division has seen all sorts of permutations and outcomes of both individual matches, as well as final league tables.

All sorts of goals and red cards have been celebrated and mourned across the grounds of the second tier over the years, with every club hoping to earn a shot at promotion to the Premier League.

Goodman has been working as a pundit and commentator for broadcaster Sky as part of their coverage of the division, meaning he has seen many of those moments up close and in the flesh.

Don Goodman’s memorable Championship moments

Goodman has highlighted the 1-1 draw between Leeds and Aston Villa from April 2019 as the first of his two memorable Championship moments, praising Marcelo Bielsa for his role in the remarkably sporting decision to allow the visitors to score an equaliser without obstruction.

“Well it’s the gift that keeps on giving, the Championship,” Goodman exclusively told Football League World.

“I’ve seen some remarkable moments, lots of goals and controversial incidents.

“But, ultimately, I’ll narrow it down to remarkable moments rather than moments that have shocked me, unique moments.

“And the two that I’ve picked out actually both involve Marcelo Bielsa.

“Who can forget the Leeds, Aston Villa game at Elland Road where he ordered his Leeds team to let Aston Villa to score unobstructed because there was an injury to [Jonathan] Kodjia.

“But Villa players stopped, Leeds played on, [Mateusz] Klick stuck it in the net and Bielsa sportingly allowed Villa to equalise, Albert Adomah I think it was, won the FIFA fair play award for that and rightly so.”

Goodman also highlighted the memory now known as ‘spygate’ when Leeds were caught spying on Derby County’s training sessions in the lead up to their league clash in February 2019, which saw the Whites fined £200,000: “And who could forget spygate? Quite remarkable thing, and because of that there will always be this link between Derby County and Leeds United.

“So, those would be a couple of remarkable moments, rather than shocking moments.”

Leeds failed to gain promotion in the 2018/19 campaign under Bielsa, but they bounced back to secure a top two spot the following season.

The Whites spent three years in the top flight before suffering relegation, but have since returned to the division under Daniel Farke.

Marcelo Bielsa is one of the great characters of football

It’s not surprising at all that two moments involving Bielsa stood out for Goodman given the impact he had on English football during his time there.

The 70-year-old is one of the most influential managers in modern football, so finally getting him in England was a real treat and he didn’t disappoint at all during his time at Leeds.

He is still remembered very fondly by supporters for his role in guiding the Whites back to the Premier League after 16 years outside of the top flight.

Both moments highlighted here show the two sides to Bielsa quite well too, as he is a fierce competitor that will seek any advantage, but he still has a great capacity for fairness.