Today we will find out the name of the new Basque coach.
Marcelino left a month ago. Since then, Athletic have no coach
On 24 May it was announced that Marcelino Garcia Toral would be stepping down from his position as manager of Athletic Bilbao. The Spanish specialist led the pride of Basque football for a year and a half, in 75 games under his leadership Athletic achieved 29 wins, 25 draws and 21 defeats.
Athletics culminated under Marcelino in the manager’s third match, when they won the 2021 Spanish Super Cup, beating Real and Barcelona en route to the trophy. Alas, Marcelino failed to develop the success of the first days of work at Athletic, he got a team with a cup character, but not the luckiest, as evidenced by the two defeats in the King’s Cup final by Barcelona and Real Sociedad.
In La Liga, the Basques finished tenth and eighth, remaining without European cups. Marcelino left not only for the results, even though they really expected more from him, but also in view of the upcoming elections for the president of Athletic. Already today there will be a vote that will determine the name of the new president and at the same time the head coach of Athletic. The intrigue tickles the nerves of the fans, even though they already know for sure that, regardless of the election results, the team will be led by a strong and famous manager.
Marcelo Bielsa is Iñaki Arechaballeta’s main trump card
On Monday, Marcelo Bielsa was introduced as a potential new Athletic manager, the Argentine will take over if Iñaki Archebaleta wins the presidential election. Bielsa had already worked with Athletic from 2011 to 2013, in the 2011/12 season Marcelo led the Basques to the Copa del Rey and Europa League finals, but in both cases he lost big in decisive matches against Barcelona and Atlético with the same score 0: 3.
Bielsa’s last job was at Leeds United, where he stayed for three and a half years, which was the longest continuous stint in one post for the Argentine. At the end of February he left the English club due to unsatisfactory results, but is ready to face a new challenge on the eve of his 67th birthday. Bielsa is not a passive card in the Arechabaleta deck, on Monday El Loco gave an impressive presentation during which he analyzed in detail the current state of Athletic and proposed his sporting strategy for the team.
Bielsa convinced the hesitants. But their grades may not be enough
Arechabaleta made a strong move when he convinced Bielsa to join his candidacy for Athletic President. According to the presidential candidate, Bielsa spoke highly of Marcelino and agreed to study the offer only after the incumbent coach decided to leave his position. Marcelo did not come to Bilbao, he did not shake hands with anyone in front of the cameras, smiling beaming, he did not make any loud statements in the press.
Instead, he shoveled a bunch of stats, watched hundreds of hours of football, made cuts, drafted a schedule, and sprayed a sea of numbers on those interested in Athletic’s fate, and at the same time slowly and boringly. he outlined his vision of current affairs and outlined a plan for further changes. Think about it: Bielsa saw all 45 Athletic games last season, 38 second-team games, a few third-team games, and Athletic U19.
In addition, he studied the possibilities of every opponent in La Liga, with the exception of Girona, whose promotion came too late. Marcelo spoke without hesitation about the statistics and growth opportunities of each player, the game structures, the mentality of the team, their working methods and how to achieve the objectives. The 70-minute lecture made it clear that Bielsa was already involved in the team’s affairs and his verdict sounded very optimistic:
I like this team and these players. They are playing well and I am sure that Marcelino could have made them even better if he had stayed in Bilbao. I hope I can too. This set of players suits me better than the team I coached in 2011-2013.
Almost a decade ago, Muniain was asked if Marcelo Bielsa was really as “crazy” as they say. The young and naive Iker gave an uncut answer: “No, he’s even crazier than you think”. But in Bilbao he was loved, the fans finally sang a song in which they asked Marcelo to stay. Then he left, but now he can come back.
In opposition Ernesto Valverde, ready to be nominated by two presidential candidates
The most interesting thing is that before Marcelo Bielsa’s presentation, Iñaki Arechabaleta was an outsider in the presidential race. For the nomination he collected only 2,987 signatures from supporters, while Ion Uriarte had 6041 signatures and Ricardo Barcala has 4054. This report reflects the approximate level of support from voters, but Bielsa’s impressive performance could be decisive, while Uriarte and Barkala will take vows away from each other due to similar applications in several respects.
Thus, both announced that in case of victory Ernesto Valverde, who has already climbed the Athletic bridge twice (2003-2005 and 2013-2017), will become the head coach. In 2017 Valverde was promoted to Barça, with which he won two championships and the Copa del Rey. True, in Spain there is an opinion that Ernesto left the broken Camp Nou, so he has been out of work for two and a half years. Although he is almost 10 years younger than Bielsa, the old Argentine seems to be more energetic and hungry for football, which is the raison d’etre of his life than him.
On the other hand, Valverde is perhaps the most successful athletics coach of the 21st century, he won the Spanish Super Cup with the Basques and brought them to the Champions League. Ernesto did not want to participate in the election campaign until the end, but eventually agreed when two favorites approached him. This made it possible to stand, so to speak, on the side of the club and not of a specific president. Like Bielsa, Valverde complimented Marcelino, expressing regret for not staying at Athletic. Ernesto is also loved in Bilbao, there he is his boyfriend: he played for the Lions and led the team twice, he spent more than ten years in total at San Mames. And who would you like to choose?
