Athletic ready to go again

When Ernesto Valverde took control at Athletic Bilbao last summer many observers did not think they would finish in fourth place. But that is exactly what they did. Last season was one to remember for the Basque outfit, as they surprised everyone by finishing fourth – a good seven points ahead of fifth placed Sevilla.

Under Valverde the players have warmed to his relationship building methods, with each made aware what is expected of them and the Coach willing to implement discipline if a player stepped out of line. It is different from the days of Marcelo Bielsa, whose style was intense and over demanding at times, but did [and is still doing] wonders to their fitness.

Valverde has adopted some of Bielsa’s ideals while at Athletic, such as attractive attacking football, intense pressing and looking to break on the counter when retaining possession.

They excelled at the new San Mames, where they lost just twice, against Espanyol and Atletico Madrid. Their formidable home record included some impressive results, such as defeating Barcelona 1-0 and holding Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw.

Valverde’s efforts at Athletic aren’t surprising, as this is his second spell with the club. In his first 11-years-ago he impressed in his debut season by finishing fifth. Now Valverde has gone one better by potentially qualifying for the Champions League group stages.

If Athletic can navigate their tough playoff tie against Napoli it will considerably boost their coffers after moving home. Though Los Leones can proudly boast they hold little debt, qualifying for the Champions League group stages it will further improve their financial outlook.

However, the challenge for Valverde is to continue their recent achievements, so to show last season was no fluke. There is a tendency for teams who upset the status quo to be susceptible of losing their best players from the big clubs of Europe, which leaves them weakened for the following season. Athletic have fallen foul of this, as Ander Herrera left for Manchester United last month, but only after they paid his buyout fee of €36m.

Herrera was one of their standout players last season, as the midfielder always looked to play the ball forward at a high tempo, before the defenders had time to get themselves set.

Athletic’s policy of only acquiring players born in the Basque region does restrict transfer targets notably when top players such as Herrera leave. But their team does ooze class. In attack they have the in form Aritz Aduriz along with the supremely talented Iker Muniain, while in defence 20-year-old French centre-back Aymeric Laporte has rightly won praise in high corners and had been linked with Barcelona in the past.

However, though Valverde hasn’t been able to bolster his squad with top signings, he can look to the club’s cantera to give opportunities to youth prospects while promising left-back Jon Aurtenetxe has returned from loan at Celta Vigo.

Despite the lack of transfer activity there is genuine excitement within Athletic. All eyes will be on Valverde to see if his team can repeat the achievements of last season. Defeating Napoli in the Champions League playoffs would be a good start.

La Liga - Club News