At San Mames on Saturday night Athletic Bilbao and Eibar had to settle for a goalless draw. It had been a fierce Basque derby, which yielded 11 yellow cards, six for Eibar and five for Athletic. The result favoured Eibar, as it put Los Armeros into 8th place, continuing their remarkable start to La Liga. However, for Los Leones their failure to win at home marks a worrying trend, especially for Coach Ernesto Valverde.
In their first six games Athletic have lost four times, drawn once [against Eibar] and won only once, at home to Levante. The goalless draw on Saturday leaves Athletic in 16th. They are only above the relegation zone because of a superior goal difference.
Their exploits last season are one of the main reasons Athletic haven’t performed. Finishing fourth put them in the Champions League, where they dispatched Napoli in the playoffs last month to reach the group stages.
Playing in the Champions League requires a big squad full of players who have experience in European football. In addition, there has to be depth within the squad, so to perform well when the Coach rotates the team for domestic and European games.
However, the policy of only using players from the Basque region limits the club’s ability to bring enough people in with experience to cope playing on two fronts. Athletic’s acquisitions in the transfer market during the summer focused either on promoting players from their cantera, such as exciting midfielder Unai Lopez, or those coming back from loan spells, like promising full-back Jon Aurtenetxe. Athletic brought in one player in a deal that involved cash, striker Borja Viguera from Alaves in the Segunda Divison for €1m.
Relying on Basque players isn’t the only ingrained policy at the club – so too is selling the squad’s best players. This summer proved no different when Ander Herrera, arguably their best player last season, was sold to Manchester United for €36m.
Valverde will be worried at how his side have gone off the pace since their Champions League group stage opener, where Athletic drew 0-0 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on the September 17. Since then Athletic have failed to win a game in three attempts, suffering defeats against Rayo Vallecano and Granada, before the draw against Eibar.
Moreover, playing in Europe is a test on a team physically and Athletic haven’t reached the Champions League since 1998. Last season they had no European football whatsoever, which meant they played fewer games than their rivals. Thus, Valverde knew he could implement his high tempo pressing game with players at a fitness level higher than Sevilla or Real Sociedad.
Both had European football last season, which meant more games and their squad tested to the limit in a way Athletic’s wasn’t. Now Athletic are feeling the strain of juggling La Liga with Champions League football as well as missing Herrera’s dynamism in midfield.
Trying to avoid a possible relegation scrap isn’t easy when looking at Athletic’s upcoming fixtures. After a Champions League fixture against BATE Borisov in Belarus on Tuesday they face a trip to the capital to face Real Madrid on Sunday. It is likely things will get worse before they get better.
