Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed that he will return to Athletic Club if Inaki Arechabaleta emerges victorious in the Basque club’s elections this coming Friday according to Diario Sport. Arechabaleta is going to be running against Ricardo Barkala and Jon Uriarte.
Bielsa has said that he has already seen the 45 games Athletic played during the 2021/22 season as well as the 38 played by Bilbao Athletic and more played by other teams connected to the club. In total, he said, he’s seen and analysed 90 games.
Bielsa believes Athletic should have finished higher in La Liga than the eighth place finish they managed. He said they should have been closer to Sevilla, Real Betis and Real Sociedad and believes that Los Leones should generally be pushing for fifth or sixth place. It’s believed Bielsa will sign a two-year deal should Arechabaleta win the election. He knows the club well having coached them between 2011 and 2013.
