Athletic Bilbao fullback De Marcos welcomes back Valverde | OneFootball

Athletic Bilbao fullback Oscar de Marcos is happy being one of the squad's elder statesmen.

Athletic kick-off the 2022/23 season with a home match against RCD Mallorca on August 15 at 17:30 CEST.

Before that the Lions will head to Germany, where they will face a host of top level opponents, including: Borussia Monchengladbach, MSV Duisburg, Vfl Bochum and FSV Mainz 05.

“It's important to start well because if you position yourself towards the top straight away, it's much harder to fall away," De Marcos said at a press conference ahead of Athletic's trip to Germany.

“We have take advantage of the home matches we have at the start. It's important that we create a sense of excitement and go little by little from. We want to get back into Europe and finish as high up the league as possible."

The right-back is one of the leaders of the squad, and after having recently signed a contract extension, he is now heading into a 14th season as a Lion.

He said: “I don't think anyone could have predicted it, not even myself. Every year I try to do my best, to give my all. That's what's led to me being here for 14 years and I'm delighted.

“My plan is to keep enjoying myself, to help the team, and take things day by day."

After two weeks of hard work, De Marcos admitted he is quite excited by the arrival Ernesto Valverde. He also mentioned the quality of the youngsters coming through the ranks.

“I try to teach the young people as much as I can," he added. “They've got a lot of talent. They need to keep working hard on some details, but it looks like there's a good crop of players coming through.

“As for the boss, he creates excitement. Under Valverde we've always fought for the top positions. Let's hope we can do it again, the team deserves it."