Ernesto Valverde downplays underdog label ahead of Athletic Club’s Spanish Super Cup semi final vs Barcelona | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are set to begin their Supercopa de Espana 2026 campaign today as they face Athletic Club in the semifinal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are the other two teams competing in this year’s Super Cup, with all four sides aiming to lift the first trophy of the season.

It is easy to see that Athletic Club will be the dark horses in this competition, as they will be facing three of the very best teams in Spain. However, as Mundo Deportivo has reported, their head coach, Ernesto Valverde, was fully driven to get something home from this tournament, as he talked to the press ahead of his side’s match against the Blaugranes:

“As things stand, it’s clear that if we’re here, it’s because Real Madrid and Barça are coming, and that’s what generates the most excitement. But you have to play two matches, and in 90 minutes, anything can happen. We have to try to exploit that.”

The Basque coach stressed that Athletic do not see themselves as mere participants. He explained that being in Saudi Arabia is a reflection of the work done last season, when the team finished fourth in La Liga after previously qualifying through their Copa del Rey triumph.

“Because we finished fourth last year. If you’re here, it means you’ve done something. Last year we came because we had won the Cup. This year, because we finished fourth. The Super Cup is always played by teams that have won something or come close.”

Valverde also talked about his former team, Barcelona, in some detail in this presser, and accepted how difficult it would be to beat them:

“Just look at the match against Espanyol, which had very clear chances, but in the final stage Barça prevailed with two extraordinary goals.”

The Spaniard also remembered the 4-0 loss to the Blaugrana team back in November, but was still hopeful of getting a result tonight:

“They went ahead very quickly. Even knowing all that, nothing is written yet. Whatever has to be written must be written tomorrow.”

The two sides had also met in last year’s Super Cup semi-final, and Valverde believed not much has changed for the two teams since that time:

There is no doubt that this will be another exciting match between two top teams in Europe, who will both be looking to add a piece of silverware to their cabinets. For now, it remains to be seen whether Ernesto Valverde will be able to get the better of Barcelona this year and take his team to the final.