Ernesto Valverde nears Athletic farewell after his toughest season | OneFootball

Ernesto Valverde will end his Athletic reign after 504 official matches, calling this his toughest season in Bilbao. According to El Correo, he arrives at San Mamés today on 502 games, with a final trip to the Bernabéu still to come before Edin Terzic takes over.

With two league fixtures left, Athletic have matched their record 18 defeats and could surpass it if they lose to Celta or Real Madrid. Valverde had never previously suffered more than 15, in 2004-05 and 2022-23.

The side have only 13 league wins, his lowest across 10 seasons, though one more would equal the 14 posted in 2005 and 2023. Their 44 points cannot be lifted to past standards, even 50 would be his lowest haul.

The decline has been stark, 23 points and five wins fewer than at this stage last year, 13 more defeats and goals conceded rising from 26 to 53. In Europe and cups, there was a Champions League group exit, a 5-0 Supercopa loss to Barcelona and a Copa semi-final defeat by Real Sociedad.

Despite that, Valverde leaves with a strong legacy, the Copa and Supercopa won and seven European qualifications, including two in the Champions League. Today’s visit of Celta offers a chance to ease the farewell at San Mamés, with Valverde and Lekue to be honoured and the crowd free to make itself heard. A fourth stint is viewed as very unlikely, with Terzic set to become Athletic’s 52nd head coach.

Source: El Correo