Valverde reaches 500 in Vitoria | OneFootball

Ernesto Valverde has reached 500 matches as Athletic coach in Vitoria. He has said he will leave at the end of this third spell, so his tally will stop at 504.

He stands well ahead of Javier Clemente on 289 and Juan Urkizu on 241. as.com notes the Vitoria-born coach frames the milestone as secondary to the need to collect points.

He said the figure is significant and has been on his mind at times, but his feeling before and after matches is the same, responsibility. He expects he may value it more with distance.

Valverde credited many people for enabling the 500, above all the players, his staff at Lezama and the presidents who trusted him across 10 years and three stints, Ugartetxe, Lamikiz, Urrutia and Uriarte.

Quique, his friend and Alavés coach, offered praise. He called Valverde an outstanding coach, said managers have shelf lives, and highlighted his honesty, simplicity and humility, his consistency over 25 years and his ability to adapt, adding he feels close to Valverde’s philosophy.

For now Valverde is focused on pushing Athletic’s European chances at Mendizorroza against Quique’s Alavés, who are fighting to stay up. Defeat at the Metropolitano against Atlético de Madrid left the Bilbao side seven points above the drop and three off Europe with five rounds remaining. The near-term aim is to reach 42, perhaps 43, points to remove any doubt.

Source: as.com