The trend changed on the Bilbao Athletic bench two seasons ago, when Joseba Etxeberria, after leaving the team on the brink of promotion to LaLiga SmartBank, decided not to extend the contract year he had agreed to if he saw fit this. Rafa Alkorta then chose Imanol de la Sota, but in December he chose to replace him with Patxi Salinas as the team was in the relegation zone. This season, something similar happened at Bingen Arostegi.
Bermeo’s coach, oddly enough, served as second in a few years with Ziganda as coach. Navarrese, who already has experience in First Division benches, was the first bet of then president Josu Urrutia to serve on the subsidiary bench when he arrived in Ibaigane’s seat.
After four seasons, including promotion and relegation from the Second Division, Ziganda became Athletic’s coach once Valverde chose to go to Barça. Urrutia then decided to hand the command of Bilbao Athletic to Gaizka Garitano, another coach with a past in the higher category who later took over the first team after Berizzo’s sacking. That trend is now history.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
