Valverde took over as Athletic’s first team bench in the 2003-2004 season. Aranzubia and Lafuente were the goalkeepers of the first team. Both repeated under the orders of the gasteiztarra coach in the following campaigns.
In the 2013-14 campaign, Valverde found himself in Bilbao with Iraizoz and Herrerín as goalkeepers. The pair repeated the following two seasons and in the third, the latter part of Txingurri’s second cycle at Athletic, Kepa joined. Now, in his third cycle on the San Mamés bench, Unai Simón, Agirrezabala and Iru are the rojiblancos’ goalkeepers.
From Valverde’s first season as coach to the present, two decades, a total of 15 goals have been part of the first team. Lafuente, Aranzubia, Pampín, Escalona, Unai Alba, Iraizoz, Armando, Raúl Fernández, Herrérín, Kepa, Unai Simón, Remiro, Ezkieta, Agirrezabala and Iru are the names that appear on the club’s official website. Others, like Aitor Fernández and Hodei Oleaga, for example, also played as the third goalkeeper at times.
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.
