Points in favor of Uriarte’s management at Athletic

Jon Uriarte has accumulated nine months at the helm of the Athletic presidency. A lot happened at the rojiblanco club. Here are some of the positive aspects of his rule.

1. Valverde’s return to the first team bench

Uriarte is not the only presidential candidate to support Valverde’s return to Athletic. Not the first either. The return of the coach from Gasteiz to his third spell on the rojiblanco first team bench is, as suspected, a sure bet. The lions there hold hands with Txingurri. His poor start after the competitive break caused by the World Cup in Qatar has seen him lose weight compared to the European positions, although sixth place is still within reach. Athletic also have the possibility of returning to a Cup final, although to do so they will need to come back from 1-0 down against Osasuna in the first leg at El Sadar.

2. The persistence in trying to fill the new San Mamés

Uriarte’s board of directors found out upon their arrival in Ibaigane that the so-called animation tier requested and created by Aitor Elizegi was a reality. The managers of the Bilbao club have also started to move to other levels to try to increase attendance at the stadium on match days until they are closer to maximum capacity. So far, several records have been broken, with the best entry in history standing at 49,741 spectators, coinciding with Barça’s last league visit. Against Osasuna, in the Cup, this record can be surpassed.

3. Agility in a subject as difficult as Assembly

The first meeting of the delegate members led by Uriarte as head of the Bilbao club made it very clear how things work at Athletic at the level of internal management. Needless to say, what was made clear to all those present that day is that a meeting of these qualities can also be held online, agile, and even didactic on some issues. The comrades present at the Euskalduna, in fact, were able to cast their vote for the first time in history using an electronic control. The never seen before in Athletic.

4. Defending one’s own interests above all else

Athletic has defended its own interests since the arrival of Jon Uriarte beyond the positioning of other clubs such as Barça or Real Madrid, clubs with which it has also been in sync when they share goals. In opposition to the CVC, the new rojiblanco president joined Florentino and Laporta. With the creation of the Super League, however, Athletic’s position had nothing to do (also before Elizegi) with Barça and Madrid. The same thing happened when both clubs did not attend the Extraordinary General Assembly or the working days promoted by LaLiga in Dubai.