Athletic already have a replacement for Gurpegi in Basconia

Athletic continues to restructure its coaching organizational chart for next season. The Bilbao club formally today promoted Bittor Llopis, coach this season of the Juvenil de División de Honor rojiblanco, to Basconia. This latter team, the second Athletic subsidiary playing in the RFEF Third Division, was led in the recently concluded campaign by Carlos Gurpegi, who will take charge of Bilbao Athletic from now on.

Llopis, 35 years old, arrived last summer from the Alavés youth academy. The Biscayan coach, who has a background in grassroots football for Leioa and Eibar, achieved the title of group champion in his first year with the cubs, the runner-up in the Cup after losing the final against Real Madrid and making it to the final four in the Champions Cup, where the rojiblancos were eliminated in the semifinals against Betis after eliminating Barça in the quarterfinals in a double game.

“Bittor Llopis, coach of the Juvenil División de Honor, will be the coach of CD Basconia next season. The man from Getxo will rise with part of the players who have forged themselves this year with him and have been proclaimed champion of the League and has reached the semifinals of the Cup and the Champions Cup. The Third Division is not an unknown category for Llopis, who has already led San Ignacio when he was a member of the Deportivo Alavés infrastructure,” said the official statement issued from Ibaigane.

Llopis himself posted a message of thanks to his squad on his twitter account after his first season at Lezama. “First at the Athletic Club and proud of the progress. Thanks to the CT (technical staff) who have been the best company in this journey and the players who have led us to live unforgettable experiences. Izugarria izan da zuekin ekdura” .