Valverde’s first brushstroke

Athletic lost the first game of the 2023-24 preseason. The rojiblancos were beaten on Sunday at the magnificent Akron stadium in Guadalajara by Chivas, a more rounded team that won the three games it played in Mexico’s Liga MX and will then play in the Leagues Cup, a competition that will include- together. the Major League Soccer club of the United States and Canada and the League of the Aztec country between July 21 and August 19. The greatest filming of the area can be done with visitors. The defeat was the least of it, but Valverde has made some tests for the future. They were his first brushstrokes of the 23-24 season

1. FIRST SIMÓN, HOLDER

It’s one of the doubts over the pledge being debated in the Jalisco state capital. Will Unai Simón play? Murgia’s goalkeeper joined the group that same Friday to travel to Mexico and on Saturday he did his first training session at the scene of the clash. Valverde played well throughout against Alex Padilla, who has Mexican roots, but preferred to drop the international into the first eleven, the one he put in the first half. Already in the second, the youth player who will be a starter played in Bilbao Athletic led by Gurpegi.

2. THE CENTERS

Valverde has a problem with the axis of defense, at least at the moment. He only has three specific players in that position, Vivian, Yeray and Paredes. Only the first traveled to the Aztec country. The man from Barakaldo continues to recover from groin surgery he underwent on May 31 and the man from Bilbao is on holiday after playing in the Under-21 European Championship. In this situation, Txingurri tried Beñat Prados and Nolaskoain with Vivian and Egiluz, respectively. The midfielder from Iruña already played as a central defender at Mirandés and the one from Zumaia did it with Berizzo at Athletic, although last season he brought out his best repertoire in the Eibar midfield.

3. MORCILLO, LEFT SIDE

The coach also had a problem this preseason on the left side, before the loss of Yuri Berchiche and Imanol García de Albéniz, the men who stayed in Bilbao and were called to occupy this position throughout the course. The man from Zarauz will not join the group until the first week of August and the man from Gallarta is doing well after the operation on his right Achilles tendon, which he underwent in February. Txingurri pulled from Lekue in the first period and from Jon Morcillo in the second. zornotsarra is a winger, but many players have delayed their position due to necessity in the history of football.

4. THE MEDIA CENTERS

Txingurri’s selection of the four midfielders he used in Guadalajara was also significant. He pulled Junior Bita (a player he liked) and Ander Herrera and Ruiz de Galarreta-Vesga after going through the changing rooms. The coach left Unai Vencedor without playing, although the Rekalde native had to leave in the 82nd minute due to physical problems suffered by Egiluz. Mikel Vesga dropped to the axis of the back and the ’16’ occupied the midfield. Everything suggests that Vencedor will go on loan to avoid spending a year barely playing, also considering that Valverde has many options to choose from in that position.

5. FIRST GÓMEZ, MIDDLE POINT

Unai Gómez could also be one of the alternatives for left back since he played in that position in the final matches for Bilbao Athletic last season. Valverde doesn’t see him there. He was promoted to the first team as a midfielder in the final stages of last season despite the fact that Pallarés placed him in defence. On Sunday, he played as a midfielder with Adu Ares and Berenguer on both attacking wings and Raúl García up front. And he did it well too. The Bermeo midfielder is one of the homegrown footballers for whom there are high hopes.

6. THE FORWARDS

The man from Gasteiz also selected the strikers from the first team he brought to Mexico to play in each side. Gorka Guruzeta before the break and Raúl García after. The other two alternatives, Iñaki Williams and Asier Villalibre, stayed with Lezama doing specific work. The Gernika striker returned to work on Monday 10 July after finishing last season with Alavés later, where he has played on loan since January. Another striker, Javier Martón, was the only one left not playing. Everything indicates that the striker from Real will go on loan in accordance with what Valverde declared on Tuesday in Lezama.