This season, I’m looking for intrastories related to the day current Athletic players made their debuts. All of them, even now, have had time among the elite like lions, some more, some less. I think there may be attention-grabbing names related to each star’s premiere. The established order is the numbers.
Number 21 this season belongs to Ander Herrera. The midfielder, according to Athletic’s official website, made his debut in the red and white team on August 18, 2011. A Thursday. It’s nine o’clock in the evening. Red and white. It was in the play off before the group stage of the 2011/2012 Europa League.
The Bilbao native made his debut against Trabzonspor. In San Mamés. This is a debut with a tie. 0-0. Marcelo Bielsa gave him an alternative. This is also the first official match of the Argentine coach in Bilbao. Dorsal 21. One of the few that keeps its back. He is a starter. He played the whole game. He shares the midfield with Javi Martínez and Ituraspe.
In the midfield of the rival team is, for example, the Brazilian Alanzihno. Better known is their center forward, Altintop, twin of a former Real Madrid player. The first good chance of the game came from the boot of Herrera. A center that was headed in by Iturraspe and finished by Fernando Llorente. He also had a shot from outside the area in the first half and a free kick in the second half.
premiere day
They were his first official minutes after Athletic paid Zaragoza 8.5 million fixed euros and 2.5 in bonuses for goals achieved by the player and the club. Josu Urrutia experienced his first official match as president of Athletic. It was a night where Daniele Orsato, the Italian referee, sent off Yilmaz in the 7th minute for Muniain’s attack. The red and white team shot at the goal up to 25 times without scoring a goal.
Athletic qualified for the group stage without playing and are already in Turkey. Fenerbahçe’s exclusion, due to its involvement in the match-fixing scandal, gave Trabzonspor a place in the Champions League. Herrera accumulated 166 official matches for Athletic and scored 11 goals: 7 in the League, 2 in the Cup and 2 in the Europa League. Since his return he has not scored.
In the rest of the sport, on the day Ander Herrera made his debut for Athletic, Barcelona’s victory over Real Madrid in last season’s Super Cup final was Mundo Deportivo’s cover story. That was the night Mourinho stuck his finger in Tito Vilanova’s eye. Strike was also announced in football.
Herrera is getting a little more consistent in terms of not getting injured. And that, what has been seen since his return, is the best news. He is not an undisputed starter for Valverde, but he is a piece that the rojiblanco coach will use. It still has a lot of quality. A luxurious substitute for a lot like red and white. He is another player whose contract expires in 2024 and whose future seems to lie more outside than inside Athletic. The truth is I want him to stay because I think he has a lot more to contribute to Athletic. It won’t be something from another Thursday.
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.
