Bilbao businessman easily beats Arechabaleta and Barkala’s candidacy
Jon Uriarte (Bilbao, age 43) is Athletic’s new president, number 33 in the history of the centennial red and white entity. The Biscayan businessman, winner of the so-called battle for the signatures two weeks ago and ultimately favorite in the polls, has convinced most partners during the campaign with his permanent image of change and with the need to eliminate formulas from the past in order to institution in the foreground and on the highway of the future. The new tenant of Ibaigane has easily outpaced the elections in San Mamés after three and a half years in the mandate of Aitor Elizegi Iñaki Arechabaleta and Ricardo Barkala. It was the cathedral’s first time hosting the elections.
Most members agree with the renewal messages of the team led by Uriarte, convinced Athletic needs an electroshock that shakes the windows of Alameda Mazarredo headquarters to open them wide to revolutionary ideas. The incoming board of directors, twelve men and six women very close to him and in high positions associated with business and the legal field, want to change the traditional system in economic and social decisions. For the sport, however, he has chosen an experienced man of the house, Ernesto Valverde, who will start his third leg on the bench of a team he has led in more than three hundred games.
In the list of the already president, there is not a single name previously associated with the management of Athletic, a very thoughtful decision with which he tried to convey modernity. Uriarte’s campaign was unique, on the other side of what had been seen thus far. There was no presentation in society -he made his list known in a statement and via social networks-, he did not participate in debates with his opponents and the big tribe on which his football project should revolve, a deputy sports director, fell down in fifteen hours when it was confirmed that the chosen one, the Mexican Carlos Aviña, some time ago was spreading sexist, racist and homophobic messages on the Internet. He has not appointed a deputy, but this handicap has not taken a toll on him in the polls.
The businessman’s victory confirms that the sociological spectrum of the social masses has undergone a substantial shift due to the greater weight of the new generations. The polls reflect this slow transformation, although there have been signs in this direction in recent years. The first, still timid, was Elizegi’s win in December 2018, when he defeated the winner, Alberto Uribe-Echevarría. The second, very recent one, was the meeting’s approval of the constitution reform, a document intended to eliminate the Taifa kingdoms at the various levels of the club by giving the member more decision-making power.
The day San Mamés premiered when the electoral headquarters was running normally, beyond the confusion caused by the change of scenery as members enter the stadium’s interior. Tensions, however, bubbled up in the nearby headquarters of the three candidates, preoccupied with a crossroads of accusations for the installation of a txosna by Barkala in the central part of the cathedral’s esplanade, the harsh statements made on the eve of Uriarte, who condemned the fan in his latest job applicant interview in an attempt to discredit his opponents, and Arechabaleta’s forceful response to the red-and-white ship’s new helmsman.
The edge of the field was a constant handover of partners as the three contenders awaited their fate in this election. The businessman has confirmed his favoritism and the trump card of Marcelo Bielsa, a technician of great prestige, has enabled the Austrian CEO to return to the second position – he was the last in the number of approvals. The big loser was Barkala, who was the first to step into the race towards Ibaigane. It gives the feeling that his staff, old acquaintances from previous board duties in the club, are already over for upcoming election nominations.
Uriarte came out of all his misadventures unscathed during the campaign. Also, the fact that he shared a coach with Barkala has not penalized him. Previous analyzes have pointed to the possibility that this coincidence would split the votes between the two and that Arechabaleta could profit from it with his bet on Bielsa. But if this spread has occurred, it did not have a decisive influence on the results.
The mood was centered around the proposal of a Uriarte who from the beginning and repeatedly asked for a clean campaign and who surprised by using all his artillery in the decisive hours of the campaign to attack his two rivals. Their demonstrations have opened wounds that will take time to heal as the “legislature” is just getting started.
Source: La Verdad
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