Athletic closed the year 2024 in the best possible way, with a victory. The rojiblancos return to Bilbao with three points in their pocket after defeating Osasuna. Ernesto Valverde made an assessment of the year in the El Sadar press room. “The assessment is the same as yours,” he said. “Mine is great,” replied the reporter. “Me too, what’s up! It was an exceptional year in every sense, we were cup champions, we were top of the League and in Europe. It has been a year that we will always remember, we would like to extend it, let’s see if we can start properly in 2025,” he stated.
The team is in great momentum after fourteen games without defeat in the Liga and Europa League. In these cases, it is best to continue competing, but a short break is also good. The lions are now on vacation and on December 28 they will return to work in Lezama to prepare for the clash against UD Logroñés on January 4. “When you win you have that impulse to play, you know that everything works out for you, but it’s it’s good that we stopped a little because we have a lot of problems. We don’t have time to get out of shape this week,” he explained.
The coach also wanted to send a message not to ring the bell when he was asked if the goal was to achieve a place in the Champions League. “The objective is what we had, to be able to combine the three competitions and try to go far and if we can repeat what we did last season, repeat it. We know we can hold our own in these competitions, but we have a winter ahead of us. Now we’re happy, we have a little rest and then we have to get back on track.”
The coach also analyzed the game. “Everything was very close, we are happy to end the year well, we had to work hard, in the first half we had more games, we didn’t struggle and in the second we had to defend ourselves. “This victory means a lot for us, we know how difficult it is to win the derby and more so here in Pamplona.”
Gasteiztarra recognized that he had a large staff. “Our squad is long, there are incoming players, Berenguer He could be an absolute starter. We are all very involved, when you win you have a point of confidence and spirit that drives you. In the first half we jumped their midfield line well and in the second it was more difficult. We had to defend the aerial balls and we have done well with the players who came in,” he stated. Finally, he pointed that out Sancet He sprained his right ankle.
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.
