End of vacation. Athletic is back to work today in Lezama (11 am) after a seven-day vacation. The last match and the final victory of a great 2024 came on December 21 at El Sadar. Players have had time since then to recharge their batteries for what’s to come, which is intense. The first thing is the debut in the 24-25 Cup. UD Logroñés of the Second Federation will be the first obstacle in the defense of the title won on April 6 at La Cartuja in Seville. The round of 32 tie in a single match will be played on Saturday, January 4 in Las Gaunas, which will almost fill its stands with many Zurigorris fans.
Riojans are fourth in group II where Arenas de Ibai Gomezwho is the ruler, and Gernika Gorka Iraizoz. They have 31 points, eight behind the sand players after eight wins, seven draws and only two losses in 17 games played. The team with the most economic power in Logroño, the one called to regain professional football for the capital of Rioja, eliminated the two top rivals in the previous two rounds such as Eibar (1-0) and Girona on penalties shootout then to end extra time with a 0-0 tie.
The lions will exercise today, tomorrow (with open doors in San Mamés from half past ten) and on Tuesday again in Lezama, the New Year is off and they only have two training sessions (Thursday) and Friday) to prepare the Logroño quote.
Then it’s time to change the chip, that is, the competition. The team will go to Saudi Arabia on January 6, the Day of the Three Kings, to play the semi-final of the Super Cup against Barça on the 8th (Jeddah, 8 pm in Bilbao), Athletic as champions of the KO tournament and the Catalans as runners-up in the League. Hansi Flick’s team is at its worst moment of the season. Not only did it lose the regularity tournament leadership it held for most of the League, but it fell to third place. They lost their last two games against Leganés and Atlético, both at the Lluis Company in Montjuïc.
Valverde He only has one player in the dry dock, Oihan Sancet. The Navarrese sprained his right ankle in Iruña. The question remains whether he will include him on the list for the first meeting in 2025 or if he prefers to wait. In any case, it seems not a priori that the leading scorer in the league with seven goals will be part of the starting eleven considering that Txingurri is likely to pass players in fewer minutes.
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.
