Athletic Club Bilbao

It was always going to be a difficult task for Real Madrid, with the improvement of Athletic Bilbao in this campaign. The Basque club are now just two points off their total from the whole of last season.

Having been beaten just once in the last 10 games, via WhoScored.com, they are looking comfortable for a Champions League finish. In recent weeks they have shown a killer instinct in front of goal, as confidence has increased.

Former coach Marcelo Bielsa preached the importance of pressing the opposition and fast attacks in numbers.

When the Argentine took his side to Old Trafford in the Europa League two years ago, he told the press room: "In terms of style of play, our simple ethos is this 'try to win the ball back as quickly as possible from our opponents as far up the field as we can,' via LaLigaUK.

"By that I mean everyone is involved in winning the ball back from the forwards to anyone else and then once we have got it try and find a way of getting forward as quickly as possible, in a kind of vertical direction if you like," added Bielsa.

Under Ernesto Valverde, the team are more measured in their approach. They are a lot calmer in possession and able to break down stubborn defences.

There's still an intensity when they press the opposition high up the pitch, but rather than trying to steal the ball back, they look to cut off the passes.

If the press is avoided through a long ball or a clever piece of skill, the team swiftly drops back and becomes very compact.

Bielsa's team would often get caught out in the transition as the opponent pressed them in return, whilst Valverde has made his side less susceptible to the counter-attack.

As a result Carlo Ancelotti's players attempted 51 long balls in comparison to the 32 they made in their last league game with Granada, per FourFourTwo. The success rate was also a lot lower as they were harassed on the ball and closed down instantly.

With Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema's work rate off the ball inferior to that of Athletic's, centre-back Aymeric Laporte was able to dictate the game and attempt more passes than anyone else, via FourFourTwo.

The home side had more possession and created the better chances as both Aritz Aduriz and Iker Muniain should have opened the scoring in the first half.

Aduriz's hold-up play and ability in the air were evident against Pepe, whilst Ander Herrera made life difficult for Xabi Alonso and was very creative in the final third.

After the break, Real Madrid improved and put Athletic on the back foot, as Ronaldo began to assert more influence.

Up until then he had been marshalled well through a combination of Oscar De Marcos, Ander Iturraspe and Markel Susaeta.

De Marcos was beginning to get isolated by the Portuguese forward, so the more defensive and natural right-back Andoni Iraola was introduced.

It had little effect as Ronaldo's cross was turned in by Jese on his full La Liga debut six minutes later.

Valverde's second substitution had much more of an impact as Ibai Gomez's spectacular strike drew them level with just his second touch. He almost added another toward the end of the match from a similar position, but Diego Lopez was equal to it.

Frustration boiled over when Ronaldo was sent off, as Carlos Gurpegi made the most of the contact, though it could be argued he clawed his opponent.

Most managers tend to sacrifice the rookie when down to 10 men, but Ancelotti's decision to remove Jese for Asier Illarramendi, denied Real Madrid pace up front and an obvious out ball.

Athletic's unbeaten home record in the league continues at the new San Mames, and few would begrudge them of the result.

In a Friday morning press conference, Real Madrid unveiled plans for a €400 million stadium redevelopment, which President Florentino Perez expects to be a global symbol (h/t ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan).

On Sunday, Los Blancos will visit a team who have been settling into their brand-new stadium rather nicely. That team is Athletic Bilbao, whose new San Mames Stadium opened for business in September 2013. Built partially over the site of the old San Mames Stadium—the final stand behind the goal has yet to be completed as the old "Cathedral" was still in the way—the UEFA 5-star arena is filled with 53,000 locals for every home game. 

San Mames is named after Saint Mammes, a Christian who was thrown to the lions by the Romans, but who survived when the beasts refused to eat him. (This is also why Athletic Club are known as "Los Leones.")

Against all odds, the proverbial lion that is Spanish top-flight football has never taken a fatal bite out of the Basque club. 

Along with Madrid and Barcelona, Bilbao are the only club who have never been relegated from the Spanish Primera since its inception in 1929. Incredibly, they have managed to stay competitive in the modern game with a self-imposed handicap: the Cantera.

This policy means they will only sign players originating from or trained in the Basque region. Whereas their La Liga rivals can pick from a global population of billions to fill their starting XI, Bilbao are limited to a relatively small area containing a little over two million people.

While the Cantera has received criticism for its insular nature and limits on transfers, the fans wouldn't have it any other way. In a poll held in the 1990s, 75 percent of Athletic Club supporters said they would rather be relegated than abandon the policy, per Football Cantera.  

When you look at the amount of Spanish national team players they have produced—and the current strength of the team—it's hard to fault the system.

The new San Mames has become a fortress. Bilbao was never an easy place to go for a visiting team, but Ernesto Valverde's side are undefeated in the league on their new turf. They have only dropped four points at home and in December inflicted Barcelona's only league defeat of the season so far. In fact, their only loss at the new venue so far was in the Spanish Cup to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

Bilbao's attitudes toward recruitment couldn't be any more different than that of their anxious visitors on Sunday. 

Real Madrid are renowned for their incredible youth setup, but relatively few of their homegrown stars get to shine at the Bernabeu due to a policy of importing megastars that began in the 1990s. In 2013, for example, Transfermarkt shows us that Madrid spent nearly £144 million on players. Athletic Club had a particularly extravagant year, splashing £13.4 million on players of Basque origin.  

Yet despite these different attitudes—and the phenomenal spending power of Los Blancos—Athletic Club find themselves just one place behind Real in fourth. A defeat at San Mames could put Carlo Ancelotti's side four points off the lead in the title race. It really makes you wonder about the merits of "Galacticos." 

Athletic Club aren't in danger of upsetting the Barca-Real-Atletico hegemony in La Liga anytime soon, but it is incredible that they are knocking on the door of Champions League football on the kind of budget that Florentino Perez might find stuffed down the back of his sofa. 

I am lucky enough to have visited Bilbao on several occasions to film a documentary about them. I experienced the unwelcoming atmosphere that the Basques are famous for creating at San Mames a few times and watched them train at their unfussy Lezama training ground. We filmed a small segment on the field at the old San Mames, something the club weren't entirely keen on us doing because they consider it to be "sacred turf."

When you walk around the streets of Bilbao, you do not see kids in Madrid or Barcelona shirts. You certainly don't see them wearing Spain shirts. Everything is red and white stripes.

At the time of writing, bookmaker bwin is giving Real Madrid odds of 1.75 for a win, compared to 4.75 for the home team. Saint Mammes was probably given much longer odds when he was thrown to the lions by the Romans—and look how well his legacy is persevering. 

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Athletic Club Bilbao is without question one of the most successful clubs in Spanish football history. The Basques have won La Liga eight times and have also been historically mesmerizing in the Copa del Rey winning it 24 times and finishing as runners-up on 14 occasions.

Athletic also joins the special company of Barcelona and Real Madrid as the only three clubs to have never been relegated from La Liga.

The history of Los Leones is a deep and rich one. The club has enjoyed golden ages in the 1910s, 1930s, 1950s and the 1980s. But nothing compares to the legends that have worn the Txurigorri shirt.

Spanish football treasures such as Pichichi and Telmo Zarra spent their entire careers at Athletic. More recent stars such as Joseba Etxeberria, Andoni Goikoetxea and Iribar have also graced the San Mames over the years fully devoted to the club.

The Basque-only policy has also yielded one of the most successful youth systems in the football world in La Cantera de Lezama. The policy has also helped the club remain absolutely debt-free while the rest of Spanish clubs suffer financial turmoil.

Truly Athletic Club Bilbao is a gem of La Liga and historically one of the greats. But the success of Los Leones has been a thing of the past for far too long.

The last major trophies won by the club took place in 1984 when Athletic won the La Liga trophy as well as the Copa del Rey while they also lifted the Spanish Supercup at the beginning of the 1984 season. That was a long time ago.

Since 1984 Athletic Club has failed to lift any silverware despite having incredible squads over the past 3 decades.

Athletic reached both the Copa del Rey and Europa League finals two seasons ago, but were unable to win either competition.

But things are changing for the Basque giants. At the turn of the new year, Athletic are sitting in fourth place in the La Liga table trailing Real Madrid by only eight points while also being undefeated at home this season.

Many have been asking what has caused this return to success. Well, it all began a few months ago.

The San Mames stadium which was the oldest in Spain had seen its last game and the new San Mames was being constructed to take its place. Athletic Club had called La Catedral home since 1913 and fans hated to see it go.

During the summer while the new stadium was under construction, former manager Ernesto Valverde returned to Athletic to take over for Marcelo Bielsa who had parted ways with the club after last year's disastrous season.

It was difficult to watch Bielsa leave the club after the success he had brought, but fans all across the Basque Country were excited to see Valverde return.

The Basque Valverde spent the bulk of his playing career at Athletic Club and has become one of the best coaches in the game today. His return to the club was seen as a homecoming and fans were thrilled about what he was going to do.

Changes were immediately made. Several youth stars left on loan while the excess was trimmed away. Valverde brought in five new players to the squad as well, all of whom had grown up in the club's youth system.

The 49-year-old manager was re-uniting the club and needed to immediately make an impact following the exits of Fernando Llorente and Fernando Amorebieta.

In Athletic's very first game of the season they defeated Real Valladolid 2-1 and while the players were clearly getting used to a new system of play, there was a visible change.

Bielsa's former system of constant running was gone and it was clear that Valverde was bringing back Athletic's historical way of playing that consisted of constant pressure, midfield strength and attacking down the wings.

From the very first match fans could see that Athletic was returning to its roots.

On September 16, Athletic Club hosted Celta Vigo at the new San Mames. After conceding an early goal, the Lions stormed back to win the match 3-2 in one of the most entertaining football matches of the La Liga season thus far.

The feel of the new stadium, which is being referred to as the San Mames Barria or simply San Mames by fans, was odd. La Catedral was gone and it took the fans until the end of the match to get into the game the way they were used to.

Though the construction is not fully finished it is still an extremely beautiful stadium. But to the fans of Athletic, it is all about the atmosphere.

The atmosphere was different. History did not reign supreme across the stadium and thus Athletic would have to make new history. 

The comeback victory over Celta Vigo showed the resilience of Athletic. The players refused to quit and the fans eventually overcame the odd feeling of being in a new stadium by roaring their chants the way Spain is used to seeing.

By the end of the match the new San Mames had not only been inaugurated, it was embraced and it was home. 

In truth, a comeback victory was just the type of opening game the new stadium needed. History was already being made and Athletic ushered in their new era under Valverde in the new stadium by returning to their roots.

Los Leones spent the early part of the season winning games at home while dropping points on the road. It was the tale of two sides as inconsistency plagued Athletic, but their home form never suffered.

Athletic dropped points at home for the first time on October 6 when they drew with Valencia 1-1. But it was not a loss.

Valverde's men began to get into their rhythm under the new system after a month or so and began winning on the road as well.

With away wins against both Getafe and Malaga it was becoming clear that Athletic was a force to be reckoned with and that Valverde's system was working wonders. All the while, the new San Mames remained a fortress.

Athletic would face their toughest test of the season on December 1 as they hosted Barcelona at the undefeated fortress of the San Mames.

Going into the game Barcelona were clear favorites. But they would run into a very determined and passionate Athletic side that day that reminded everyone of the real Basque club that has been seen throughout history.

The new San Mames would remain unconquered as Athletic defeated Barcelona 1-0 and moved to fourth in the La Liga table where they stand today.

Since the victory over Barcelona, the Basques have remained undefeated at home. 

The best showing thus far in the new stadium came against Celta Vigo just two weeks ago. Having lost 1-0 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey tie, Athletic needed a big win at home to advance to the next round.

Athletic Club thrashed Celta Vigo 4-0 in their most dominant performance of the season and showed the world that Los Leones have truly returned.

Valverde has led the club to its best start in over two decades and there are no signs of Athletic slowing down.

While they are not at the same level as Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, Athletic Club Bilbao have returned. They have made the fourth place spot in the table their own and the scary thing is that we have still yet to see the very best from this team.

The second half of the La Liga season will be huge for Athletic. Their pursuit of Champions League play looks promising and you can bet that Ernesto Valverde will continue to lead the Basque club as there is still much room for improvement.

It will likely still be a while before Athletic manage take home silverware, but they are absolutely headed in the right direction. As of now the goal is playing in the Champions League.

Athletic Club has no debt, a new stadium, one of the best managers in the game who loves the club and one of the most praised youth systems in the world. Los Leones are back.

What do you think of Athletic's season thus far? Will Valverde lead Athletic to a cup win the next few years? Leave your thoughts and comments below!

* Note all club history is courtesy of the club's official website.

Most cash-strapped clubs in La Liga are peering through the transfer shop window shaking their heads in regret at the goods on display and their price tags. “Too expensive, too expensive, too expensive,” is the familiar refrain. Athletic Bilbao have pockets stuffed with cash, but the club’s player problem is a very different one—“not Basque enough, not Basque enough, not Basque enough.” 

Athletic are one of the most financially sound clubs in the Spanish game for the simple reason that they hardly ever invest (thus waste) money on footballers. At times the northern side would dearly love to, especially this summer considering two world-class performers in the form of Javi Martinez and Fernando Llorente have left over the past 12 months. 

The problem is that Athletic have a very narrow player pool to choose from, due to the long-standing choice of the institution to only field footballers from the youth-system or from the greater Basque and Navarre region. This has always left the Bilbao side competing with a distinct disadvantage, which is why it is so incredible that alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona, Athletic is the only club never to have been relegated from the Spanish top flight. 

A disappointing second year under Marcelo Bielsa after a fabulous first sees Athletic regrouping this summer and trying to boost the squad with reinforcements.

Former boss Ernesto Valverde has moved on from Valencia to take up this challenge in a second spell in charge in San Mames. Whilst there will be the usual promotion of players from the academy with defender Jonas Ramalho set to continue his promising progress in La Primera, Athletic are trying desperately to plug a few gaps in the team. 

Although midfield creativity was not a major issue for the side, Athletic decided to buy the talented Benat Etxebarria from Betis, a footballer who left the Basque outfit four seasons ago. The 26-year-old has since gone on from strength to strength to be a gifted set-piece taker who has formed part of recent Spain squads.  Benat will join Ander Herrera, Oscar de Marcos and Markel Susaeta to form an impressive set of midfielders.

Another old boy returning home is Xabier Etxeita, a centre-back who comes on a free transfer from newlypromoted Elche. 

The big problem for Athletic is up front with just two strikers on the books in the form of Ariz Aduriz and Gaizka Toquero. (Some uncharitable types might suggest one-and-a-half forwards in respect to the latter player.)

This sees Athletic signing up Osasuna striker Kike Sola for €4 million. It’s a price tag that is way too high for a limited front man who managed just nine league goals last season. But this is typical in transfers involving Athletic Bilbao. Selling clubs—normally Real Sociedad and Osasuna for regional reasons—can always inflate the fee knowing that the buyer has few other options.  

Athletic Bilbao made €37 million from the sale of Javi Martinez to Bayern Munich last summer. Just €15 million has been spent since.

It is not as if the side who aspire to a Champions League place would not like to invest a little bit more. Instead, Athletic Bilbao cannot, which is why the Basques are one of the most peculiar but also most admirable sides in the world. 

Marcelo Bielsa is the biggest reason for Athletic Bilbao's recent futility. He can no longer be considered a tactical genius. His club has been pummeled throughout the season, and the defense is getting even worse.

On Saturday, Real Madrid battered Bielsa's side 5-1—and Cristiano Ronaldo didn't even tally a goal.

Coming into the match Athletic Bilbao was surrendering 17.3 shots on goal per game. They surrendered 18 more in this match. 

Defensive discipline isn't the only control Bielsa's club lacks. Ander Herrera was serving his second suspension in a matter of months for the match. His penchant for fouling out of frustration earned him a suspension, per ESPN.

This type of play isn't uncommon for Bielsa's club lately. They are frustrated by their poor play and their hopeless placement in the La Liga tables. There comes a point when a new voice is needed to improve, and that time has come for Athletic Bilbao.

It doesn't help that Bielsa has been at odds with the club's star, Fernando Llorente, per ESPN. These types of scrapes and internal bickering are easy to absorb when you're winning, but the club is doing nothing of the sort.

They are now 4-2-6 in La Liga.

That's 12 points behind their opponents from Saturday and a full 20 points behind leader Barcelona.

Even though Bielsa has received positive reviews for his management and strategies in the past (per ESPN), his quirky and less-than-conventional style isn't working now.

President Jose Urrutia must take a look at the current state of his beloved club. There is only one move to make to begin repairing what ails them.

Bielsa must be replaced. Urrutia can't allow the club to sink deeper in the La Liga tables. Further damage to the club's reputation could hurt transfer deals, and retaining Bielsa could discourage solid players from entertaining thoughts of playing for them.

Bielsa has cost Los Leones enough already.

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Over a period spanning more than 100 years, head coaches, managers and tacticians have collaborated to form the rule book on how to conduct yourself as the figurehead of a football club. "Guidelines," if you will.

Marcelo Bielsa took the rule book and ripped it to shreds the moment he started his endeavour to learn everything about our beautiful game, and his methods are far from ordinary.

Let's take a look at the Argentine's illustrious career and see why he employs the very strangest of tactics.

"El Loco" revealed

They don't call him crazy for nothing. Throughout his tenure in football, he's done some odd things to gain the upper hand.

Before we even delve into his atypical tactical system, just have a look at some of questionable things Bielsa has done to date.

This summer, the manager was warned by the Athletic Bilbao board after an altercation with the builders, labelling their work on the club's training ground "sloppy."

He supposedly paces the width of the pitch before every game in order to refine his tactics down to the very last detail, while last season he drenched certain random areas of the San Mames turf to stop Barcelona from being able to play their tiki-taka quite so effectively.

So we know by now he's not your average, run-of-the-mill coach. There aren't many modern-day managers who drive the length of the country to find undrafted talent or ask teenage boys to climb trees and spy on his opposition during training.

Spare-man philosophy

Marcelo Bielsa comes from an old-school era of coaches who want absolute control mixed with meticulous preparation for every possible outcome.

It's evident that "the mad professor" sits down before each game and plans for every eventuality, every potential substitution and every injury.

He switches between two and three central defenders on the pitch depending on how many strikers the opponent has on the pitch. Bielsa is an advocate of the spare-man philosophy in defence, meaning he always wants one centre-half free to sweep up and not be hindered by man-marking.

Last year, in the UEFA Europa League semifinal, Sporting threw on an extra attacker whilst chasing the game late on, thus moving to a 4-4-2. Within three minutes, Bielsa had Borja Ekiza stripped and ready to come on as the third central defender in order to retain a spare man at the back.

Against Barcelona's false-nine system last season, the Argentine had Fernando Amorebieta man-mark Lionel Messi wherever he went on the pitch, leaving Javi Martinez to marshal the back line and intercept Cesc Fabregas' forward runs.

3-3-1-3

When manager of Chile, he usually utilised an incredibly demanding, physically draining 3-3-1-3 that requires the most immense sense of versatility.

To think he used it with a national team who barely get the chance to play together on a regular basis is astounding, and the player roles delegated are tough to carry out.

His philosophy of using attack-minded defenders shone through here, as he deployed defensive midfielders on the outside of one true central player to shuttle up and down the pitch. Later on, we'd see Martinez deployed in the same fashion for Bilbao.

The second line of three contained something almost akin to a narrow full-back on either side, and even then he still employed two wingers higher up the pitch.

Non-transferrable blueprint

For all his meticulous planning and obsession over preparations, one of the strangest things about El Loco is that he doesn't change his tactics according to the personnel available.

Where other teams may alter how they play if without a key figure, Bielsa simply replaces them with another and commands they perform to the same level.

This was particularly evident at Bilbao last season, as without Martinez, Los Leones weren't able to get going. Yet, instead of adjusting the system and placing more of an emphasis on Fernando Llorente, for example, he simply instructed the technically limited Ander Iturraspe to take up the mantle.

Despite his methods being both entertaining and impressive, the lack of leeway he awards to players is astonishing.

This is a man who, aside from being a tactical genius, is inflexible with his system, demands titanic efforts from his players, sabotages pitches, screams at builders and hires spies to sit in trees.

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B/R is starting the week with a new segment dedicated to La Liga. It will be a weekly feature about one team in La Liga called "Team of the Week".

The intention is to review the team that was selected, the reason for being selected and background (if necessary) about it. After a review of the team, it would be selected as the La Liga BBVA Team of the Week.

It is a hoped that La Liga BBVA Team of the Week becomes a popular segment in B/R. After reviewing the different teams, Athletic Club Bilbao has the honor of being the first recipient of the La Liga BBVA Team of the Week.

The reasons are the following: the decision to select a club that does not receive much publicity, its illustrious history and the latest news.

Lack of Publicity

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are the main clubs of La Liga, but they are not the only ones. La Liga is composed of 18 other clubs, including Athletic Club Bilbao according to the table in ESPN.

It would have been easier to select La Blaugrana and Los Merengues for the La Liga BBVA Team of the Week. The selection of the two most important teams would not have done justice to other La Liga clubs that receive little or no publicity outside of Spain.

The time has come to give publicity to the other clubs of La Liga outside of Spain. The reason is that they deserve to have their story told.

A Brief History

The history of Athletic Club Bilbao begins with the arrival of merchants from Great Britain in the late 19th century, according to FIFA. The merchants brought their sports, including football, to the Basque Country of Spain.

The club (also known as Los Leones or The Lions) was founded in 1901 and evolved into one of the most successful clubs in La Liga. Athletic Club Bilbao was the home of Pichichi Moreno, whose name adorns the Pichichi trophy awarded to the top player who scores in La Liga.

Athletic Club Bilbao has won one Spanish Super Cup, eight Spanish Championships, and 24 Spanish Cups. They also defeated Real Madrid in 1958 during the Copa Del Rey (Copa Del Generalisimo in honor of then Spanish ruler Francisco Franco) at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Los Leones made history last spring by defeating Manchester United in the 2011-2012 UEFA Europa League season. The result left Manchester United out of a cup final for the first time in a decade.

The team is currently playing in the 2012-2013 UEFA Europa League and is ranked 42nd in the UEFA Scales. It plays their local matches in San Mames or La Catedral (The Cathedral) which is one of the oldest stadiums in Spain. 

Athletic Club Bilbao have the following legendary players besides Moreno. The names of Victorio Unamuno, Jose Angel Iribar, Andoni Zubizarreta, Iker Muniain, and Fernando Llorente are associated with the club.

Recent News

Athletic Club Bilbao is (at the present tense) the center of stories about Fernando Llorente and Javi Martinez leaving the club. Fernando Llorente (according to a report by vozpopuli with a h/t to ESPN Soccernet) expressed a desire to leave the club after irreconcilable differences with Marcelo Bielsa, who is the current manager.

The result has been that the club's fans supposedly booed Llorente during a UEFA Europa League qualifying match against NK Slaven Belupo of Croatia. Llorente later said (in an article published itasportpress.it in a h/t to Goal) that he was happy with Athletic Club Bilbao.

At the same time, Correire Dello Sport in a h/t to Goal reports interest in Llorente from Juventus. The Daily Telegraph in a h/t to Goal reported that Llorente's agent talked about interest from English Clubs.

According to Sports Mole, Bielsa denied any problems with Llorente and Javi Martinez. Martinez has been linked to a move to Bayern Munich according to ESPN.

Additionally, Martinez was linked to a move to Manchester City, according to Goal. It remains to be seen how the latest news about Llorente and Martinez will transpire.

Conclusion

While Athletic Club Bilbao weathered a lot of drama during the transfer window, it's moving forward. Los Leones are concentrating on their next match against HJK in the UEFA Europa League playoffs.

I would like to thank the B/R readers for your time in the first La Liga Team of the Week article. My best wishes to all of you until the next time.