Athletic Club have not gone under the radar – they never do in the Basque Country, but there is no doubt that they have not been a major topic in the national media in Spain. That is despite the fact they are currently outstripping their universally lauded neighbours Real Sociedad as things stand, but few are backing Los Leones to have their most successful season in the last six years.
The objective for Athletic, as it is at the start of every year, is to qualify for European competition. They have not done so since 2017, the last time Ernesto Valverde was in charge. It looked as if El Txingurri would restore a little more joie de vivre to their play after the hard authority of Marcelino Garcia Toral, but so far his fourth spell has been marked by inconsistency.
Through 13 games, Athletic have won seven, drawn three and lost three, giving them a solid total of 24 points. Yet few offshore betting companies will have them amongst the favourites for the top four, or even the Europa League, as Girona continue to stun Spain, and La Real impress Europe.
Rather than discussing the positive results in Bilbao, much of the media talk outside the Guggenheim has been centred on Jon Uriarte’s financial management, the future of Nico Williams, and the marginalisation of captain Iker Muniain, who rarely starts a game these days.
Athletic have been involved in five games where they have scored three goals or more, all of which they have won. This goes against the general narrative that they struggle to score goals, with Gorka Guruzeta, Asier Villalibre and Inaki Williams all still allowing room for doubt as number nines.
That said, of their four clashes against sides that finished in European places last season, they have managed just one win in extremis against Real Betis, being comfortably beaten by Real Madrid, La Real and Barcelona.
Ahead of them lie Girona, Rayo Vallecano, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla before the halfway point. Should they come out of that run, which is eased by Granada and Las Palmas, with a series of impressive results, then perhaps Spain will start to take notice again.
Defeats or even a lack of victories out of those four ties will not only hurt their position in the table, but also reinforce the idea that Athletic don’t quite have either the smoothly operating system nor the quality to make a run into Europe. Several managers have come and gone with similar results since Valverde last found a way into UEFA competition, their run into Christmas is a chance to shift the narrative in Bilbao.
