Posted by Rob Carvajal

After the dust had settled, and white smoke had emerged, Josu Urrutia Telleria's name stood alone as the new president of Athletic Bilbao and with him a new era with Marcelo Bielsa at the helm.  One could even say that Bielsa's selection as his coach helped to tip the scale in Urrutia's favor. Bielsa (Argentinean by birth, Chilean at heart...credit to Ruben Uria) has had a very short managerial career in European club soccer, just a handful of games at Espanyol before taking over the Argentinean and Chilean national squads; but what he may lack in top European club pedigree, he more than makes up for with a great reputation among the coaching elite, Guardola, for one, names him as one of his influences, even meeting with him before embarking on a successful managerial career of his own.  You can even see the Bielsa's influence in Barcelona's pursuit and later signing of Alexis Sanchez, a clear example of what "El Loco" gets out of his players: tactical awareness, an understanding of correct positioning on the field, a vertical approach probably second to none, and an unrelenting attack mentality.

Bielsa (who doesn't do exclusive interviews, but is known for doing long press conferences, sometimes lasting 3 or 4 hours) usually sets up his teams in a 3-3-1-3 formation, with a libero and two center backs, a holding midfielder, two wingbacks, a classic number 10 or "creator", two old school wingers and a center forward. At times, especially with Chile, he adopted a 4-3-3 formation due to the lack of height of the Chilean backline, but this should not be a problem at Bilbao. "Los Leones" are known for their physical approach, never shying away from getting "stuck in".  But Bielsa will add his well known style to them: an unrelenting attack, and pressure on the opposing team in all areas of the field... No, don't expect Athletic to have the pause and parsimony, the "tiki taca" that is so en vogue nowadays with Spain and FC Barcelona.  No, with him you'll get attack, attack attack... go for goal, lose the ball. and start again, all with as little possible passes available. Football vertigo at its finest.

The revolution has been swift, many players have been dropped; Ion Velez,and Balenziaga to Girona and Valladolid respectively, alongside Urko Vera, Diaz de Cerio, Perez, Zubiaurre and Koikili and only two new signings, Ander Herrera (Zaragoza) and Mikel Ordegozo (Real Sociedad).  Athletic's Tranfer policy does make things just a little more difficult due to the fact that only players with Basque lineage can be part of the team. But no matter, Bielsa had already done his homework, amassing more than fifty DVD's of the players ranging from the first squad to the B squad and youth squads (newly crowned U'19 European champions Jon Aurtenetxe and Jonas Ramalho stand out among them)... Even before he was officially named their coach...They don't call him "El Loco" for nothing!

Judging by an auspicious run of pre-season friendlies, undefeated in all of them, his do or die moment will most likely be the Europa League qualification playoff against Trabzonspor, Senol Gunes' team plan on improving on last season second place finish in the Turkish league adding Didier Zokora from Sevilla (formerly of Tottenham Hotspurs) to boost their midfield. Though they should see it through, considering the return leg is played at San Mames, bowing out of the competition even before reaching the group stages, would surely be seen by Bielsa and his players as a failure.

La Liga will see them kick things off against Mourinho's Madrid (version 2.0) at the Bernabeu, and what a game that should be! Things do get slightly easier from then on, at least on paper, They welcome newly promoted Rayo Vallecano at San Mames, travel to Cornella El Prat, a tricky fixture, to face Espanyol, then return home to face another newly promoted side and last season's second division champions Real Betis, after that, to Andalusia to face newly rich Malaga, a team worth it's weight in oil. A start that should see them get 7 to 9 points from a possible 15.

While all the major headlines will be given to Madrid and Barcelona, as is usually the case in Spain, or even Abdullah ben Nasser Al Thani's new adventure at Malaga, one should keep an eye on Athletic's developments this season, after all a team that has at their diposal the talents of Javi Martinez, and Fernando Llorente (both World Chamions with Spain this past summer) and Iker Muniain (everyday less a promise for the future and more of a reality for the now) all led by an obsessive, detail-mad perfectionist, isn't something you'd want to miss.

After all, it's a "Madman" leading "Lions"
   
Rob Carvajal
barcagonzo@twitter.com