Ernesto Valverde Re-Appointed As Athletic Club Manager The Third Time.

Ernesto Valverde has been appointed as the new manager of La Liga side Athletic Bilbao for the third time in charge.

He’s the manager to have taken charge of more games than anyone else in the club’s history following his return on Thursday. 

The 58-year-old Valverde has been unemployed since January 2020, when Barcelona fired him, having being in charge between 2017 and 2020.

He won four trophies during his time at Camp Nou, La Liga twice as well as the Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana. 

Valerde has also enjoyed spells in charge of Espanyol, Olympiacos, Villarreal and Valencia.

Six days after the election of new president Jon Uriarte, who had promised to bring back Valverde for a third stint in management, as he was his preferred choice.

Inaki Arechabaleta, a different candidate for the Athletic presidency, had pledged to rehire Marcelo Bielsa as head coach at San Mames.

However, Ricardo Barkala wanted former PSG and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino for the job, but received the lowest vote 18.1 percent, followed by Arechabaleta with 33.7%, and Uriarte with 46.7 percent.

Valverde who is a former Athletic player, made 188 appearances for the team between 1990 and 1996, scored 50 goals.

He oversaw 306 games in two stints as Bilbao coach, from 2003 to 2006 and from 2013 to 2017. This was a record for the club. In each of his past four seasons, he qualified the team for Champions League football in 2014–15 season.

He also guided them to their first trophy in over 30 years with a 5-1 aggregate win over Barcelona in the 2015 Spanish Super Cup.

On July 5, Athletic Club are expected back for the start of preseason training. 

Borussia Monchengladbach and Duisburg in Germany as well as Newcastle United at St. James' Park have already been scheduled for preseason friendlies

The club finished eighth in the La Liga last season, failing to qualify for European competitions.