One of this La Liga campaign’s biggest surprises has been the struggles endured by Athletic Bilbao.
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The Basque outfit finished last season fourth, returning to the Champions League for the first time in 15 years and with high hopes of sustaining that level under manager Ernesto Valverde.
Their season actually started well as they defeated Napoli over two legs to progress into the Champions League group stages amid scenes of great celebration in their fabulous new San Mames home.
But then the wheels fell off in dramatic fashion. As well as winning just one of their first eight league fixtures, Valverde’s men were awful in their European adventure, picking up just one point from their opening four group games including a humiliating 2-1 defeat against BATE Borisov.
The October international break delivered a brief respite and triggered an upturn in form, but they have still been well below last season’s standards and head into today’s meeting with Barcelona in the bottom half of the table, only five points clear of relegation.
So what has gone wrong?
The first key factor was the psychological burden of preparing for an enormously anticipated European campaign whilst keeping their eye on domestic matters – a task which proved beyond them.
In playing terms, the two biggest issues have been an over-reliance upon veteran striker Aritz Aduriz and a failure to replace midfielder Ander Herrera following his departure to Manchester United.
Why did #VanGaal let @manutd buy #Herrera, he is wasting the guy’s future on the bench. He should have left him at #Athletic
— Breakout King (@Nagey8) February 3, 2015
Aduriz is a real trier, an experienced team player who can be relied upon to play his role for the team. But he has rarely been a prolific goalscorer and he overachieved when scoring 16 goals (his career high) last season. Expecting him to maintain that rate,
especially at the age of 33, was unrealistic, yet the squad contains few other goalscoring options.
In midfield, Benat has been a great disappointment. The Spain international has rarely fulfilled his potential since re-joining his boyhood club from Real Betis in 2012, and his failure to link midfield with attack – the job previously performed by Herrera – has greatly contributed to Athletic being one of the lowest-scoring teams in the country.
The potential in the squad remains intact – tonight would be a good time to show it.
