The defeat against Real in San Mamés was the sad climax in Athletic code to a particularly hard and traumatic 2020 for the rojiblancos interests. Any annual balance to use entails, logically, the effects caused by the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Mental, sports, institutional, social and economic ‘damage’.
The board chaired by Elizegi presented on the last Sunday of the year a budget that included some losses of around 37 million euros. The compromise members of the historic rojiblanco club, despite everything, chose to reject the accounts corresponding to the end of last year and the current budget. A non-majority double that forces those responsible for the club to call a new assembly and reformulate the proposal or present another.
If the economic situation is somewhat unstable, what about the sport. The derby on the last day of the year at home only confirmed that Garitano's team is unable to take off in this league. The deriotarra coach is highly questioned in Bilbao. Athletic, in fact, is in twelfth position in the table a only three points from the relegation zone.
The lions played a total of 42 matches throughout 2020 with a balance of 14 wins, 10 draws and 18 losses. His scoring background coincided both in the number of goals for and against: 51. Raúl García, substitute in the last few days and with the possibility of negotiating with another club since he ends his contract on June 30, finished 2020 as top scorer rojiblanco with 11 targets.
The Navarrese thus came to occupy a reserved place for many consecutive Aritz Aduriz. The donostiarra said agur to football in a somewhat hasty way, since his intention was to hang up his boots coinciding with the end of last season. The forced stoppage due to confinement and his hip problems anticipated his withdrawal.
The Donostiarra received in an empty San Mamés a warm and original tribute from the club, his teammates and his wife and daughters. He agur of San José and Beñat It had a simpler character and coincided with the 2019-2020 league closure. The Navarrese went to English football and the Biscayan to the Australian.
The great milestone of last year in Bilbao code was, in any case, in qualifying for the final of
Cup. Athletic and Real should see each other in April, but the pandemic forced it to be postponed. Both clubs chose to wait for it to be a match with both fans in the stadium, something that remains to be seen.
2020, in short, ended in the rojiblanco club with the same sensations that the start of 2021 leaves. Garitano is very questioned among Athletic fans. It is time to wait for events.