Athletic faces its second level friendly

Athletic faces this afternoon the second level test of the preseason. After playing last Sunday against Borussia Mönchengladbach in Duisburg – they also played against the local team, but it was from the German third division – today it’s another Bundesliga rival, Bochum. The event (6 pm) will be played at the Heidewaldstadion stadium in the city of Gütersloh, just 15 kilometers from the team’s meeting place, Haserwinkel.

Valverde’s team offered a good level against Borussia with a very regular eleven formed by Julen Agirrezabala, From Marcos, Yeray, Vivian, Yuri Berchiche, Winner, Mikel Vesga, Nico Williams, Muniain, Berenguer e Iñaki Williams. possibly today Valverde play for the first time in preseason those who did not appear for a single minute in the two previous friendlies, with the exception of Unai Simón, who has a personalized plan to recover from his right shoulder discomfort, and Iñigo’s doubt Martínez, who exercised alone on Tuesday as a precaution at the facilities of the Klosterphorte hotel complex. The rest could debut: the meta Alex Padilla, Other Capa, Balenziaga -already recovered from the discomfort that prevented him from lining up on Sunday- Villalibre, Guruzeta and the extreme youth Louis Bilbao y Malcolm Adu Ares.

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Bochum finished last season in 13th place on their return to the German top flight. He added 42 points, 10 from the seventh place that led to the Conference League. His top scorer was Sebastian Polter, with 10 goals in 33 games. He is no longer in the squad after signing for Schalke 04. The coach is Thomas Reis since September 2019. As a footballer he played for eight years at the club, from the 1995-96 season to 2002-03.

As was the case with Gladbach, this afternoon’s rival arrives much more grounded than the rojiblancos after having played seven preparation games, with four wins, two draws and only one loss.

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His goal is to consolidate himself in the Bundesliga after serving for eleven campaigns in the second division and ascend as champion in the 2020-21 academic year. In its day it was one of the leading teams. In fact, he received his nickname Die Unabsteigbaren (The Undescendable) in the 1980s for his ability to break the odds while remaining in the elite. Its fans boast of maintaining the fighting spirit of the German Ruhr area, the famous mining and industrial region to which the city of Bochum belongs.

Transfers

Bochum has moved in the transfer market this summer incorporating, among others, Jordi Osei-Tutu (Arsenal), Kevin Stoger (FSV Mainz 05), Jacek Goralski (Kairat Almaty), Phillip Hofmann (Karlsruher SC) y Saidy Janko (on loan from Real Valladolid). In addition, he has players from various countries such as Danilo Soares (Brazil), Christian Gamboa (Costa Rica), Christopher Antwi-Adjei (Ghana) y Takuma Asano (Japan).