Iker Muniain landed in Lezama at 12 years old. Today he is the captain of Athletic. Of his entry into the quarry of the rojiblanco club, he remembers that “it was a very happy moment in my life.”
The one from Txantrea, in the official publication of the club, offers several chapters of his career as a rojiblanco. Like the debut against Young Boys with only 16 years in the Europa League. “It was wonderful. I saw the list in the locker room and called my parents excited. They were filled with tremendous joy. On the lap I was able to play for a few minutes and I scored a goal that helped us qualify. What I experienced afterwards was very exciting ”, he recalls.
Thanks Caparros that “I always saw him very aware of me. It made me list in the band and he liked that I was driving inside. ” With Bielsa He says they went so far “out of conviction.” And he puts on the table that “The great Madman Bielsa left a great memory. It was very demanding, unfortunately we were left without a great prize, despite making merits. He is the coach I know who knows the most about football in everything: concepts, analysis, videos … He has everything under control ”.
His goal at Old Trafford was set on fire. “I've seen it so many times … My hair stands on end, I sprinted with my soul, I ran as if there was no tomorrow. It was an explosion of joy to see those 8,000 people explode in the stands. It is one of the most important moments of my career ”, he indicates Muniain. It also holds a privileged place for its target in the Champions League in Naples “with a hellish atmosphere, that literal.”
Of Valverde, He comments that “in addition to excellent knowledge of football, his ideas and his way of working, he transmitted simplicity and tranquility when things went well and badly. He tried to maintain a line of balance. It was one of the keys to success ”.
With respect to Ziganda, notes that “I have words of thanks to the coach for the support and trust that he always transmitted to me. I know from him how the outcome was. Kuko has done a lot for this club as a player and then moved Bilbao Athletic to Segunda, a historic feat. ”
And of Berizzo He comments that “it seemed like it was going to be the rebirth of the team … And it was the opposite. It was not for lack of insistence or methodology, the relationship was excellent. We were very fond of him and his coaching staff, but soccer is unpredictable. The ball did not enter and we reached a limit situation. After his dismissal we were broken, we felt guilty. They have left a very big mark and I hope that fate will give them another chance. ”