“I want Athletic to be champion and if it is champion I don’t care where I am going to be. If in Ibaigane, in the stands or on the bus. This project has and deserves that goal. This team is on its way to being champion if we know how to mix this talent from those who arrive with the veterans, but still very young, that we have”.
Aitor Elizegi was interviewed yesterday by ‘Onda Vasca Bilbao’. The president of the Bilbao club said that “we don’t have to forget what happened to us in April because it has to be an experience. I want Athletic to raise a big cup”.
The head of the Ibaigane entity expressed his sorrow that the lions are not supported by their fans in Riyadh: “Athletic is Real Mancha, Intercity. Athletic is never alone. This is far and it is complex to travel for the fans. We all dream, yes, of Thursday’s match because in San Mamés we multiplied by 50,000”.
the traveling companions
When asked if Athletic doesn’t choose bad traveling companions in tournaments like this Super Cup, Elizegi replied that it was a long question. “I understand the sport as Athletic understands it: close to the formation and the fans. There are structures that we have created in professional football that need excessive resources. Converting these championships into external events has an economic return, but a cost while many rivals restructure who they are. Athletic must choose between the professional or federative trip. I am going to say it very simply because we have 20 squads: one professional and another 19 federative ones”.
Regarding Marcelino’s future, the president pointed out that “he wants to work, he doesn’t want anyone to give him anything. He wants to feel at home and have earned it on the pitch. How? Growing his template as long as the template believes in him. Not only in the squad, but Lezama and the club.
Regarding the possibility that Barkala aspires to the presidency of the club and the formation of a consensual candidacy, Elizegi said that “a consensus was reached on Thursday night in San Mamés and then the political consensus with the sporting, economic and social challenges. It is going to be necessary for us to agree on what surrounds the club”.
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