Aitor Elizegi’s mandate in the presidency of Athletic already has a date. The end of his stage in Ibaigane will come, as was officially confirmed late yesterday afternoon, on June 24, I insist, which is when the next elections will be held, if there are any, of course, it has all the looks.
When he announced months ago that he was not going to stand for re-election, I must admit that I did not rule out that he would change course. No, he’s already ruled it out, I know. But of course, taking into account what happened when in the elections on the day he said that he was running, then that he was not and finally that he was, well, it should not be ruled out. But now he understands that his stage at Athletic as president has come to an end.
What will Elizegi’s stage as president of Athletic be remembered for? The first thing that comes to me is that he will be the president who had to face a historical event and that transcended beyond sport, such as the COVID pandemic. Life changed us, football changed. The way of managing the club, without an audience, and with all the consequences that this entailed, he and his board had to face from absolute ignorance. A good brown.
As it happened to the rest of the world’s teams, so did Athletic. The popular grandstand will also go in memory of Santutxu. His positive obsession will see the light in the coming seasons. To the second vote, but he brought forth one of his workhorses.
Statutes, Cup finals…
The reform of the statutes that will be staged on Monday the 23rd, we will see what remains. The Cup final against Real. He didn’t play it, of course, and he wasn’t to blame for the defeat, of course. But the fact is that it is to think about that appointment before the Sheriff and the figure of Elizegi comes to mind. The matter of relatives and others marked that appointment a lot beyond, of course they are Oyarzabal’s goal and the image of Marcelino’s.
In sports, and at the expense of what happens in the last two days, the objective of returning to compete in Europe has not been fully achieved. And after what happened in Granada it looks like a bell and it’s over. A victory today for Rayo against Villarreal, yes, can give the rojiblancos some hope.
He had to face the dismissal of a coach that he did not put in, but that he renewed. He opted for Iraia Iturregi on the bench of the women’s first team and to change he has even had to change the coach of Bilbao Athletic because the subsidiary has been far from the best version of him. And let’s hope there are no last minute scares. Susaeta or Llorente are other surnames that have marked the sports side of Elizegi’s mandate.
One of the main characteristics of this president, without a doubt, is closeness. A normal guy, one more fan than he has known, or at least, has tried to listen to the partner wherever he has been. His speech, his content, can be debated because to like the colors, but the close point that Elizegi has with and for the partners is a positive aspect that leaves the one who has been the 32nd president in the history of the club.
85 votes made the difference in the elections, 85 votes that have also been felt in the social fracture that Aitor Elizegi has had to endure, I think unfairly. May it not happen again with the next president. It will not be a thing of the other Thursday.