MADRID— Jon Uriarte has been elected
president of
Athletic Bilbao, beating Inaki Arechabaleta, who favoured the
return of Argentine Marcelo Bielsa as head coach, the La Liga club said.
اضافة اعلان
Uriarte, elected for four years, won 46.7 percent of the
vote by club members Friday, ahead of Arechabaleta (33.7 percent) and Ricardo
Barkala (18.1 percent).
The 44-year-old entrepreneur took office in a brief
ceremony at the San Mames stadium in the presence of his predecessor Aitor
Elizegi.
At a press conference on Monday, Arechabaleta had
presented former Leeds head coach Bielsa for Athletico Bilbao coach to replace
outgoing Marcelino if he was elected.
Bielsa, who coached Athletic Bilbao for two seasons
between 2011 and 2013, said he had “started to think about giving a positive
response” in a video released during Arechabaleta’s conference.
The 66-year-old has been free since his dismissal from
Leeds last February.
But the victory of Uriarte is likely to see the return
of Ernesto Valverde for a third stint as coach.
The 58-year-old Spaniard has been without a club since
his ouster from FC Barcelona in January 2020.
Athletic finished eighth in
La Liga last season, failing to
qualify for European competitions.
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