Athletic will look for his fourth Supercup in Saudi Arabia without Yuri and Laporte
Wednesday will be the twelfth game of the red-whites in that tournament. In addition, Valverde has a chance to win his third Supercup, a match with coaches Cruyff and Guardiola.
Athletic arrives in Jedda, Saudi Arabia.
Athletic will seek the fourth Spanish Supercup in its eighth participation. The tournament celebrates its 42nd edition. It starts on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with the semi-final between the red-white team and FC Barcelona.
Wednesday will be the twelfth match of the red-whites in the tournament, nine of them against Barcelona, two against Real Madrid and one against Atlético de Madrid.
On the other hand, Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde has a chance to win his third Supercup, a match with coaches Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola .
Valverde won the Supercup with Athletic in 2015 after defeating Barcelona, the Catalan ensemble that year led by Luis Enrique, and in 2018 with Barcelona itself, after winning 2-1 to Seville in the only match played in Tangier.
Aymeric Laporte and Yuri Berchich are still injured and have not travelled to Saudi Arabia this Monday. Valverde has taken 25 players: Unai Simón; Amitchell, Vivian, Paredes, Adama; Jauregizar, Galarreta; Iñaki Williams, Sancet, Nico Williams; Guruzeta, Padilla, Santos; Gorosabel, Monreal, Lekue; Vesga, Rego, Rego, Selton, Unai, Gomez
The red-white team held their last working session in Lezama on Monday. Athletic will stay at the Hyatt Jeddah Hotel in Yeda, the city where the tournament is played.
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"Now we have to get up after a blow that has been ugly for us. You can lose in many ways, but when you lose 4-0 to rest the opponent has been quite superior to you," added the red-white coach, who lost 5-0 to Barcelona in the semi-final of the Spanish Supercup.
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The red-white team has already scored four goals in the first half, unable to stop the flood of blaugranas. In the second half, with the match decided, the pace of the crash has dropped considerably.
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"Having seen it, being natural and saying things as you think... you have to be a little careful many times, but it is true that it is annoying for our fans. Perhaps the forms were not right, but it is probably like playing out of the house tomorrow because we will not have many followers," regrets the red-white striker. Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde, however, has again been more pragmatic. "We are happy here," he said.
Athletic landed in Saudi Arabia after about six hours of flight
Ernesto Valverde's Athletic arrived at around 22:50 and went straight to the Park Hyatt Hotel, where the organizers have received players. This Tuesday, Athletic will train at 18:00 (Basque time) at the King Abdullah Stadium, following the press conference that Iñaki Williams and Ernesto Valverde will offer from 17:15.
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The red-white team held their last working session in Lezama this morning, and after arriving in Saudi Arabia, the bilbaine team will be staying at the Hyatt Jeddah Hotel.
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Last Tuesday, after Iñaki Williams trained in San Mamés, he said to the media, "Playing in Arabia is bullshit." Today, at a press conference, Valverde expressed his opinion on these statements and made it clear that going to Arabia is prestigious and that they must be very careful about the statements they make.
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