Bilbao appoint Valverde as Bielsa replacement
Ernesto Valverde will coach Athletic Bilbao next season, the Spanish club said in a statement on Thursday.
Valverde, 49, will be presented on Friday and replaces Argentine Marcelo Bielsa, who was not offered a contract extension after two years at the helm.
Former Bilbao player Valverde left Valencia earlier this month after replacing Mauricio Pellegrino for the second half of last season, but he turned down the chance to continue with the east-coast club.
Valverde returns for a second spell at Bilbao where, after working his way up through the youth academy, he coached the first team for two seasons between 2003-05.
In his first year he guided them to fifth in La Liga and into the UEFA Cup, and the second year they finished ninth and reached the King's Cup semi-finals.
He took Espanyol to the 2007 UEFA Cup final and won three league titles and two cups with Greek side Olympiakos Piraeus.
An unsuccessful spell with Villarreal, in the 2009/10 campaign, interrupted his three seasons with Olympiakos before he left Greece in 2012.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
How to watch Manchester City vs Arsenal: Live streams for WSL match
‘Arsenal’s Class of ’83 would give Man United’s Class of ’92 more than a good game – It’s a scandal that youth team isn’t talked about enough, if at all’: Martin Keown believes the Gunners team he grew up with doesn't get anywhere near enough credit