After a two-and-a-half-year sabbatical from the sport, Ernesto Valverde finally returned to football to take his seat in a dugout when he was appointed as the new manager of Athletic Club in La Liga.
The Basque side finished in a respectable eighth place last season under the former Valencia head coach Marcelino Toral, missing out on a spot in Europe by just four points.
Amidst the club’s presidential election during the summer, Marcelino reluctantly stood down, citing a lack of confidence in his abilities from the candidates.
The race to succeed him came down to two beloved former managers – Marcelo Bielsa and Valverde.
In the end, the latter was chosen to try and take a strong squad to the next level, with the board keen for the team to play a slightly more provocative style of football than seen during Marcelino’s tenure or his predecessor Gaizka Garitano.
While Bielsa captured the hearts and minds of the supporters inside Elland Road, Valverde has a much more impressive trophy cabinet, having led Barcelona to two league titles and two cups.
Now, in his third stint at the San Mamés, the 58-year-old is tasked with trying to make Los Leones European regulars once more.
Already, Athletic have started extremely well, picking up two wins and a draw from three matches, keeping three clean sheets in the process.
This article will be a tactical analysis and scout report of Athletic Club since Valverde’s return.
It will be an analysis that looks at the tactics that the Spaniards have implemented thus far.
Change of shape
Marcelino has an undying love for the classic and more conventional 4-4-2.
No matter how bad things get or what formation is thrown at him by the opposing manager, the experienced coach will not waver from his allegiance to the 4-4-2.
Last season, Athletic Club used the 4-4-2 in 96 percent of their total games in all competitions.
The only other structure deployed by the former manager was the 4-4-1-1, where one of the centre-forwards sits slightly deeper behind the other.
This kind of formational inflexibility and stubbornness is rarely seen in the modern game.
However, under Valverde, in just three competitive matches, the side have shown a much greater malleability than in the previous campaign.
On the opening night, the former Barcelona boss set his side out in a 4-3-3 base formation but went with the 4-2-3-1 for the other two league games.
