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Diario Euskadi

New German Coach at Athletic Follows in Heynckes' Footsteps at San Mamés

The incoming German coach at San Mamés aims to replicate the successful legacy of Jupp Heynckes, who left a significant mark in Bilbao during his two tenures.

Generic image of a soccer ball on a field, with a blurred goal net in the background.
IA

Generic image of a soccer ball on a field, with a blurred goal net in the background.

Athletic has secured a new German coach, who will be the second in the club's history, aiming to follow the successful footsteps of Jupp Heynckes in Bilbao.

Athletic will welcome its second German coach in the club's history to San Mamés. The pioneer was the fondly remembered Jupp Heynckes, who retired from coaching in 2018 after leaving an excellent impression in Bilbao across two different spells (1992-94 and 2001-03). The new coach has had the opportunity to immerse himself in Athletic's unique culture through Heynckes, with whom he shared an assistant coach, and seeks to follow in the footsteps of a compatriot and mentor who brought a cultural and sporting shift to the Bilbao club in the nineties.
With an extensive curriculum, unlike the new coach, the charismatic and acclaimed Heynckes arrived at Athletic in 1992. He had debuted on the Bundesliga benches in the 1979-80 season with Borussia Monchengladbach, later taking the reins of powerful Bayern Munich in the 1987-88 campaign, winning two Bundesligas. A world-class figure upon his arrival at Athletic, having previously won a European Championship (1972) and a World Cup (1974) as a player with Germany, as well as four Bundesligas, a Cup, and a UEFA Cup with Borussia Monchengladbach, Heynckes made an immediate impact in Bilbao with a revolutionary playing style.
With a football philosophy shared by the new coach, also close to the Barcelona coach in terms of looking to the academy for young talent, Heynckes began his first stint at Athletic by promoting youth players like Juanjo Valencia, Carlos García, and Julen Guerrero to the first team, making the latter a fundamental part of the squad at just 18 years old. Collectively, the German established high pressing without the ball, supported by tactical richness and a winning mentality that resonated in Bilbao, where he secured eighth and fifth-place finishes in the league before returning in 2001 after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid in 1998.
A renewed Heynckes gave Aritz Aduriz his debut as a 'lion', achieving ninth and seventh-place finishes in the league and reaching the Copa semifinals in the first of his last two seasons at Athletic. Now, 23 years later, another German coach will arrive at the club, ready to face new challenges.

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