Valverde Extends Stay With Bilbao, Garica Signs New Alaves Deal

Valverde extends stay with Bilbao, Garica signs new Alaves deal (Image Source: IANS)

Athletic Club Bilbao: Athletic Club Bilbao announced on Friday that coach Ernesto Valverde has extended his contract with the club for another year until the end of June 2025.

The announcement sees Valverde continue with his habit of extending his relationship with the Basque club, where he also spent six seasons as a player, on a year-by-year basis and means that if he sees out the remainder of his contract, he will have spent nine years coaching the club in three different spells, reported Xinhua.

This season Valverde reached hero status after leading Athletic to their first Copa del Rey title in 40 years, and the club is currently fifth in the league table with a place in next season's Europa League (which has the final in Athletic's San Mames Stadium) already assured.

He has also overseen the development of various footballers from the club's youth system, with players such as Nico Williams and Dani Vivian now members of the Spanish national team.

"It's a new hope, a new challenge and let's see if we can continue working to make this club a little bit bigger," said Valverde, who added that it was a "great responsibility to pay back all of the confidence that I have been shown."

Valverde wasn't the only coach in La Liga to extend their contract on Friday, with Deportivo Alaves announcing that coach Luis Garcia Plaza has signed a new two-year contract with the club from the city of Vitoria.

Garcia Plaza joined Alaves two years ago after they were relegated to the second division and led them to promotion in his first season in charge, following a dramatic penalty scored in the last minute of the play-off final.

This season Alaves are currently 11th in La Liga with 42 points from 36 games and confirmed their place in the top-flight for next season with several games left to play.

One man who won't be with Alaves next season is right back Andoni Gorosabal, with the club confirming his departure when his contract expires at the end of June.