Coach Marcelo Bielsa to take over Athletic Bilbao

Posted Friday, July 08, 2011 by

BILBAO, Spain (AP)—Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa will take over the helm of Athletic Bilbao after new club president Josu Urrutia won club elections on Thursday.

Urrutia announced during the campaign that he would replace coach Joaquin Caparros with Bielsa.

“We expect (Bielsa) to arrive on Sunday,” Urrutia said, adding that he had not spoken to the new coach about changes to the squad.

“Bielsa hasn’t asked for any players, but he said that the coach always wants more,” Urrutia said. “We don’t have a lot of time, so we will have to hurry to make decisions.”

Bilbao will play in the Europa League this season after Caparros led the team to a sixth-place finish in the Spanish league. After the vote, the Spanish manager said “Thanks to all the fans of Athletic for the four years we have spent together.”

Bielsa guided Chile to the round of 16 in the 2010 World Cup. His only prior experience in Europe was coaching Espanyol for six games in the 1998-99 season.

Urrutia, a former Bilbao player, beat standing president Fernando Garcia Macua in a record turnout for the Basque club.

Bilbao’s squad is made made up entirely of homegrown Basque players.