Ernesto Valverde Tejedor (born 9 February 1964) is a Spanish footballmanager and former player who played as a forward. He is the current manager of La Liga club Athletic Bilbao.
Over ten seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 264 games and 68 goals, adding 55 matches and nine goals in the Segunda División. He played for six teams in a 14-year professional career, including Espanyol, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao.
Valverde later went on to have an extensive spell as a manager, including being in charge of all three clubs. He won the double with Olympiacos in 2008–09 and 2011–12, and Barcelona in 2017–18.
Valverde left for Athletic Bilbao in 1990, being eligible although he was born in Extremadura (he moved to the Basque Country while still an infant).[14] He spent six seasons with the team, scoring 20 league goals from 1992 to 1994 before moving to Mallorca, where he was relatively used as the Balearic Islands club achieved top-flight promotion, and retired the following summer aged 33; during his time at Athletic, he was nicknamed Txingurri (Basque for ant).[15]
Immediately after retiring, Valverde began his career as a manager in the youth departments of former club Athletic Bilbao,[17] and four years later he became a co-trainer in the main squad.[18] Heavily involved in the establishment of the club's women's team,[19] in 2002 he again acted as head coach when he took over the B side,[20] being promoted to first-team duties the following year;[21] in 2003–04, they finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup.[22]
After one year out of football, Valverde joined another former employers, now renamed Espanyol.[23] During his first season, the Catalans managed to reach another UEFA Cup final – 19 years after their last – again losing on penalties, to fellow Spaniards Sevilla.[24]
On 28 May 2008, Valverde was appointed coach at Olympiacos,[25] winning the Super League Greece in his debut campaign and addingthe cup for the double.[26] On 8 May 2009, the club decided not to renew his contract in spite of his success, because of a financial disagreement; however, most of the players and fans were openly in favour of him staying.[27]
On 2 June 2009, Villarreal announced that Valverde would succeed Manuel Pellegrini on a one-year deal, after the Chilean had left for Real Madrid.[28] As the team stood tenth in the league on 31 January 2010, he was dismissed following a 2–0 home loss against Osasuna.[29]
On 19 April 2012, after helping Olympiacos renew its league supremacy, Valverde announced his decision to leave due to family reasons.[32] On 3 December he returned to Spanish football by being appointed at Valencia until the end of the campaign, replacing the fired Mauricio Pellegrino;[33] his first game occurred five days later, a 1–0 win at Osasuna,[34] and the second match, against the same opponent for the Spanish cup, brought another triumph at the Reyno de Navarra (2–0).[35]
On 17 August 2015, Valverde led the Lions to their first trophy in 31 years after a 5–1 aggregate defeat of Barcelona for the Supercopa de España.[40] He declared on 23 May 2017 he would be stepping down on 30 June,[41] to be replaced by former Athletic teammate José Ángel Ziganda.[42]
Valverde's 306 matches in charge of the team over two spells set a club record, beating the previous total of 289 set by Javier Clemente.[43][44] He also surpassed Clemente's 211 league matches managed, finishing on 228, but was unable to match his record of victories: The latter won 141 games – 102 in the league – while the former came up one short, with 140 and 101;[45][46] additionally, he was on the bench for 42 European matches, another record.
Barcelona remained undefeated for 43 matches in the Spanish League only to lose in their penultimate game of the campaign on 13 May 2018, having rested Lionel Messi for the trip to Levante – they were beaten 5–4 by the hosts.[53] They finished with a league and cup double, defeating Sevilla 5–0 in the Copa del Rey final.[54]
The 2018–19 season began with a 2–1 victory over Sevilla to win the domestic supercup.[55] In February 2019 Valverde signed a new one-year contract extension,[56] as they went on a 23-match unbeaten streak and secured a second consecutive league title under him in April following a victory over Levante.[57] He led his team to their first Champions League semi-final after a gap of three years, winning 3–0 at home against Liverpool but being eliminated after a 4–0 defeat at Anfield in the second leg, leading many to call for his dismissal.[58][59] He also guided the side to another Spanish Cup final, this time losing 2–1 to Valencia.[60]
Valverde remained in charge for the start of 2019–20. Despite the team winning their Champions League group and being top of the league table by the new year on goal difference, poor performances and a period in December and January that saw them win only one in five matches meant his position once again came under pressure.[61] On 13 January 2020, he was dismissed by the club, with his last game being a 3–2 defeat to Atlético Madrid in the Supercopa de España;[62] he was replaced by former Real Betis coach Quique Setién,[63] with Barcelona ending the campaign without a trophy after finishing five points behind Real Madrid.[64]
Third spell at Athletic
On 30 June 2022, Valverde returned to Athletic for a third spell, under new president Jon Uriarte.[65] In his second season, he won the club's first major trophy in 40 years after beating Mallorca on penalties to claim the Spanish Cup, and also would have qualified for Europe via a fifth-place finish in the league.[66]
Personal life
Valverde is a keen photographer, whose work has been published and exhibited.[67][68] His younger brother, Mikel, is a cartoonist.[69][70]
^Mallo, Borja (22 January 2021). "100 años entre la gloria y el barro" [100 years between the glory and the mud]. Noticias de Álava (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2021.
^Guasch, Tomás (1 September 1986). "1–1: Este Español va en serio" [1–1: This Español are the real deal]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 November 2021.
^ abQuixano, Jordi (3 May 2007). "El batacazo del 88" [The slump of 88]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 April 2018.
^ abSanchis, Alberto; Carmona, Sergio (10 November 1988). "¡Fue de infarto!" [Heart-stopping!]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 November 2017.
^Ger, Pedro (22 October 1989). "Primer positivo... que subo a poco" [First positive... bad taste in mouth]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
^Barcelo, Carme (1 April 1990). "La noche de los "proscritos"" [The night of the "outcast"]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
^Astruells, Andrés (9 April 1990). "¡Bendita primavera azulgrana!" [Holy azulgrana spring!]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
^Archs, Jordi (16 April 1990). "Pulverizaron al Cádiz" [They pulverised Cádiz]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2017.
^Juárez, María Carmen (19 March 2008). "El padre de 'Txingurri'" [The father of 'Txingurri']. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 July 2016.
^Astruells, Andrés (11 October 1990). "España, otra vez por la mínima" [Spain, again by the odd goal] (PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 February 2016.
^Martín, Javi (27 February 2013). "Las camadas de "Los Leones de San Mamés"" [Classes at the "San Mamés Lions"] (in Spanish). La Cantera de Lezama. Retrieved 5 November 2021.