Ricardo Barkala, who will attend the elections in June to preside over Athletic, distances himself from Marcelino. He has already stated that no candidate has contacted him and it seems that a possible rapprochement is cooling off. The president of the Bilbao Port Authority has stated that he has begun to sound out different people for the position of coach of the first team. In a conference at Nueva Economía Fórum, Barkala confirmed that he is the only one who has publicly announced that he wants to be president of Athletic, although it seems that “one or two other people are thinking about it”. Arechabaleta will follow in his footsteps when he sees the right time.
The president of the Port Authority of Bilbao has assured “respect the decisions” of the current president of the club who has not yet announced dates for the elections, although he has advanced that he is already working with a team of 40 or 50 people to set up “an attractive project” because “I know little about football”, he acknowledged, so that is why he prefers “to trust a coach, a sports director and a director from Lezama who know and do things well”.
Contrary to what was stated weeks ago, he explained that if he were to become the head of Athletic, “he would not resign as president of the Port, although reality and day-to-day life may later show that it is impossible to maintain both positions.” He has assured that he still does not have the name of the person who would occupy the position of coach of the first team if his candidacy won. Would Marcelino be his bet on the bench. Would you like Iraola?, he has been questioned. “I like them all, but I’m not going to say anything about this. I can’t say, I’m sorry, not even having a gin and tonic in the afternoon, but I’m open to suggestions”, he said.
His confirmation that he has spoken with several candidates for the bench makes it clear that Marcelino is getting further away, because he is not going to welcome being a second course. “It is too early. If I had an answer about the coach, I wouldn’t say it, but I would be lying if I say that I have not spoken to several. I have spoken, I need to know what is the availability of people who may interest me and who may be interesting for Athletic. We are having those conversations but we are going to wait, ”he added.
Elizegi tries to facilitate the transition to a new board, but the candidates, who have already spoken with him, are not satisfied, “There is a task, the elections will presumably be at the end of June or the beginning of July with the season over, the players vacations and many Lezama contracts completed. Now Ricardo Barkala in the world of Athletic is nobody, he is one more partner, and how am I going to convince an elite coach to come with me. It is complicated, the circumstances are complicated, but that is a path that will be outlined little by little. At the moment we are working on an attractive project”.