I Am Jose

Bilbao fans would never forget the time when everyone mocked Guerrero for rejecting a high salary to sign a lifelong ten-year contract with Bilbao. Guerrero simply said, "Bilbao has never signed foreign players (non-Basque players) in its history. The team primarily relies on players developed from the second team. If everyone who becomes famous just runs to other clubs, then Bilbao will have no future." Just this one statement was enough for the Bilbao fans to elevate this symbol of loyalty and responsibility to the status of a deity in their hearts!

Now, this new coach, who was utterly dismissive of their forever golden boy, their undisputed captain, and the epitome of a footballer... how could this be tolerated?

In this situation, Guerrero once again demonstrated his leadership qualities. When interviewed, the captain of Bilbao said, "The coach is the decision-maker of the team. We believe everything he does is for the greater good. I must express my gratitude to the people of Bilbao for their support and trust. I believe all the people of Bilbao will continue to support Athletic Bilbao without question."

Sometimes, a person with enough authority can defuse any situation with just one sentence—and this was one of those times.

Thus, when Mallorca faced Bilbao, despite the apparent internal unrest within Bilbao, the atmosphere calmed, and they began to approach the match with a united front to take on the team that had performed strongly in the last three rounds.

"He's truly a great player," José murmured to himself. Of course, he knew that the reason Guerrero's one sentence could quell all the discontent wasn't just because of his authority, but because of Athletic Bilbao's century-old tradition! The club only signed players of Basque descent, which, despite limiting their potential for growth, created an unparalleled sense of unity. This unity was thicker than blood—while other clubs might struggle with their locker rooms, Bilbao's locker room remained untouched. Any discontented players probably transferred out long ago, leaving only those who were loyal and talented, or those who lacked the power to stir up trouble. Thus, it wasn't hard for a coach to manage Bilbao; they simply needed to make good use of the available players.

"Anyway, we still have to take a win here," José told himself—he knew Athletic Bilbao wasn't easy to beat, but their strength mostly lay in their attacking players. In defense, despite their bloodthirsty attitude, their strength still paled compared to the attacking lines with players like Urcelay, Echeberria, and Guerrero.

Mallorca, a counter-attacking team, was somewhat wary of teams like Valencia, which also used counter-attacks, but they weren't afraid of teams that opened up their attack. Therefore, they had managed relatively easy wins against teams like Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad. On the other hand, they struggled against Numancia, which was another counter-attacking team, even though Numancia was weaker.

On February 13th, at the San Mamés Stadium!