r/AthleticClub • u/Lehoia_ATH • 29d ago
Transfer News Edin Terzic comes to Athletic!
https://www.athletic-club.eus/en/news/2026/05/05/edin-terzic-to-be-new-athletic-club-head-coach/
So today Athletic Club announced Edin Terzic as the new coach.
What are your thoughts?
I‘m honestly excited to see what he‘ll do and change.
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u/BetiZurekin 29d ago
My own (completely unqualified) take:
- From what I have read from Dortmund fans on Reddit, Terzic is a great locker room manager who thrived in Dortmund because he maintained a real connection with the team and with the community. This could be a really great thing at a club like Athletic where the club itself and the players take so much pride in the connection with the community. If he's someone who comes in and fosters a great relationship with the city and builds on what is supposed to be a great communal locker room, that could be a real benefit to his term here.
- With the above said: this particular batch of Athletic Club players feel like they need a real kick in the ass from whoever the manager is. We know that they have a serious depth of talent, but it hasn't been working on the field for most of the last two seasons, and I think the team needs someone to come in and be willing to make this real for the players. Might be sour grapes, but I'm kind of optimistic about Iraola not getting the job (YET) because someone from the complete outside may be more likely to make the personnel decisions that need to be made without having any preexisting notions or relationships to flavor their decisions. I want Iraola, but an outsider might be a better move just at this time. Again, that might be me justifying this also, Idk.
- I see over and over that Terzic has struggled, tactically, with offense. This is a big red flag for me. Our defense has been obviously a glaring problem this season, but our offense has been a problem for years now. A manager who supposedly struggles to get offensive output with a team who make offense horrible to watch could be a bad combo. Hopefully that is overstated a little bit.
- At Dortmund he was involved at every level of the club. For a club that is so dependent on their relationship with their lower division counterparts and with youth development, this could be a big benefit.
In all, I am *very* cautiously optimistic. The Dortmund crowd seem to love the guy, even after his time away, and if he is a good guy, then I am rooting for him. He is going to be our manager, so I am rooting for him. If he can breath some life into these players, maybe make the tactical changes that we haven't seen for the last few years, then I am hopeful that he can find success here. There is clearly plenty of talent for him to work with, so it will be a question of player management and tactics. He seems like a guy who, if the success comes on the field, could build a real connection with Bilbao and the fan base.
I was one of the people calling for the team to move on from Valverde, and I stand by that. He is a club legend, he has brought me some of the best times I've had in my lifetime as a fan of this Club, and nothing that has happened this last season taints his overall tenure over his three spells with the Club. Things have not been working, though, this last year and a half, and a team that is not willing to fix obvious ongoing problems is a team that is openly accepting those problems. Terzic is an unknown, here, for us, and Valverde is a known, but Terzic is an opportunity. This is a squad with a generational level of talent, and the Club has to try and capitalize on that. It is sad to see Valverde go, and as the season gets closer to an end it feels sadder and sadder to me. But this is a good move, and now it is up to Terzic and the guys in the locker room to show us if it can work or not.
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u/Lobo_de_Haro 29d ago
Very well put, I completely agree. Especially when it comes to the fact that some players really need a kick in the ass. I was hoping for Iraola too, but well, I'm curious. Ongi Etorri, Terzic!
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u/Lehoia_ATH 29d ago
Thank you for this analysis!
I agree definitely and yes, even though I think that Iraola is the better coach, I have a good feeling with Terzic. As you mentioned; he‘s an outsider, so the chances are high that he won’t start the same, bad-performing players over and over, simply because he doesn’t have any kind of "feelings" towards them.
What I also really like is the commitment. He‘s been very involved in the youth team as well and this is crucial here. I also do like his passion and I hope he‘ll show that for Athletic as well.
The offensive struggles worry me because this is a problem since forever… so I hope that won’t be as bad as predicted by some.
All in all I think we won’t face a disappointment as we did with Berizzo (I never liked Ziganda being the first coach at all, so that wasn’t a disappointment for me because I knew what would happen).
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u/heyzeus1865 29d ago
But the issues with Valverde come because of the SUCCESS that he had.
Its HARD for a team like Athletic to make Europa, win a cup, make Champions and keep that level season after season. We dont have the ability to bring players from outside like others do. Playing X number of competitions at a high level takes a toll on players and on the organization. Valverde did everything right and people blame him for ultimately being a victim of success.
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u/BetiZurekin 29d ago
I don't think that what you're saying is baseless, the problem is that I have been an Athletic Club fan for a long time, I am not unrealistic, I am not mad that the team isn't winning trophies and competing in the Champions League every season. What I am tired of is the team looking like none of the games matter, no matter what the competition is. You cannot be watching these games and be satisfied with the performances you're seeing; I simply do not believe that.
The problem for this team is that they've already shown us what they are capable of and the talent that they have. If I looked at this lineup and saw that we were really lacking in most areas of the field, but they were going out there and putting up good fights and losing, I would take that. We have almost the entire same squad as last season. We had injuries, certainly, and that matters, but as far as personnel goes, we lost Oscar de Marcos but gained Aymeric Laporte, Jesus Areso, and Robert Navarro, and somehow we went from the best defense in Spain to an empty sieve on defense, our midfield connections have all but disappeared, and we are still trying the same old spam in crosses from the wings that nobody seems capable of connecting with, game after game. It's not about the results, if anything, the results have been somewhat kind. We began the season 3-0 but those games could have all easily gone the other way, the fact that Europe is still possible is a blessing. It's about the performances and the fight.
Athletic Club will never win a Champions League in my lifetime, they will not likely win a Liga in my lifetime, they could never win another Copa del Rey in my lifetime, but I will not leave the team for that. If I wanted to jump onto a team that wins everything all the time I could do so but I haven't and I won't. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see the team fighting. It feels like defeatism to say "Valverde has not done anything wrong here, this is actually the best we can do, these performances have been fine, despite all of the talent that we have." I don't believe that and I don't think anyone should.
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u/heyzeus1865 29d ago
Here is the thing though, this is the best we can do. To your point, we wont ever win Champions. La Liga? Thats been what? 40 plus years. So doing good in the cup and making Europe on a somewhat regular basis is what we can genuinely say is the best for us.
And Valverde has done that for us. What more do we want? I mean what, were we expecting to make it into the knock out phase and because we didnt we are upset?
Every team will go through ups, downs, injuries, players that dont work out, and times when they look very lackluster. Is that on Valverde? I dont think so. Will Edin help with that? Maybe. But will he accomplish more than what Valverde did with the limited resources that we have? Thats a tough one.
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u/BetiZurekin 29d ago
I suppose two fans can come to two different conclusions about the Club, and that is fair. I think we are going to have to agree to disagree here. You and I are watching the same matches, and if you are seeing these same toothless performances week after week in every competition and saying that this is the best we can do, then you and I are too far apart on this to find any sort of agreement.
Like I said, I don't know that Terzic will accomplish more than Valverde did. Valverde is a Club legend, he is the most tenured manager in club history and, as I have said many times before, I have him to thank for many of my favorite moments as an Athletic Club fan. I love the man as much as you can love someone you've never met.
But it isn't just about the silverware and table position, for me, it's about the performances. I don't need a club that wins every trophy, I don't even need a club that wins *any* trophy. But I do want a club that still fights for those successes and makes me believe that they want it. What we have seen these last two seasons have not inspired me to believe that this club is aiming for anything more. I'm not mad that they didn't advance to the knockout in the CL, to use your example, but I am mad that this team never made me believe for one second, aside from maybe the PSG match, that they were really even trying to get out of the group stage. It was personnel decisions, it was tactics, it was the players. None of it worked, and there seemed to be no effort to address that.
It is not all on Valverde, I have been disappointed with a good number of the players as well, but the buck stops with the manager, and you cannot replace a whole squad, so you have to start somewhere. It was not my decision to part ways with Valverde at the season's end, that was the Club's decision and Valverde's decision, so obviously someone there agrees.
Win or lose, my hope is that a new manager with a fresh view of the squad and tactics can make me believe that again. Maybe he won't, but he's here now, so all I can do is support him.
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u/heyzeus1865 29d ago
But Im not arguing for WINNING. Im fine with what we have accomplished and dont expect more. All Im saying is that the toothless performances are to me directly related to this team not playing in Europe and then going back to back seasons there. That takes a toll and we just arent ready for that grind. Thats it.
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u/ZeVoolt 29d ago
I'm a bit sceptical, my first choice was Iraola. We will see, lets hope for the best and let him work.
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u/Lehoia_ATH 29d ago
Mine was, too, but it seems like Iraola himself didn’t wanna join. I‘m sure he‘s the better coach, but maybe an outsider who is also decent suits us more right now.
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u/heyzeus1865 29d ago
Mames I saw this on FB and I thought bro died because of how they put the years
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u/friedrice_rob 29d ago
Oh wow interesting! I think he’ll do well with the squad
He did make a CL finals appearance with Dortmund so that’s a positive
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u/Depressingreality_ 29d ago
Excited to see what he has to bring to the team. We need a strict trainer who puts everyone in its place. This season we had players who were barely seen during the matches and no one seemed to give a damn.
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u/Alohasnackbar69420 29d ago
People wanted Iraola but this is the better hire we need an outsider to shake things up. Great days ahead
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u/Inevitable-Put-565 29d ago
I'll take it, we need a different style of football and honestly I'm really hoping it's a 3 at the back formation with Areso and Boiro as wingbacks because we've seen the struggles with fullback
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u/Competitive-Heat-346 25d ago
Can bet he will be sacked before the end of the season…
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u/Lehoia_ATH 25d ago
Why?
Anyways, it’s quite rare that Athletic sacks a coach. I can only remember Berizzo being sacked during the season right now. Even Ziganda who definitely wasn’t a good coach didn’t get sacked.
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u/mdubs17 29d ago
Something about a German managing this club feels really off to me.
Marcelino just announced he's leaving Villarreal too. Would rather have him back, everything else being equal.
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u/Lehoia_ATH 29d ago
Marcelino is a choice I would have thought about as well, especially given the fact that he does already know the club. On the other hand though he might as well be biased with lining up players that are spoiled but not performing.
Why do you think a German coach is off? Athletic Club already had a German coach in the past.
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u/Gold-Leg7235 29d ago
I mean in the last 30 years of Athletic there’s only been 3 non-Spanish coaches and of those 3 only 1 was from a non-Spanish speaking country. Even in the last 8 years there’s only been one non-Spaniard and he didn’t even last a whole year. It is a little strange
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u/lungleg 29d ago
Ugly and effective football. Maybe this guy improves Maroan?