Before the opening game of the new season, Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde gave an interview to the media, expressing his confidence and optimism about the upcoming 2025-26 season.  

This is his tenth season with Zurigori and he is confident that the team's spirit is in good shape. Athletic Bilbao will open the new season against Sevilla at the San Mamés Stadium.  

At Saturday's pre-match press conference, Ernesto Valverde said: "As always, we are looking forward to the new season. The team's goal is to achieve good results in the new year. The current challenge is to push Athletic Bilbao to a higher level, and I hope the team is fully prepared for this."  

Although the team's performance in the preseason was up and down, the head coach did not show too much worry. He stressed that this period was mainly used for trial and adjustment.  

He further added: "If we want to win more honors, we must arrange various types of competitions. In fact, these are to face possible difficulties in advance and learn positive experiences from them."  

"I expect Sevilla to be at their best against us. They are an aggressive team that excels in one-on-one duels and have quality players who are dangerous in attack. Every crucial point is extremely important to me because it helps the team reach the heights we want to achieve, which we have done many times in the past season."  

“Next we will play at home with our fans and we are looking forward to seeing the warmest atmosphere. We really hope to start the new season with a victory, so let’s wait and see.”  

"The La Liga schedule is long, and this year we will also compete in a tough competition like the Champions League. But if we look at it from a positive perspective, it will be a driving force for the team to move forward."