Bilbao has a chance of collecting two titles in two weeks, while also sending a strong contingent to this summer’s European Championships.
There’s a reason Bielsa is rumored to take over Pep Guardiola‘s role at Barcelona. It’s any soccer fan’s fantasy. Bielsa was able to transform a club of mostly homegrown players into one of the most dynamic teams in La Liga and Europe.
As with any modest team, and Bilbao can be called that, Bielsa has had to pick his battles. The hegemony in La Liga can’t be broken. Week in and week out, the talent that Barcelona and Madrid has allows them to be juggernauts that no one can keep up with.
There’s a reason for the 29 point difference between second place Barcelona and third place Valencia. Valencia deserves credit for even keeping it that close. With that in mind, Bielsa focused on the titles he actually had a chance of winning.
First came the Copa del Rey, where Bielsa admittedly had the luck of the two juggernauts eliminating themselves. Just the same, Bilbao was a dominant force in the knockout rounds. It did not allow a goal in the Round of 32, Round of 16 or quarterfinals.
Bilbao ultimately got a bit cocky in its semifinal against Mirandes (a second division team) before trouncing them 6-2 in the second leg. The team’s three goals allowed were a tournament-best (even better than Barcelona and Real Madrid).
It faces Barcelona in the final on May 25.
In the Europa League, Bilbao’s form was less impressive, surviving a tough group that included Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) with only one loss (a meaningless one to the French club).
After a difficult Round of 32 series with Lokomotiv Moscow, which it won on away goals, Bilbao thoroughly dominated Manchester United in the Round of 16, 5-3. The score does little to portray how the explosive offense made United look desperate throughout the series.
After dismantling United, a run to the final seemed destined for Bielsa’s men. They faced another tough showing in what may be the legendary Raul‘s last European tournament, eliminating Schalke 6-4, before scraping by Sporting Lisbon in the semifinals.
Now, Bilbao faces one of the most exciting players in the tournament, Radamel Falco, and Atletico Madrid. It brings its own emerging scoring threat, Fernando Llorente, to what promises to be a final full of goals.
Bielsa needs two more wins against very familiar opponents to get two titles in his first year with a team — one that had never before been to a European party.
2012 has been Bilbao’s coming out party. Now two legendary Spanish sides hope to spoil the party.
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