Madrid, Dec 31 (IANS) Josu Urrutia confirmed Wednesday that he will stand for re-election March 27 as the president of Athletic Club Bilbao.
The former player will be looking for a second term at the head of the famous Basque club, which along with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid is the only club never to have been relegated from the Spanish La Liga, reports Xinhua.
Urrutia is in the fourth and final year of his four-year term, which given the idiosyncrasies of the club, which only signs players born or raised in the Basque region, has been highly successful.
After being elected president in the summer of 2011, Urrutia appointed Marcelo Bielsa as coach and was rewarded when Bielsa led the club to the final of the Europa League and the Copa del Rey.
Following Bielsa’s departure in the summer of 2013, Athletic signed Urrutia’s former teammate Ernesto Valverde as coach and the club ended last season in fourth place in the La Liga, before securing a place in the group stage of the Champions League after a memorable tie against Italian club Napoli.