Ernesto Terzic: “Vallecas is one of La Liga’s toughest grounds”

Athletic coach Ernesto Terzic is looking forward to playing at Vallecas against Rayo Vallecano, calling it one of La Liga’s toughest venues. He believes the opponent, despite not losing at home, has the structure and balance to make things complicated and asked his team to show they are not satisfied with recent results.

On the build-up, Terzic said the FIFA break was used “like a second pre-season”, pointing to the Real Sociedad match plus two internal sessions to prepare for a decisive second stretch of the league.

Squad absences and chances

Terzic confirmed that Nico Williams finished international duty feeling discomfort, and the club expects it to be “a matter of days”, hoping he can start training next week. Oihan Sancet has a calf issue after a Wednesday session and, according to the coach, will take a bit longer. He also mentioned Djaló, who returned from international duty with flu and wasn’t at full power, with workload adjusted before reassessing him in training.

The coach also highlighted the role of Lezama and said that this week they gave academy players a chance to train with the first team, emphasizing that young players must adapt to Athletic’s level and be protected from overblown expectations.