Julen Guerrero calls for patience with Terzic and more dialogue with veterans

Julen Guerrero, Athletic’s former captain, spoke at ‘El Camino del éxito: Ciencia, Deporte y Salud’—an event organised by Emen4sport and UPV/EHU—to assess the start of the season under Edin Terzic. The Portugalete-born figure believes the team is still in the adaptation phase after Ernesto Valverde’s era, and urged calm around the project: “A different coach arrives with his ideas; the team is gradually getting used to them. We need a bit of patience”, according to MARCA.

Learning a new system

Guerrero thinks the project could eventually reach a level similar to Jupp Heynckes’ impact in Bilbao. He points to the complexity of the transition—such as playing out from the back with three, switching between four- and five-man lines, and frequent positional changes in midfield—to explain why the process takes time.

Why Sancet matters

Individually, Guerrero is clear on the importance of the current shirt-holder he helped make “legendary”: for him, Oihan Sancet’s form sets the group’s competitive ceiling. As MARCA quotes him, “When he’s at 100% and playing in that way, the team clearly has another dimension”.

The veterans’ ticket debate

He also weighed in on the controversy about the club removing invitations for former players at San Mamés. Rather than push back, Guerrero argues for common sense and more communication between the club and veterans: “What matters here is dialogue… being able to talk and debate it”, he said, as reported by MARCA. He added that the assumption that all former lions enjoy special treatment isn’t true: “Not all of them reached La Liga, not all of them are financially comfortable”. Finally, he praised the ex-players’ association for its social work—training sessions, hospital visits and charity events—without receiving anything in return.