Jon Aspiazu: Ernesto Valverde's right-hand man for 15 years
They met in Sestao in 1985 and worked together since Valverde's time at Athletic's B-team
He usually watches the first part of games in the presidential box and the second from the bench
Jon Aspiazu is used to watching the first half of games from the presidential box and the second half from the bench. He then takes advantage of the break to exchange ideas with Ernesto Valverde, with whom he has worked for 15 years since they met at Athletic’s B team.
They knew each other long before that, when both were players at Sestao in the 1985-86 season. Valverde played for big sides, Espanyol, Barca, Athletic and Mallorca, while Aspiazu’s career was more modest. He shone at Hercules, and Deportivo, where he trained under Arsenio Iglesias. The Galician often said that Aspiazu, creative central midfielder, was his extension on the pitch.
As a coach, his biggest virtue is analysing the play. “he has a huge capacity to read games,” explained Angel Pereda, chief of sports at El Correo in Bilbao. “He breaks them down better than anyone and when you speak with him about any game, you find that he sees things that everybody else misses.” Aspiazu loves football, someone who knows how to get every detail even from games which are dry or unimportant.
Beyond that, he has become the perfect compliment to Valverde for his connection with the players. He knows how to treat the dressing room, and is considered to be friendly, close and very polite. At Lezama they speak wonders of his character, as someone a little more extroverted and impulsive than Valverde.
Valverde relies on him a lot to deal with the players. Communication is another one of his strong points.
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