Valverde’s Wobbling Warrior Conundrum…
In a twist more tangled than a football mum’s knitting after a hat-trick party, Athletic Bilbao’s chief ringmaster, Ernesto Valverde, is juggling wounded warriors like a circus act on a rollercoaster. Just before their Herculean task against Manchester United, he’s got three key players limping like penguins in a hot desert — Oscar De Marcos, Nico Williams, and Oihan Sancet all looking like they’ve been tripped by an invisible ankle-biter. Nico’s absence on Sunday’s Basque derby is a blip of gloom, as he battles the flu and others juggle groin grumbles like juggling flaming footballs!
De Marcos, not one to miss a tackle unless tackled by his own calf, left the field in their first-leg dance at minute 42 — no doubt dreaming of a time when his calf was more like a kangaroo’s and less like a soggy baguette. Valverde’s got him on the bench starring in the “To Train or Not to Train” drama series. Meanwhile, Sancet is stretching back into shape like a football-twisted yoga instructor, aiming to make a comeback that’s more glorious than a headbutt under the moonlight!
All eye-patches turn to Old Trafford, where Valverde hopes his posse will resurrect themselves, just like a beefy superhero in a red-and-white cape! As they eye the Red Devils, he’s embroiled in a merry-go-round of player’s fitness issues, listing them off like a ballad of football woe. Will Bilbao defy all odds, shake off these injuries, and turn this deficit into a football fairy tale at Old Trafford? Hold tight, footie fans, ’cause this one’s gonna be a blinder!
