Athletic Club Fundazioa opens photo exhibition of football manager Ernesto Valverde

Athletic Club Fundazioa opens photo exhibition of football manager Ernesto Valverde

The Athletic Club Fundazioa unveiled an exhibition of photographs taken by their former manager Ernesto Valverde. Apart from being a successful football coach, Valverde has also been a passionate photographer ever since his playing career.

The exhibition, entitled ‘Beste Aldea’ in Basque, which means ‘The other side’ is a collection of 24 photographs in which Valverde in his role as photographer captures fans of the clubs he has managed from a different perspective, like from the team bus as he is on his way to the stadium. The black and white images also include shots of fans of clubs he used to work for like Olympiakos Piraeus and FC Barcelona.  

‘There was always an instantaneous situation, something in that specific moment, something that appealed to me and seemed special to me and as I have always my camera with me. I would shoot from a perspective that people usually don’t have. Here the focus is more on the fans, in situations that, perhaps, are perceived in a different way.’

The coach shows not only a different side of the fans, from a different angle, but also from himself. A side he developed already as a player by studying photography. ‘Dedicating time to photography is something I’ve been doing naturally for many years, announces the former coach of Athletic de Bilbao as he presents the selection of photos, taken over the past twelve years. ‘ I thought I would dedicate myself to photography but I ended up being a coach. It’s clear that photography is a way to escape, but it’s not a hobby for me, it’s something very serious in my life.’

In his conversation with Galder Reguera, Project Manager at the Athletic Club Foundation, Valverde spoke about his career as a photographer from his time as a player to the present day. Click here to watch the English subtitled interview.

This photographic exhibition is part of the Athletic Club Foundation’s cultural programme, an initiative which seeks to promote the idea that another football is real and that aims to build bridges between the worlds of culture, education and football.

The collection is on display with entry free of charge until October 28 at the Ensanche Market’s exhibition hall (Plaza del Ensanche 11, Bilbao) during the following opening hours: Monday to Friday, from 08:00 to 20:00 local time.