Cuco Ziganda’s one season at Athletic Bilbao ended in disaster but his La Liga spell has not put off Championship strugglers Huddersfield Town.
Huddersfield Town could hire former Athletic Bilbao coach Cuco Ziganda as Jan Siewert’s replacement at the John Smith’s Stadium, according to AS.
After just seven months, 19 games and one win, Siewert was handed his P45 after a 2-1 defeat to Fulham on Friday.
It is fair to say the former Borussia Dortmund reserve coach was a failure in West Yorkshire after taking the club from the Premier League to the Championship relegation zone in the blink of an eye.
But Huddersfield have history when it comes to making surprise, left-field appointments like Siewert himself and predecessor David Wagner so their apparent interest in Ziganda shouldn’t really come as a shock. Nethertheless, his track record will surely raise a few concerns among an already unhappy fan base.
The 52-year-old has spent most of his career, both on the pitch and in the dugout, at Athletic Bilbao. And after six years with the second team, he was promoted to the top job in 2017 to replace the Barcelona-bound Ernesto Valverde.
Valverde was always going to be a tough act to follow but Ziganda struggled more than even the most pessimistic Athletic fan might have feared. He was sacked after just one season after a dismal 16th placed finish, while a pragmatic style of play hardly saw any support from the stands quickly disappear.
Athletic are one of only three clubs who have never been relegated from La Liga alongside (guess who) Barcelona and Real Madrid. Though they came closer than ever under Ziganda.
So it’s fair to say the Spaniard hardly boasts a stellar managerial CV. AS, however, claims that he has spent much of the year living in England and is keen to take on a new challenge at Huddersfield. The interest, it seems, is mutual.
But will Ziganda be more a Wagner than a Siewert?
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
