Bielsa's Bilbao at a Crossroads

Fernando Llorente might be forgiven for wanting the season to be over already. Greeted by his own fans with boos, jeers, and worst of all, cries of "Spaniard" whenever he is substituted onto the field of play, Athletic Bilbao's centre forward must long to join his new team-mates in Turin. The 28-year-old centre forward, who is set to join Juventus on a free transfer, has been ostracised by the San Mames management ever since refusing to sign a new contract in the summer of 2012. Largely limited to appearances from the bench, and regularly told to train with the youth team, it has been a season of purgatory for the striker who fired his childhood team to the finals of the Europa League and the Copa del Rey last season.

Excluded: Fernando Llorente

Exiting the Basque Country along with Llorente will be central defender Fernando Amorebieta, who will end a lifelong association with the club when he completes his free transfer to Fulham. Amorebieta, who has made over 250 appearances for the senior side, is another player to have fallen out with club president Josu Urrutia after rejecting a contract offer. This steady loss of experienced players will concern Athletic's supporters, especially since the club's policy of only fielding players born in the greater Basque region means that it is difficult to find suitable replacements. Indeed, the club has been unable to spend the vast majority of the €40 million fee garnered by last summer's sale of Javi Martinez to Bayern Munich.

Perhaps the most startling indication of Athletic's current malaise, however, is the uncertainty surrounding the future of head coach Marcelo Bielsa. The 57-year-old Argentinean, hailed by everyone from Pep Guardiola to Craig Bellamy as one of the most progressive coaches in modern football, has not been offered a new contract, despite interest from clubs such as Napoli. Bielsa himself has indicated that he wants to stay, telling reporters that, "my position is only activated if the club has an interest in pursuing me... I could earn top money elsewhere - it is not about that for me".

Bielsa: On his way out?

While this delay in offering a new contract to such a renowned tactician and motivator is at first puzzling, closer inspection of Bielsa's tenure in Bilbao suggests that Athletic's board may be justified in considering a new direction. Bielsa arrived at San Mames amid high expectations, following his excellent spell in charge of the Chilean national team, and with a gifted young squad to work with. Joaquin Caparros' side had just finished sixth in La Liga, and had already secured the arrival of the prodigiously talented Ander Herrera from Real Zaragoza. Bielsa, with his famed 3-3-1-3 formation and a penchant for a high-tempo, pressing style, was seen as the man to take Athletic to the next level.

Two years on, with Athletic sitting twelfth in the league table and equidistant between the European spots and the relegation zone, the raw statistics suggest that Bielsa's project has taken the team backwards. Indeed, even while El Loco's team was storming to finals both in the cup and in Europe, there were cracks in the facade. Bielsa's notoriously intensive training regime, which aims to build the fitness necessary to sustain his teams' pressing style of defence, was openly critcised by players before morale-boosting victories over local rivals Osasuna and Real Sociedad, as well as THAT draw with Barcelona. The tactic of playing midfielders such as Oscar de Marcos in defence in order to facilitate smoother passing, meanwhile, contributed to some erratic performances at the back, as Athletic finished the 2011-12 season in tenth place, and with a negative goal difference.

Of course, these problems were shrugged off at the time: Athletic were playing dynamic, attacking football and putting teams as glamorous as Manchester United to the sword. It was only after the defeats to Athletico Madrid in the Europa League final and to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey that the tide began to turn against Bielsa. While there had been some concern over the interest being shown in players such as Llorente and Martinez by foreign clubs, it had been assumed that the atmosphere in the dressing room was united and positive. That assumption was shattered when an audio clip of Bielsa chastising his players in the aftermath of their 3-0 defeat to a Falcao-inspired Athletico Madrid was leaked onto the internet. The video went viral, and the defining soundbite of Athletic's tumultuous season was to become the Argentinean manager shouting, "You're allowed to lose - but you're not allowed to lose like that!".

Fiery: But have Bielsa's Basques burned out?

El Loco would continue to live up to his nickname during the club's pre-season. The coach fell out with Llorente over a transfer request, and more bizarrely came to blows with a contractor who had supposedly been working behind schedule on the renovation of the club's Lezama training complex, actions Bielsa would justify as a defence of the club's honour. While these occasional instances of rage can be passed off as Bielsa's passion overwhelming him, it is the stubborn insistence on leaving a fit Llorente on the bench which has really harmed Athletic this season. While Aritz Aduriz has performed well to take up the goalscoring burden with 18 goals in all competitions, the former Valencia striker lacks the physical presence to bring his teammates into play in the manner of Llorente.

Ironically, Llorente's recent cameos have been vital in allowing Athletic to pull away from the relegation zone with back-to-back wins. In successive matches, a fresh Llorente has come off the bench to score in 2-1 victories, games in which the rest of the side looks exhausted by such a physically demanding style of play. Despite the striker's unpopularity with the fans, Bielsa could have ensured a more successful second season if he had been willing to pair, or at least rotate, Aduriz and Llorente more frequently.

Perhaps Bielsa's best hope of securing his position for another season is the dearth of quality managers willing to replace him. The most frequently mentioned candidate is Valencia's Ernesto Valverde, who will be popular among the supporters after previous spells at San Mames as a player and a manager. However, his recent managerial pedigree is shaky, as he has ceded Valencia's "best of the rest" title to Athletico Madrid and may struggle to see off Real Sociedad for the final Champions League spot. Athletic B coach Jose Angel Ziganda, meanwhile, has been publicly backed by Bielsa to take over if the Argentinean manager departs.

Whoever takes the reins at Athletic next season will inherit a talented squad: club stalwarts such as Gorka Iraizoz and Andoni Iraola are complemented by young talents such as Herrera and Iker Muniain, while the 31-year-old Aduriz should supply a steady flow of goals for at least another season. However, there is a sense that this squad has come to a crossroads. The question remains whether to keep faith in the explosive, high-octane drama of the Bielsa era, or veer off in a new direction.