Athletic Bilbao coach Marcelo Bielsa was welcomed by thousands of fans on his first day in charge of the Spanish club on Wednesday.
Bielsa was heartily received at the Basque club's Lezama training ground, with club supporters braving the rain to greet the Argentine coach as he led his first training session.
Nicknamed ''The Crazy One,'' Bielsa replaced Joaquin Caparros after Josu Urrutia won the club presidency on Sunday.
Bielsa previously led Argentina and Chile but his previous coaching stint in Spain lasted only six weeks, at Espanyol. He has a tough opening test with Bilbao facing Real Madrid in its season opener on Aug. 21.
Bilbao finished sixth last season to qualify for the Europa League with a young squad led by World Cup winners Fernando Llorente and Javi Martinez, who was also in the Spain under-21 team that won the European Championship last month.
Bielsa said Bilbao will play his favored style of possession-based attacking football.
He said at a news conference that he expected his young squad to press high and want the ball and ''before we start (the season) we shouldn't set any limits.''
Bielsa didn't rule out signing players in the offseason ''but that doesn't mean I'm thinking about anyone particular.''
Bilbao's squad is made up entirely of homegrown Basque players.
