"We want to take Athletic's badge to the top"

Ernesto Valverde and Iñaki Williams reiterated that they wanted to make Athleticzales around the world proud of the team ahead of Thursday's Europa League opener against AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico (21:00 CEST).

The player and head coach fielded questions from the press before Los Leones held a training session at the legendary Italian stadium.

"We haven't played in Europe for many years. It has taken us a long time to get back here and we want to take the Athletic badge to the top," the forward said.

"We're approaching the Europa League as we did the Copa last year, 'under the radar'. That was the motto and I think it's something we should follow this year too.

"We don't have to look beyond tomorrow. The important thing is to win the first three points. This is the best stadium to show our ambition. It's the home of one of the competition favourites."

Valverde said the team is keen to enjoy their time in Europe and to compete well.

He said: "Roma is a great team, with big names. They changed their coach a few days ago, but Ivan Juric is a top coach. In his debut against Udinese they played great and I'm sure they will want to do the same in Europe."

On the squad's experience in Europe, Valverde replied: "It's true that there are some who don't have experience with Athletic in Europe, but they have experience with other teams or with the national team, where they have been able to compete and win."