Terzić: "The Copa is one of the reasons why I joined Athletic"

Edin Terzić has admitted that Athletic Club's reputation and history in the Copa del Rey played a big part in him deciding to come to Bilbao.

The Lions' 2026/27 Copa adventure gets underway on Thursday night with a trip to lower-league Catalan outfit AE Prat.

"I know how important this competition is here," the gaffer said at his pre-match press conference.

"When I thought about becoming Athletic’s head coach, I started watching footage of the Copa final from two years ago, and that was one of the main reasons why I wanted to be part of this club."
 

🏆 "The Copa was one of the main reasons why I wanted to be part of @Athletic_en" 🗣️ "We're ready to fight for a win." 🎙️ Edin Terzić on Thursday night's #AEPratAthletic #AthleticClub 🦁 https://t.co/c05IIpzx5S

— Athletic Club (@Athletic_en) October 28, 2026

Edin also highlighted the “magic of the Cup”, pointing out that only the winning team progresses to the next round, which is why he is approaching the match with a “very professional” attitude.

He continued: "We must show that we want to reach the next round. Anything is possible in this tournament, but if we play as solidly as we did at San Mamés last Sunday, I’m sure we’ll have a good chance of winning."

"We’re going to prepare as best we can to have a good run in the Cup."

Speaking about AE Prat, Edin Terzić said that Athletic will "have the utmost respect for our opponents because they have managed to qualify for this round". 

He added: "We’re familiar with the systems they’ve used in recent matches and we hope that, given the quality we have and the way we’ve prepared for this fixture, they won’t be effective when they try to stop us."