If it weren’t for Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid’s title winning season last year in Spain, the story of the 2013-14 La Liga campaign may very well have been the surprising efforts put forth by Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Bilbao side.

The 50-year-old Spanish manager guided Los Leones to a fourth place finish and Champions League qualification for the first time in sixteen years. A stunning accomplishment for a team whose recent finishes in the Primera Division read: 12th, 10th, 6th, 8th, 13th, 11th, 17th and 12th over the past eight seasons.

Also, despite competing in what has become a globalized sport, Athletic Bilbao chooses to select its players from the Basque area in Spain. Since 1912, the club has operated a Cantera policy which means that their team consists solely of players that have come through the club’s youth academy or Basque players recruited from other clubs.

The club’s motto explaining the reasoning behind the ideology is: “Con cantera y aficion, no hace falta importacion”; which translated means “With home-grown players and supporters, there is no need for imports.”

The policy has been criticized in the past, but Bilbao has adapted its rules over time to allow players from other areas to be signed as long as they have developed in the Basque area.

That being said, what Valverde was able to accomplish last season – with a roster of players made up from only one region in Spain – was remarkable.

Bilbao would continue its fantasy run this season by defeating Napoli over two legs in their Champions League qualifier. Valverde would describe the night when his side defeated the Serie A club 3-1 at the San Mames as a “historic, magical night.”

But since then Bilbao’s domestic and European campaigns have struggled mightily.

The club are currently 15th on the La Liga table and last in Group H of the Champions League with one point after three matches (a group made up of FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and BATE Borisov). Bilbao are clearly struggling with the burden of competing in one of Europe’s top leagues, as well as the world’s best club competition.

What has caused such a drastic change in Bilbao’s fortunes?

Some pointed to the sudden departure of midfielder Ander Herrera over the summer. The club had previously overcome the losses of Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich) and Fernando Llorente (Juventus) to earn Champions League qualification. But Valverde admits that one of the key characteristics of his team’s game has disappeared with the departure of Herrera (who is now with Manchester United). The manager misses the intensity, competitiveness and intelligence that the 25-year-old midfielder brought to his side.

“We have always applied pressure very high up the pitch,” Valverde said. “Now, we seem to doubt. ‘Yes…no…’ If we are going to do it, we have to believe in it. Instead we are unsure of ourselves.”

Benat Etxebarria has been asked to duplicate the efforts of the departed Herrera, but to this point the 27-year-old central midfielder has had difficulty in his new role.

Bilbao also look a ‘tired’ side. Their roster has been stretched due to the rigors of competing both domestically and in Europe. Prior to last weekend’s 1-0 win over Almeria, Bilbao had endured a winless stretch of six rounds in La Liga and only had one victory in eight previous league games.

Valverde is fielding a relatively young side who are struggling with the demands of Europe and have struggled to match the heights of last season. The manager’s post-match comments usually revolve around the psychological and emotional state of his side; something that coaches tend to do with maturing teams.

After Bilbao were thumped 5-0 by Real Madrid at the Bernabeu earlier this month, Valverde shared his thoughts on the ’emotional state’ of his side. “After beating Napoli there was a moment,” he said, puffing his cheeks out and deflating, “in which it is as if you breathe…phhhhh…We had done what we wanted so, so badly, and we took a breath. And the moment you take a breath is the moment you lose concentration and then they catch you. You lose absurdly, and again, and suddenly you can’t win a game. It all comes at once, piling up. You keep hearing that the situation is bad and you end up believing it. More than anything else it is about a spotlight and the Champions League is the spotlight. But now, we know that the focus has to be the league, absolutely the league.”

Bilbao are struggling to score goals domestically and in Europe, and the squad just hasn’t lived up to the expectations which were heaped upon them at the start of the 2014-15 campaign.

Due to their poor start, questions are now being asked of Valverde’s leadership and ability to lead Bilbao out of its current situation – despite the exceptional job the manager did last season.

To their credit, club officials are standing by Valverde (who was awarded Manager of the Year in La Liga by the Royal Spanish Football Federation on Tuesday). Club president Josu Urrutia has insisted that the manager’s job is safe and he will be given the necessary time to allow his young players to mature.

That criteria could be thrown out the window the closer it gets towards the end of the season since presidential elections are to be held at the club. If Bilbao continue with their poor form and the supporters turn against him, Urrutia could sack the manager as a way of appeasing the fans; thus giving himself a better opportunity to remain as president.

The past few months have seen a dramatic change in fortunes at Athletic Bilbao. Let’s hope one of the good stories in football can reverse this recent trend.

Los Leones next match will be this Sunday against second-place Sevilla at the San Mames.