 Eight months later, with the team inside the relegation zone, he was sacked.In summer 2017, Garitano was appointed head coach of Bilbao Athletic, replacing José Ángel Ziganda who had been promoted to manager of the first team.He remained in that position until 4 December 2018, when it became his turn to be handed the senior role after Eduardo Berizzo, who had followed on from Ziganda's one-year stint, was also dismissed after an even shorter spell.