 Immediately after retiring, having appeared in more than 300 matches in Spain's second level, Garitano moved into coaching, serving as assistant at also freshly relegated Eibar.After a stint in charge of the reserves he was appointed first-team manager for the 2012–13 campaign, which included the elimination of Athletic Bilbao – the previous year's finalists – from the Copa del Rey, and ended in promotion.Garitano repeated the feat the following season, topping the table and leading Eibar to the club's first ever top flight promotion.