Terzic has not coached a competitive match for Athletic yet, but his first public steps are already being read as the start of something different. The new coach is being judged not just on what he says, but on how he handles the room, and the early verdict is that he can use both hands — even if he is right-handed.
That may sound like a joke until you hear what the column is really saying: the hope around Athletic right now comes almost entirely from Terzic. He is the only fresh reason for optimism in a club still marked by old tensions, renewals and the kind of residue that can linger after a World Cup summer. In that setting, even the smallest sign of control matters, and his ability to "use sus dos manos" has been taken as a symbol of a coach trying to guide firmly with the right while letting the left do its own work.
Jupp is also speaking well of him, which matters more than a casual compliment. Around Athletic, endorsement still carries weight, especially when the club is trying to steady itself after a run of doubts. The sense is not that Terzic has solved anything already, but that he has arrived with enough presence to make people look twice. De Marcos, no longer running on the pitch, is the kind of voice the locker room may need now — the Pepito Grillo who can say what others avoid saying and keep the group from drifting too far into self-congratulation.
That is why the first appointment is more than just a date on the calendar. San Mamés against Sevilla is the next checkpoint, and it will be the first real test of whether the early impression holds when the work stops being symbolic and becomes practical. Barcelona is still waiting in the background, but that visit has been delayed because the Spanish national team is in the semifinal, which only extends the period in which Athletic will be judged on atmosphere, not results. For now, Terzic is being trusted to carry the only clear hope, while the club waits to see whether his hands are steady enough when the season truly starts to bite.
