Athletic Club

The Athletic Club, also popularly known as Athletic Bilbao or simply Athletic, is a football club from the town of Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. It was founded in 1898 and is, along with Real Madrid Club de Fútbol and Fútbol Club Barcelona, the only club that has played in all editions of the Spanish First Division since its creation in 1928. In turn, it is one of the four only professional clubs in Spain that is not a sports limited company, so that the club's government rests with its members. The most outstanding particularity of the Basque club is its tradition of playing only with players born or trained in football in the Basque Country, a tradition that emerged in 1912 and has been maintained ever since. It is also historically recognized for being a youth club and working in the training of young footballers, this being the main source of supply of players for the first team. Its training categories are recognized as one of the most prolific on the European scene, and although its influence has been declining with the evolution of over the years, it is one of the historical nurseries on the Spanish scene and the one that gets the most performance from its footballers.

All of its achievements have been achieved in national competitions, where it is considered a historic club in Spanish football. A good part of its prestige has been obtained in the Copa del Rey, which it has won twenty-three times (twenty-four according to the club, which claims the 1902 Coronation Cup that it has in possession), being the second most successful club in the competition in the 20th century, earning the nickname king of cups, until in 1998 it was surpassed by Barça. It is currently the second Spanish team with the most Cup championships, four more than the third, Real Madrid.

It is the third Spanish club with the highest number of official titles (35) and occupies fifth place in the historical classification of the First Division, having been third until the 2009-10 season, at which time it was surpassed by Valencia C. F., and fourth until the 2013-14 campaign, being relegated, in this case, by Atlético de Madrid. Likewise, it holds the record for the biggest win in the history of the league; a 12-1 against F. C. Barcelona in the 1930-31 season.

The Biscayan club's greatest continental achievements have been two runner-up finishes in the UEFA Europa League in the 1976-77 and 2011-12 seasons, and the runner-up finish in the Copa Latina in 1956. Athletic's biggest win in continental competition was a 1-7 win over Standard Liège, in the 2004-05 season.

History

From England to Bilbao (1890-1910)

The Athletic Club template with the Crown Cup (left) and the first King Cup (right), in 1903.

Soccer in Biscay became known in the 1890s, thanks to the fact that the English sailors who worked in the Biscayan ports used to play football games in their free time. Shortly after, Biscayan fans joined them. The interest of the people of Biscay in this new sport increased, until, in 1898, some young people from the Zamacois gym in Bilbao had the idea of founding a football team, like the ones in England; They baptized this team with the name of Athletic Club, although the team was not legally constituted until April 5, 1901 in the assembly held at Café García at number 8 of Gran Vía (corner Berástegui street). At that time, Athletic played the matches in the fields of Lamiaco, located on the grounds of the racetrack in the Biscayan town of Lejona.

In 1900 the Bilbao Football Club emerged. Both teams used to play friendly matches that were becoming more relevant among Biscayan fans, leading to a lot of rivalry between the two teams. In the spring of 1902, a national football tournament was held to celebrate the coming of age of King Alfonso XIII. This trophy was baptized with the name of the Coronation Cup, and is considered the forerunner of the Copa del Rey. To dispute it, Athletic Club and Bilbao F.C. created a combined team with the name of Bizcaya, which won the title by beating F.C. Barcelona 2-1 at the Castellana Hipódromo, in Madrid. In 1903, the Bilbao Football Club agreed at the General Meeting to dissolve the company, entering all its members in Athletic Club. After overcoming a harsh institutional crisis, which almost cost it its dissolution, Athletic made its debut, that same year, in the recently created Copa del Rey, proclaiming itself champion, a title that it repeated the following year.

The Lamiaco field in the municipality of Lejona can be considered as the first playing field in which Athletic Club played. Since September 18, 1887, it had been operating as a racetrack, but the surface was better conditioned than the Santa Eugenia field. They regularly competed on this pitch from 1901 to 1911, although they shared it with other clubs (such as the aforementioned Bilbao Football Club). During this time, Athletic played 58 games, of which they won at least 41. Among their rivals that passed through Lamiako are Real Madrid C. F. (1904) and F. C. Barcelona (1906). When it reached the Lamiaco field, in the absence of a station or halt, the engineer slowed down the convoy so that the passengers could get off the train.

The success of the first edition of the Cup led to its creation by Basque students in Madrid, such as Enrique Allende and Ricardo de Gondra from Athletic Club (Madrid branch), although they functioned as separate entities, with presidents and their own general assemblies. However, as it was a branch, the people of Madrid could not face Athletic Club in official competition (they were the same club). Likewise, it was common for Athletic to line up in Copa del Rey matches. to players from the Madrid branch. To play in the 1904 and 1905 Cup finals, Athletic had to resort to players from the branch in Madrid, since not enough players traveled to complete the eleven. On February 20, 1907, the Athletic Club of Madrid was registered in the Registry of Associations, obtaining its own legal personality and differentiated from that of Athletic Club, for which reason it ceased to be a branch at the corporate level. However, sportingly, the relationship between the two teams continued to exist, and the Biscayan team continued to call up the Athletic Club de Madrid players to play the Spanish Championship under its banner. For example, Manuel Garnica Serrano from Madrid was one of the scorers in the 1911 final that Athletic Club would win. However, the calls declined in 1912, when the first version of the so-called Athletic Club philosophy originated, according to which only players from Biscay could compete. In addition, the then president of the Madrid team, Julián Ruete, advanced in independence with respect to the Biscayan club. In 1917, Athletic Club de Madrid already had its own purely Madrid shield, with the bear and the strawberry tree, different from the one Athletic Club wore, and finally, in 1921, the Madrid team broke ties with Athletic Club. The process became official in the General Assembly of Members of the Athletic Club of Madrid on October 4, 1924, in which the Madrid club completely reformed the statutes and regulations, eliminating all mention of dependence on the Bilbao club.

Pichichi and the construction of San Mamés (1910-1922)

Athletic Team Spanish Champion in 1921. From left to right: Hurtado, Pichichi, Laca, Acedo, Rivero, Sabino, Ramón Belauste, Villabaso, Allende, Beguiristáin and J. M. Belauste.

Several years had passed since the club was founded and Athletic began to outgrow the Lamiaco field. The fans for soccer in Vizcaya had grown enormously in recent years, and a change of field was becoming more and more necessary. In 1911, being the current champion, it was up to the club to organize the next edition of the Copa del Rey. Since the Lamiako field did not meet the appropriate conditions to host an event of these characteristics, Athletic decided to move to the new Jolaseta field, located in the Neguri neighborhood (Gecho). The dimensions of this football field were better adapted to the number of fans and it introduced novelties as important at that time as a covered tribune for the fans, a preference (two rows of benches in front of the tribune), and a general one (the rest of the playing area occupied by spectators on foot). Athletic played 48 games in Jolaseta at home. Four of them were official (full of victories) and another 44 friendlies, with a total of 23 wins, six draws and 15 losses.

However, despite being a modern stadium for the time, it was located far from Bilbao and the club, in full growth, sought to have its own field in the same town. It was a justified growth, since in 1910, already wearing a red and white shirt, Athletic once again proclaimed themselves Cup champion after several years of drought, repeating the same success the following year. In those years, the figure of a young player began to stand out, who would give much to talk about in the coming years: Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, who was nicknamed "Pichichi", a fast winger, with a powerful shot and dribbling. The icing on the cake for an already champion team, in 1910 the first coach in the club's history was hired, the English Shepherd, who left the club shortly after and was not replaced until 1914, by another Englishman, William Barnes. In 1913, Athletic finally completed the construction of its long-awaited field, the work of the architect Manuel María Smith, and which was built on the land located next to the San Mamés asylum, from which it took its name. On August 21 of that same year, it was inaugurated, with a friendly match between Athletic and Racing Club de Irún, which ended with a one-goal draw. “Pichichi” was in charge of scoring the first goal in the history of San Mamés.

Then came a successful period for Athletic, in which they won the Copa del Rey three consecutive times, in 1914, 1915 and 1916 respectively, and were considered the best team in Spain by the national press. With William Barnes in the bench, the Athletic team was made up of the following players: Ibarreche under the sticks, Solaun and Hurtado forming a strong defence, the tenacity of Eguía, the colossus José María Belauste, who imposed his presence in midfield as well as his brother Ramón, or the disturbing front formed by Iceta, Germán, Apón, Zuazo and Rafael Moreno, "Pichichi". The latter had rejected several offers from English clubs that offered him a professional contract with very good conditions, however, he preferred to stay in Bilbao. Between 1917 and 1919 Athletic went through a time of institutional crisis, during which he did not participate in the Copa del Rey (in their place were Arenas in 1917 and 1919, and Real Unión in 1918; both were proclaimed champions). It was not until 1921, when he returned to win a new Cup championship. This was the last title for "Pichichi", who at the end of the 1920-21 season, permanently retired from football. According to the club's official website, He played 89 games and scored 83 goals, as well as winning four Cup titles and five regional championships. Some sources indicate that, after retiring, he dedicated himself to arbitration. Shortly after, on March 1, 1922, he died of typhus, when he was barely 29 years old.

Fred Pentland and the "first historical forward" (1922-1936)

Athletic league champion team in the 1930-31 season. Stand up: Muguerza, Chirri II, Urquizu, Lafuente, Blasco, Ispizúa, Uribe, Unamuno y Castellanos. Agachados: Bata, R. Echevarría and Gorostiza.

The 1920s ended with the creation of the league championship in the 1928-29 season. This fact coincided with one of the sweetest moments in the history of Athletic, which during the 1930s won eight titles in six years. During the last years of the 1920s, Athletic recruited the best soccer talents Biscayan. Thus, Blasco del Acero de Olabeaga was signed in 1926, Unamuno from Alavés in 1928, Lafuente arrived from Barakaldo CF in 1925 and Bata in 1929. For their part, Gorostiza arrived from the Arenas Club in 1929 and Cilaurren in 1932. Athletic reserves brought up players like Chirri II and Garizurieta in 1927, Ispizua in 1928 or Iraragorri in 1929.

In 1922, Fred Pentland arrived from Racing de Santander, winning two Regional Championships (1923 and 1924) and the 1923 Cup in three seasons. Upon his return in 1929, he won two league championships (in the 1929 seasons -30 and 1930-31) and four consecutive Cup championships (in the years 1930, 1931, 1932 and 1933). Without Pentland, who did not reach an agreement to renew his contract, Athletic won two more league championships, those of 1933-34 and 1935-36. Of this team, the one popularly known as the "first historical forward" stands out. from Athletic, made up of Lafuente, Iraragorri, Bata (winner of the Pichichi Trophy in 1930-31), Chirri II and Gorostiza (winner of the Pichichi Trophy in 1929-30 and 1931-32). With Blasco as goalkeeper, winner of the Zamora Trophy on three occasions (1929-30, 1933-34 and 1935-36). Although these awards were not established until years later, they were awarded with posterity as an act of recognition.

Separate mention deserves the win against F. C. Barcelona (12-1) in the 1930-31 season. Athletic scored Bata (min. 2', 8', 24', 37& #39;, 57', 60' and 68'), Gorostiza (min. 27'), Lafuente (min. 36'), Garizurieta (min. 55') and Iraragorri (min. 83'), including an own goal from Barcelona's Zábalo. That season Athletic finished the league undefeated. However, the adventures of this team were cut short in 1936, the year in which the Spanish Civil War broke out, a fact that forced the league to be suspended for three seasons.

Telmo Zarra and the "historic second forward" (1940-1954)

Party between the Royal Society and the Atletic of Bilbao in the Stadium of Atocha (1944).

The League championship resumed in the 1939-40 season, and Athletic was forced to redo the team almost entirely, since it could only have seven of the players that were part of the squad prior to the war: Oceja, Zabala, Gorostiza, Elices, Urra, Gárate and Unamuno. The rest had emigrated from Spain or signed for other teams; Blasco and Cilaurren signed for the Argentine River Plate, and Zubieta and Iraragorri went to San Lorenzo de Almagro. A year later, in 1940, Gorostiza signed for Valencia. To recompose the team and, as was done in previous times, the best talents were sought in the Basque teams of lower categories. Athletic organized a friendly tournament, between November 1937 and April 1938, in which 39 teams from Biscay participated with players over fifteen and under nineteen years of age. Athletic managed to form a solid group, forging what it would be the club's "historic second forward", made up of Iriondo, Venancio, Zarra, Panizo and Gaínza. Other players who were part of the starting lineup were Celaya, Bertol, Arqueta, Mieza, Nando and the promising goalkeeper Echevarría, winner of a Zamora Trophy in the 1940-41 season, who retired prematurely in 1942 due to tuberculosis. His position in goal was occupied by Lezama, a very young goalkeeper who began his sports career in England, playing for Southampton F.C. and who, later, returned to Vizcaya to play a year at Arenas, before joining Athletic.He also won the Zamora Trophy in the 1946-47 season.

On the other hand, in December 1940, the Royal Spanish Football Federation issued a circular in which it ordered the clubs to eliminate all foreign words before February 1, 1941. From then until July 1972, the year When the 1940 Decree-Law was repealed, the official name became Atlético de Bilbao. This team managed to win the League championship in the 1942-43 season, as well as winning the Generalissimo Cup for three consecutive years; in 1943, 1944 and 1945 respectively. The last championship won by this generation was the 1950 Copa del Generalísimo, in which Telmo Zarra achieved the record for being the player who has scored the most goals in a cup final, having scored four goals (three of them in extra time). He was also runner-up in the League in the 1940-41, 1946-47 and 1951-52 seasons, and in the Cup in the years 1942, 1949 and 1953. It is worth noting the six Pichichi Trophies won by Zarra during this time.

The "eleven villagers" team (1954-1960)

Manchester United Team, known as the Busby Babes, who faced the Athletic in the 1956-57 European Cup.

Already in 1954, the coach Ferdinand Daučík arrived at Athletic from F. C. Barcelona, who had the mission of renewing the team of the already veteran “historic second forward”, which he dissolved to make way for a new generation of players. The new team was made up of young promises from the subsidiary and other Basque teams: Carmelo succeeded the laureate Lezama in goal, the rest of the team was made up of Garay, Orue, Canito, Mauri, Maguregui, Artetxe, Marcaida, Arieta, Uribe and Gaínza, sole survivor of the old forward and team captain. With this team, Athletic once again became league champions in the 1955-56 season and, of the Cup, in 1954-55, 1955-56 and 1957-58. In the 1956-57 season, Athletic debuted in the recently created European Cup; in this competition, they eliminated Porto in the round of 32, Honvéd de Puskás in the round of 16 and, finally, lost to Manchester United in the quarter-finals, despite having won the first leg in San Mamés (5-3). In the second leg, goalkeeper Carmelo was seriously injured in the first half, after a hard blow to the knee from an opponent. As substitutions were not allowed at that time, he had to play the rest of the game injured, watching his team fall 3-0.

An important milestone in the history of Athletic was the 1958 Cup final. On that occasion, the “lions” faced “Di Stéfano's Real Madrid”, who arrived as League and European Cup champions. Athletic requested that the final be played on neutral ground, but it was finally played in Chamartín, the Madrid club's ground. Despite this disadvantage, Athletic won the Cup title by winning 2-0, with goals from Arieta and Mauri. This team would become known in Athletic history as "the team of eleven villagers", since that the president of the club, Enrique Guzmán, during the celebration of the title shouted excited: "With eleven villagers, we have put them through the stone!" In the 1958-59 season, Athletic managed to endorse four bulky wins in so Only twenty-one days, the teams thrashed were Sporting de Gijón (9-0), Celta de Vigo (9-0), Osasuna (1-8) and Betis (7-0).

Iribar and the first European final (1960-1980)

Athletic alignment in 1965.

In 1960, Athletic sold the veteran defender Garay to F. C. Barcelona for 5'5 million pesetas, which was the first million-dollar sale in the club's history. With the money from this sale, it was built in San Mamés the north stand, baptized as "Tribuna Garay" in honor of the legendary player.

On September 23, 1962, a new goalkeeper made his debut who would give much to talk about in the coming years; Jose Angel Iribar. The Gipuzkoan goalkeeper made such a deep impression among the rojiblanca fans that they chanted his name shouting "Iribar, Iribar, Iribar is great, there is none like Iribar!". In the 1967-1967 season 68, the team's top scorer, Fidel Uriarte, won the Pichichi Trophy at just 23 years old. In the 1965-66 and 1966-67 seasons, Athletic managed to reach the Cup final, but on both occasions they were defeated; It was not until 1969 when Athletic once again proclaimed themselves Cup champion. Of this champion team, the contribution of players such as Iribar, Sáez, Uriarte, Clemente or Rojo I stood out. Shortly after, Javier Clemente's football career was cut short, due to to a challenge perpetrated by Marañón, a C. E. Sabadell player, from which "the blond from Barakaldo" failed to recover.

After a decade of few achievements, in the 1970s, Athletic returned to the path of success. After being runner-up in the League in the 1969-70 season, they won the 1972-73 Cup title and, in the 1976-77 season, they managed to reach the UEFA Cup final after eliminating teams like A.C. Milan, F. C. Barcelona or Borussia Mönchengladbach. The final was played against Juventus in a double game; in the first leg Juventus won 1-0 and in the second leg it was Athletic who won in San Mamés, in this case 2-1. However, the away goal rule gave victory to the Italian team, who he won the title in the same San Mamés. The coach Koldo Agirre lined up the following players; Iribar, Lasa, Guisasola, Alexanko, Escalza, Villar, Churruca, Irureta, Amorrortu, Dani and Rojo I. In that season, Athletic also aspired to win the League and also reached the final of the Copa del Rey, but by final ended empty-handed, being defeated in a penalty shootout by Betis. Iribar missed the last penalty, which gave victory to the béticos. It should be noted that in 1975, Carlos Ruiz Herrero obtained the last pichichi trophy for a rojiblanco player. On the other hand, at the institutional level, the entity recovered its original name in the general assembly of partners of July 1972 after the repeal of the decree of May 16, 1940 that prohibited foreign names in professional sports teams.

League and Cup Champions with Clemente (1980-1986)

Athletic team in the 1983-84 season. Forman, standing: Zubizarreta, Andrinua, Bolaños, de la Fuente, Urkiaga and Endika. Caught: Patxi Salinas, Murua, Sola, Argote and Sarabia.

The decade of the eighties began with the definitive retirement of José Ángel Iribar, having played 620 games with Athletic and 49 with the Spanish team. In addition, an already veteran squad was renewed, with the arrival of new promises that would make history with Athletic. Javier Clemente took over the Athletic bench in the 1981-82 season. In that season Andoni Zubizarreta achieved ownership as Athletic's goal, to the detriment of Andoni Cedrún, son of former goalkeeper Carmelo Cedrún. In 1982, on the occasion of the celebration of the Soccer World Cup in Spain, the last major remodeling of the old San Mamés was carried out, which hosted several matches corresponding to the group stage. The national teams that visited San Mamés were England, France, Czechoslovakia and Kuwait.

The following season, Athletic won the league title, something they had not achieved since 1956. On the last matchday, the Basque team won 1-5 in Las Palmas, while Real Madrid lost to Valencia in Koldo Aguirre (1-0). The title was celebrated with a barge ride along the Bilbao estuary. The following year, the Basque club played in the European Cup for the second time, being eliminated by Ian Rush's Liverpool. Athletic ended the season by becoming league champions for the eighth time in its history. On this occasion, they beat Real Sociedad (2-1) thanks to a brace from Liceranzu. In addition, they managed to win the Cup title, which was played against Maradona's FC Barcelona, thanks to a goal from Endika. In that final, Athletic lined up the following eleven: Zubizarreta, Urkiaga, Liceranzu, Goikoetxea, Núñez, Patxi Salinas, De Andrés, Urtubi, Dani, Endika and Argote. It is also worth mentioning the contribution of Manu Sarabia, a striker whose specialty was dribbling, and who is considered by many fans as the most talented player of the time. In addition, the League and Cup doublet automatically gave Athletic the Spanish Super Cup.

The decline of this generation of champions began to take shape in the 1984-85 season, with the elimination of the European Cup at the first exchange at the hands of Girondins de Bordeaux, the Cup final lost against Atlético de Madrid or the disappointing third place in the league. During the 1985-86 season, a conflict arose in the Athletic dressing room that had the main protagonists of the coach Javier Clemente and the team's star, Manu Sarabia. The continuous disputes between these two figures caused an internal division, not only in the locker room, but also among the fans who defended the positions of one side or the other. Due to this confrontation, the coach Javier Clemente was dismissed on January 25, 1986. His position on the bench was held by Iñaki Sáez until the end of the season. In addition, financial problems forced Athletic to part with two of its most important players; goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta, who joined FC Barcelona, and striker Julio Salinas, who went to Atlético de Madrid. Another of the pillars in leaving the team was the laureate Dani, who ended his sports career after having played 402 games with the club and scored 199 goals, becoming the second highest scorer in the club's history. The following season Three other players who actively participated in winning the titles also left the club: Andoni Goikoetxea, Santi Urkiaga and Luis de la Fuente, followed a year later by Íñigo Liceranzu and Miguel De Andrés.

The Decline (1986-1996)

Julen Guerrero, nicknamed “la Perla”, was the main star of the club in the 1990s.

After the disappearance of the last champion team, Athletic found itself immersed in a period of decline that began in the 1986-87 season, with José Ángel Iribar as coach. The club finished the league 13th and played in the relegation play-offs, in what is known as the "Play-off League". bench, Athletic used their youth academy to rejuvenate the team, raising players like Patxi Ferreira, Andrinua, Alkorta, Ander Garitano and Urrutia, thereby reaching 4th position and, consequently, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. But things did not go well for Athletic, since in European competition they were eliminated in the round of 32 by Juventus in Turin and, in the league, they remained in an inconsequential 7th place. After this, the team sank and in the following three years failed to rise above 12th place in the league. The coaching chaos on the bench continued and, during the 1989-90 season, Txetxu Rojo replaced Howard Kendall. In the summer of 1990, José Julián Lertxundi was named the club's new president, and with him Javier Clemente returned to the bench, who was replaced almost at the end of the season by Iñaki Sáez. During the 1991-92 season it was Jesús Aranguren who, in this case, took over from Iñaki Sáez.

President Lertxundi decided to shelve once and for all the coming and going of coaches by signing a proven coach, thus the German Jupp Heynckes took control of the team in the 1992-93 season. With Heynckes, Athletic showed signs of improvement and achieved a 5th place finish in the 1993-94 campaign, which gave them the right to play in the next UEFA Cup. At that time, a young promise from the quarry named Julen Guerrero began to stand out, who became an icon of the club and an idol for the fans. It is also worth noting other players of the time such as Ernesto Valverde, Cuco Ziganda, Xabier Eskurza or Aitor Karanka, among others. In 1994 José María Arrate replaced Lertxundi as president, bringing with him Jon Andoni Goikoetxea from FC Barcelona and Bittor Alkiza from Real Sociedad and, as coach, Javier Irureta, replacing Jupp Heynckes, who had decided before the elections not to continue at the club. That season Athletic fell in the round of 16 of the UEFA Cup at the hands of Parma, after having eliminated a difficult rival like Newcastle. Arrate dismissed Irureta in the middle of the season and put Amorrortu in his place. For the 1995-96 season, he once again signed a young promise from the San Sebastián team, in this case, Joseba Etxeberria, and appointed Dragoslav Stephanovich as coach. In March, the Serbian coach was dismissed and Amorrortu returned to take charge of the team, which he achieved the worst classification in his history in the league up to that moment, finishing in 15th position.

League runners-up and debut in the Champions League (1996-2001)

Ismael Urzaiz became the team leader for the 11 years he stayed at the club (1996-2007).

For the 1996-97 season, Athletic took measures to redirect the team's situation, hiring the coach Luis Fernández, and incorporating the players Imanol Etxeberria and Ismael Urzaiz into the squad, who had joined the signing -a year earlier- by Joseba Etxeberria. The starting team was made up of other important players on the team such as Bittor Alkiza, Aitor Larrazabal, Cuco Ziganda or Julen Guerrero himself. Thus, Athletic made a great leap in quality and managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup, finishing in 6th position.

But president José María Arrate wanted to further improve the team for the 1997-98 season, which was a special season because the club was celebrating its centenary. Despite the departure of Aitor Karanka, he reinforced the team with Javi González, Mari Lacruz, Mikel Lasa, Txomin Nagore and the return of Rafael Alkorta and Patxi Ferreira. As a star signing, the club spent 2,000 million of the old pesetas (€12 million) to hire defender Roberto Ríos, who became the most expensive signing in Athletic's history. League runner-up and qualified to play, for the first time, in the new UEFA Champions League, a competition that was launched in the 1992-93 campaign to replace the old European Cup (in which Athletic had already participated on three occasions). In the 1997-98 UEFA Cup, Athletic had lost in the round of 32 against Aston Villa F. C. after eliminating UC Sampdoria in the previous round. The following season, Athletic eliminated Dinamo Tbilisi in the previous round of the Champions League, however, failed to get past the group stage, finishing in fourth position behind Juventus, Galatasaray and Rosenborg. For its part, in the domestic championship it finished in eighth position, despite of h aber reaped 60 points.

After this, the team stopped working and went into decline. The 1999-2000 season marked the beginning of the end for the centenary team, finishing the league in 11th position. According to rumors from the rojiblanco environment, there was talk of problems in the dressing room; in fact, from that season on, the team's star, Julen Guerrero, was relegated to the bench to the surprise of many. Luis Fernández was dismissed and his place was taken by Txetxu Rojo, a former player who was already a member of the Bilbao club in the 1970s. Despite the change in coach, the team sank further and spent the season fighting for salvation, which they achieved by finishing the league in 12th position.

Transition and crisis (2001-2011)

Fran Yeste was one of the main stars of the club in the years 2000.

Two lost semifinals and a historic win

At the end of the 1990s, Athletic entered a new decade that would not yield anything relevant in the club's history, being a stage with few successes and in which several difficult years were lived, in which the club was on the verge of to descend. At the beginning of the 2001-02 season, Athletic released a new president; Javier Uría, and new coach; Jupp Heynckes, who was in his second cycle on the rojiblanco bench. In the two years that Jupp Heynckes was there, the team improved considerably, since it was fighting to qualify for the UEFA Cup until the last moment, in addition to reaching the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, after fifteen years without achieving it, being eliminated finally by Real Madrid. During that time, the team was renewed little by little thanks to new players who came up from the quarry, and who managed to consolidate; case of Aranzubía, Del Horno, Luis Prieto, Murillo, Aitor Ocio, Gurpegui and Yeste. Other players from abroad such as Orbaiz, Ezquerro or Tiko were also consolidated. At the end of the 2002-03 season, President Javier Uría died of cancer, for which the Vice President, Ignacio Ugartetxe, took over temporarily.

For the 2003-04 season, Jupp Heynckes left the bench to be replaced by Ernesto Valverde, a home coach who had just moved up from the subsidiary. With Ernesto Valverde, Athletic qualified for the UEFA Cup, finishing the season in 5th position. This season also meant the consolidation in the first team of Andoni Iraola, a right-back who replaced the questioned Iñigo Larrainzar. During the summer of 2004, early elections were called, in which Fernando Lamikiz was elected as the new president of the club.

In the following season 2004-05, Athletic went from more to less. On the one hand, they achieved a historic win in the UEFA Cup by beating Standard Liège 7-1, later losing out in the round of 32 against Austria Vienna. And in the Copa del Rey they reached the semifinals again, losing painfully on penalties against Real Betis, who later became champions. As a result of the elimination in the UEFA Cup in February 2005, things began to go wrong, neither institutionally nor in sports. Finally, Athletic finished the league 9th and coach Ernesto Valverde rejected the renewal offer due to discrepancies with the new board of directors.

The black biennium

From 2005, Athletic would enter a period of institutional and sporting crisis, which almost made the club descend. It would count on the loss of two of its mainstays in previous seasons: Asier del Horno, transferred to Chelsea F.C., and Santi Ezquerro, who would end his contract and sign with F. C. Barcelona. To replace Ernesto Valverde on the bench, the board of directors hired José Luis Mendilibar, from SD Eibar of the Second Division, who was dismissed due to the disastrous start of the League (the second worst in the history of Athletic). he replaced Javier Clemente, who was sitting on the rojiblanco bench for the third time. With Clemente the team improved and achieved salvation on the penultimate day (a 1-2 win at Riazor). But the Basque coach was dismissed before starting the season new preseason, due to a bad relationship with president Fernando Lamikiz.

For the 2006-07 season, they trusted the subsidiary's coach, Félix Sarriugarte. However, he was dismissed in the middle of the season, since the team was in the relegation zone and showed no signs of improvement. Before that, the president Fernando Lamikiz, had resigned after the loud whistle he received at the end of a league game. Ana Urquijo took the presidential chair and put José Manuel Esnal "Mané" of coach. Athletic spent the whole season fighting to achieve permanence, which they finally achieved on the last day of the league, in a decisive match against Levante UD. These two seasons were remembered by the fans themselves as the "black biennium".

Recovery and growth with Caparrós

Fernando Llorente during a match against the Barça defended by Cesc Fàbregas.

In the summer of 2007 early elections were held again, whose winner was Fernando García Macua. Macua signed several players such as the goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz, the defender Aitor Ocio or the midfielder David López (among others) and hired the coach Joaquín Caparrós. With this, added to the consolidation of Fernando Llorente, Javi Martínez and Fernando Amorebieta, the situation of the team improved remarkably and remained in the middle of the table throughout the season, without going through any difficulties. The following 2008-09 season was confirmation that the team was recovering positively, leaving behind the ghosts of relegation. In the winter transfer window, Gaizka Toquero joined the team from SD Eibar, from the Second Division, a club to which he had been on loan since Athletic signed him months ago. That season Athletic returned to play a Copa del Rey final twenty-four years later, after eliminating four First Division teams; Recreativo de Huelva, C.A. Osasuna, Real Sporting de Gijón and Sevilla F.C. In that final, Athletic qualified to play in the new Europa League (renewed version of the UEFA Cup) and to play in the Spanish Super Cup against FC Barcelona itself, which was once again the winner.

Starting in the 2009-10 season, the team entered a stage of growth, in which promising youngsters such as Iker Muniain, Óscar de Marcos, Mikel San José, Markel Susaeta and Ander Iturraspe began to emerge, although their participation it was still high school. With a team made, but at the same time without flourishing, Athletic reached the round of 32 in the Europa League, while in the League they finished in eighth position. After the season, several veteran players left the team; Joseba Etxeberria and Armando Ribeiro ended their football career, while Fran Yeste and Iñaki Muñoz completed their contracts.

In the 2010-11 season, the team continued its upward progression, and the young promises already began to gain a foothold within the starting team, competing with the newly emerged that season; Borja Ekiza, Jon Aurtenetxe, Ibai Gómez and Igor Martínez, some with more success than others. Athletic finally achieved their goal of qualifying for the Europa League, reaching sixth position with 58 points, the same as Sevilla F.C. (fifth) and Atlético de Madrid (seventh). In addition, Fernando Llorente broke his own record by scoring 18 goals in the League, a figure that an Athletic player had not reached since 1994.

Bielsa and the second European final (2011-2013)

Mark's Oscar in a match against the Moscow Lokomotiv in the Luzhniki Olympic Stadium.

In the summer of 2011, elections were held for the presidency of the club, which was won by Josu Urrutia. After the change of president there was also a change of coach, so Joaquín Caparrós was replaced by the Argentine Marcelo Bielsa. That same summer, the promising midfielder Ander Herrera also arrived at Athletic, from Real Zaragoza, whom Athletic had been trying to sign for years.

Marcelo Bielsa radically changed the team's playing style, turning it into a more showy and touch football, similar to the one developed by F. C. Barcelona During the first months, the team did not finish adapting to the new style and the results in league were not positive, although in the Europa League the first commitments had been successfully resolved. As soon as the team began to assimilate the new style of play, the results improved remarkably. Thus, Athletic reached the final of the Copa del Rey and, later, qualified to play a European final after thirty-five years without doing so, eliminating teams like Paris Saint-Germain, Lokomotiv, Manchester United, Schalke 04 and Sporting from Portugal, among others. For that final, Bielsa lined up the gala team; Iraizoz, Iraola, Javi Martínez, Amorebieta, Aurtenetxe, Iturraspe, Herrera, De Marcos, Susaeta, Llorente and Muniain. Meanwhile, in the League they reached fourth place on matchday 24 (33 points). However, due to the large number of games and the few rotations made by Bielsa, the team reached the end of the season with great wear physical, which harmed the team in the final stretch of the season, which lost the two finals by two wins (3-0 against Atlético de Madrid in the Europa League, and the same outcome in the Cup final against F.C. Barcelona). While in the league, there was a big drop in the last quarter, which led to being in tenth position with 49 points. Even so, Athletic managed to qualify to play another year in the Europa League, thanks to having reached the Cup final.

The 2012-13 season was marked by the return of Aritz Aduriz and the departure of Javi Martínez to Bayern Munich, who after many tribulations paid the 40 million euro clause that terminated his contract with Athletic, added to the decision not to renew Fernando Llorente's contract. In addition, the decision not to renew Fernando Amorebieta, who was asking for a higher salary, led to the appearance of a young man named Aymeric Laporte. Athletic was eliminated very soon both in the Europa League, where they fell in the group stage, and in the Copa del Rey, where they failed to get past the first round. While, in the league, the team spent the entire season in the midfield. low of the classification, even in some rounds he got into relegation places, but finally he managed to save himself without going through too much trouble, remaining in 12th position. On the other hand, on Sunday May 26, 2013 at eight in the afternoon, the last official match of the first team was played in the old San Mamés against Levante UD, which ended with a 0-1 victory for the visitors. After the match, a simple act of homage was held at the stadium, which still witnessed two more matches before its closure and subsequent demolition; On Sunday, June 2, Bilbao Athletic played the play-off for promotion to the Second Division, while on the 5th of the same month the match in honor of San Mamés took place, which pitted Athletic against the Vizcaya team. Days later San Mamés began to be demolished after 100 years of activity and 1,741 official matches played.

Return of Valverde and super champions of Spain 31 years later (2013-2017)

The Athletic in a Champions League match 2014-15 in front of the Shakhtar Donetsk.

On September 16, 2013, the first match was played at the San Mamés stadium, a league match against RC Celta de Vigo that ended with a 3-2 result in favor of the locals. Before this, Athletic was forced to play the first league game at home in Anoeta, where they defeated C. A. Osasuna 2-0. From the beginning of the season Athletic started on the right foot, the good level shown by the team and the regularity throughout the championship earned them to finish in fourth position -with two days to go- and thus qualify for the play-offs. off of the Champions League, a tournament that the Bilbao club had not played since 1998. In addition, Athletic broke its record for points in the League, reaching the meritorious figure of 70, staying one point away from equaling the best historical mark of a quarter classified, achieved in the 2003-04 season by Real Madrid C. F.. Also noteworthy in this League was the victory against F. C. Barcelona in the new San Mamés (1-0), something that had not happened since the 2005-06 campaign, with Clemente on the bench. As for the Cup, Valverde's men managed to reach the quarterfinals, where they were unable to overcome an immeasurable Atlético de Madrid, who had a superb season, winning the League title. In July 2014, Manchester United F.C. paid Ander Herrera's 36 million clause, and Athletic lost one of its most important players. The team notably accused this loss during the following season.

On August 19 and 27, 2014, the qualifying play-off for the Champions League group stage was played, and Athletic had to face Napoli, one of the strongest rivals in the the hype. The first leg was played at the San Paolo Stadium, where Athletic managed to draw a valuable draw (1-1). In the second leg, which was played in a packed San Mamés, Napoli began by taking the lead through Marek Hamšík, but Athletic later managed to turn the game around and ended up winning 3-1, with two goals from Aritz Aduriz and one by Ibai Gómez. Already in the group stage, they had to face F. C. Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and BATE Borísov, a group that was presumed to be relatively affordable; however, Athletic, evidencing its decline compared to the previous season, did not perform well and finished third in the league. However, that third place gave him the right to play in the round of 32 of the Europa League, finally being eliminated by Torino F.C.

Day of Celebration of the Athletic Victory at the 2015 Spanish Super Cup.

The 2014-15 League had a very poor first round, achieving only 19 points. This situation was reversed in the second round, where Athletic got 36 points, its best mark in a second round since the League had 20 teams. This helped him to finish seventh with 55 points and, thanks to this, qualify for the next Europa League. The five consecutive victories achieved in this second round stood out, including the 1-0 victory against Real Madrid C.F. in San Mamés, with a great goal from Aritz Aduriz. In that season, the first five classifieds were highly superior to the rest; So much so, that Sevilla F.C., fifth ranked in the League, achieved an extraordinary figure of 76 points (until then, not even the fourth ranked in the League had ever exceeded 71 points).

In the Cup, Athletic reached another final three years later, after eliminating CD Alcoyano, Celta de Vigo, Málaga and Espanyol. In the final they faced FC Barcelona again for the third time, after the two finals previously lost against them in 2009 and 2012 respectively. Again he was defeated again, in this case by 1-3; Iñaki Williams scored the goal of honor for the people of Bilbao. This season marked the farewell to Andoni Iraola, who left the club after 12 seasons in the first team, with whom he played 510 official matches, becoming the fourth player who has played the most matches in the history of Athletic.

Party disputed between the Deportivo de La Coruña and the Athletic.

In August 2015, they faced FC Barcelona for the Spanish Super Cup title thanks to their runner-up position in the Cup and the fact that Barcelona was champion of both the League and the Cup. In the first leg played in San Mamés they won by 4-0, with a hat-trick from Aduriz. In the second leg, he managed to maintain the lead by drawing 1-1, leaving behind a 31-year "title drought". the Europa League managed to reach the quarterfinals after eliminating Olympique de Marseille and Valencia in the round of 16 and round of 16 respectively. It is there where they fell against Sevilla in the penalty shootout, after the conclusion of the two games by 1-2; later the Andalusian team ended up proclaiming itself champion. In the Cup they fell in the quarterfinals against FC Barcelona after putting them in trouble in the second leg. Finally, in the League they got fifth place which gave them access to the group stage of the Europa League 2016-17. In Valverde's last season, the team faltered both in the League and in Europe (eliminated by APOEL), however, in the Copa del Rey the lions were again eliminated, in the round of 16, against FC Barcelona, giving a good image. Again, after a spectacular second round, with eleven victories, they finished in seventh position, which gave them access to the qualifying phase of the 2017-18 UEFA Europa League. On May 24, Kuko Ziganda became the new coach of the Bilbao team, after the departure of Ernesto Valverde to FC Barcelona.

Successes, failures and a new transition (2017-2022)

Aritz Aduriz was one of the top scorers in the history of the club with 172 goals.

The 2017-18 season was a setback for the team, going from fighting for Europe to the bottom of the table, which made us remember the times of the black biennium. In the league the trajectory was downward, the bad results caused the collapse of the team that finished in sixteenth position with 43 points, which was the worst classification since the black biennium. That season Ziganda established himself as the coach with the worst winning percentage in the league in the history of Athletic, with 25% (6 of 24). While in the Cup, Athletic was eliminated in the first round by S. D. Formentera, a Second B team that ended up losing the category. In the Europa League the previous playoffs were resolved correctly, but in the group stage Athletic suffered excessively to qualify for a particularly affordable group. In the end they managed to get through as first in the group and in the round of 16 they faced the Russian league champion, Spartak Moscow, whom they managed to beat in the first leg by 1-3, while in the second leg they fell 1-2 at San Mamés, but qualified for the next round by the global score ball of the tie Moments before the start of the match, there were disturbances between the local fans and those of Spartak that resulted in the death of an ertzaina (autonomous police), who suffered a heart attack while participating in the security operation deployed in the surroundings of San Mamés. Subsequently, UEFA sanctioned the Russian club for the incidents that occurred that day. In the round of 16 they had to play against Olympique de Marseille. After being defeated 3-1 at the Velodrome, the fans turned to the team to carry out the comeback in San Mamés. The rojiblanco team did not improve the game shown and was defeated again by 1-2. In this way, Athletic said goodbye to the Europa League with an impressive scarf by the fans. Finally, Ziganda was dismissed.

During that season, the Bilbao team was the protagonist in the winter transfer window, since Pep Guardiola's Manchester City paid the 65 million of the termination clause for Aymeric Laporte. To alleviate the departure of the player, who left an important hole in the defense, the president Josu Urrutia decided to pay the clause of the captain of Real Sociedad, Iñigo Martínez, which amounted to 32 million euros, which was the most expensive signing in the history of Athletic.

On May 31, 2018, the arrival of Eduardo Berizzo as the new coach for the 2018-19 season was made official. The club, on the occasion of the presidential elections, decided to terminate Berizzo's contract due to the poor results achieved by the team, with a single victory, which had led him to find himself in the relegation zone with only eleven points. The board put the subsidiary coach, Gaizka Garitano, in charge of the bench, who debuted with victory in the second leg of the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey against S. D. Huesca (0-4). The coach from Biscay decided to bet on a solid block in defense and place the speedy Iñaki Williams at the point of attack, something that paid off from the first moment. The squad improved its performance and managed to get out of the relegation places. The climb was constant and in mid-April they reached seventh place in the standings, however, after a disappointing game on the last day against Sevilla, the team fell to eighth place in the standings and was left out of Europe. Garitano managed to add 42 points in just 24 games, finishing the league with 53 and thus signing one of the greatest qualifying comebacks in the club's history after a change of coach. After the season ended, three historical players left for those that the club chose not to renewː Markel Susaeta went to the Japanese Gamba Osaka, while Ander Iturraspe and Mikel Rico joined RCD Espanyol and S. D. Huesca respectively. In addition, Álex Remiro went free to Real Sociedad after some fruitless negotiations with the Bilbao club.

Players of the Athletic before contesting a European League match of UEFA 2017-18.

As in previous summers, the only additions came from players from the subsidiary, in this case, Gaizka Larrazabal -son of former soccer player Aitor Larrazabal- and Asier Villalibre, top scorer in Segunda B. There were also other players who alternated between the first team and the subsidiary, case of Oihan Sancet and Dani Vivian. The debut in the League against FC Barcelona, current champion of the competition, resulted in a 1-0 victory for the rojiblanco team after Aritz Aduriz, who had announced his retirement at the end of the season a week before, sent the ball into the back of the net in the 89th minute with an acrobatic shot from a Chilean kick; this was also the last goal that Zorro scored in his sports career.

Although the start of the League was promising, reaching the top of the First Division on matchday five, the team gradually deflated and lost many points away from home, especially with a bad run of results in the middle of the season, in which only one victory was achieved between December and January. In the final stretch of the season the team had options to fight for a place in the Europa League, but the poor results in key matches ruined any possibility, and they finally concluded the league in eleventh position with 51 points. He did get good results in the Cup, where after eliminating FC Barcelona in the quarterfinals —with a tight header from Iñaki Williams at the last minute— and Granada CF in the semifinals —thanks to a decisive goal from Yuri—, he agreed to their 38th final of the tournament against their eternal rival, Real Sociedad. It was the first time that there had been a final between Basque clubs since 1927, when Real Unión and Arenas de Getxo met. The Basque derby between zurigorris and txuri-urdines, unprecedented in the history of finals, served to settle a champion not seen since both won their last title in the 1980s. A month before the aforementioned final, the competitions were canceled by UEFA, the RFEF and La Liga, due to an outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2, a global viral pandemic that reached Europe from Asia. As different countries on the continent registered cases of infection and deaths, sports organizations began to take preventive measures and several of the scheduled matches were played behind closed doors (without an audience), or canceled, to stop their progress, but the concern and infections did not stop, and there were cases in soccer players and directors of various clubs. As a result, the final was postponed pending further developments.

The Athletic won its third Spanish Super Cup in 2021 after defeating F. C. Barcelona for 3-2.

In the 2020-21 season, the team stagnated almost from the beginning, and Garitano began to receive strong criticism from the fans, who called for his dismissal. Despite this, the board of directors was firm and continued to bet on him until, at the end of December, after a defeat against Real Sociedad in San Mamés, the president Aitor Elizegi dismissed the coach and put Marcelino García Toral in his place.. With the change of coach, the team improved remarkably and on January 17, 2021, they won their third Spanish Super Cup; the rjiblancos eliminated Real Madrid (2-1) in the semifinal and then faced FC Barcelona in the final, in a match that was decided in extra time with a goal from Iñaki Williams that put the score at 3-2 in favor of Athletic. In that game Leo Messi saw the first and only red card of his career in the Barça first team, for having hit Asier Villalibre in the last minute of extra time. During the campaign the rojiblancos managed to reach for the second time in a row the final of the Copa del Rey, which again played against the Catalan team. Both the final postponed the previous year and the one from 2021 were played in April. Athletic lost both, first against the Gipuzkoan team (1-0) and then against the Catalan team (4-0), which meant the seventh cup final that Athletic had lost consecutively since 1985, a fact that had never happened before. in the history of the competition. In the league the team went unnoticed and closed the season in tenth position with 46 points collected. In the following 2021-22 campaign, the people from Bilbao were fighting for a place in the recently created UEFA Conference League until the last day, but finally it was Villarreal C. F. who kept the European place and the rojiblancos finished the league eighth with 55 points, considerably improving previous records. In the Cup, Athletic eliminated F. C. Barcelona in the round of 16 and Real Madrid in the quarterfinals, both games played in San Mamés, but they were unable to overcome the semifinal against Valencia C. F.. At the end of the season, new elections were called for the club presidency and coach Marcelino announced that he would not continue at Athletic.

Symbols

Hymn and popular songs

The first song adopted as the (unofficial) anthem of Athletic Club was "Alirón". Originally it was a couplet composed in 1913 by Aquino and Retana. The cupletista Teresita Zazá brought it to Bilbao and the Athletic fans changed the chorus to: "Alirón, alirón, Athletic champion."

In Spain, the song of the "food" triumphs.

And there's no sportsman who doesn't know this song.
And the proud girls today give her their heart

to any of the eleven champion Athletic.

In the 1950s another song became popular, the work of Timoteo Urrengoechea (music) and Goyo Nadal (lyrics) and performed by Los Cinco Bilbaínos, whose chorus read:

Athletic, Athletic Traditional Clean Club:

No one but you're wearing better cloak.
Of football you are law; they call you the lion.

And the king of Spanish football.

In 1982 Carmelo Bernaola was commissioned by the club to compose a new hymn. Bernaola, a well-known Athletic fan, based himself on the chorus of "Alirón" and on a parade by maestro Feliciano Beobide from 1928 entitled "Altza gaztiak. Anthem of the mendigoizales dedicated to Athletic Club». Bernaola introduced musical arrangements that include two typical instruments of Basque folklore: the txistu and the tamboril. He also proposed Juan Antonio Zubikarai as a lyricist. In the new lyrics, written in Basque, specifically in its Biscayan dialect, mentions of Spain are suppressed and Euskal Herria and the Guernica tree are cited. The phrase that gives the title to Beobide's work remains: Altza gaztiak (up young people). The chorus says:

The hymn was recorded in 1983 and was performed by the choirs of the Bilbao Association of Friends of the Opera (ABAO) and the Bilbao Municipal Band. It sounded for the first time at the San Mamés stadium on March 30, 1983, prior to a match corresponding to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey against FC Barcelona. In 1998 and on the occasion of the centenary, the newspaper El Correo he published a CD that contained three songs; the first, a new and perfected version of the Athletic anthem, which although it did not change the original too much, improved the music and sound quality. The second, a bilbainada titled Athletic txapeldun, composed by Jesús María Sanz Iparraguirre and sung by Los Txikis. And the third, a rock version of the anthem, played by the group M.C.D. (extracted from his album "Inoxidable" and recorded live at the Bilborock venue in Bilbao). In 2004, the Athletic Club Fundazioa Foundation released an album entitled "Athletic Bihotzez", which consisted of a CD with 13 songs, a book and a DVD with the making off of the album. The songs were composed by the Bilbao musician Kepa Junkera and the lyrics were written, among others, by Francis Díez, from Doctor Deseo, Xabier Amuriza, Tontxu Ipiña, Kirmen Uribe and Mikel Bizar. With a folk sound, most of the songs were recorded in Basque, the album consists of the following songs: Harrobiaz arro, Orroak, Chulos hasta pa&# 39; lose, Mila kilometrotara atzetik, Hegoak eta iparra, Oinak egite, Mundu denak, Estropadak, Blanc zuri branco, Amets zurigarriak, Dzuaru, Herriaren zati, Aurrera aurrera Athletic. In August 2011, the Bilbao group Blues 'N' Breakers released the song We Are The Lions, a British folk-style song, intended to be sung in San Mamés against European rivals.

Shield

The Athletic shield incorporates the Bilbao and Vizcaya coats of arms. From the coat of arms of the town, take the bridge and church of San Antón, and the wolves of the Haro family, lords of Vizcaya and founders of Bilbao in the year 1300. From the coat of arms of Vizcaya take the tree of Guernica and the Cross of San Andrés. Its first documentary evidence dates from 1922.

Throughout its history, the club's crest has evolved and changed its shape. Thus, the first official shield of which there is evidence was a ball with the club's colors on which were the initials "A" and "C" intertwined, which came to be stylized by a kind of blue belt or float around the initials with a more modern and legible typography, always interposed one on top of the other. The third shield dates from 1910, which is a red and white flag due to the new corporate colors with a white box in the upper left part, in which the initials of the club can be read. The fourth, dated 1913, also consisted of a red and white flag, but in this case, surrounding a squad. The first version of the current shield, dates from 1922, it was still a very simple version that changed its shape over the years until it formed three different versions. Finally, in 1941 the definitive version of the current shield was created, which was perfected in 1972, giving it colors and recovering the original name of the club.

First self shield with the initials intertwined (1901-02). Styling of the shield and chromatic adjustment (1902-10). The initials pass to a flag with the new colors (1910-13). A ball is added to which it embraces the most defined flag (1913-22). The signs of city and club are collected on a shield (1922).

Clothing

Instantly with the first whiteiazul barracks (1904).

Season of the year of the adoption of the reddish t-shirt (1910).

During its first years of history, Athletic Club wore a kit with a white jersey, white shorts and black socks. Already in the 1902-03 season, coinciding with the first official celebration of the Copa del Rey, the founders of the club decided, in a meeting at the Café García, to replace said kit with a more elegant and representative one. This new kit was the same one worn by the English club Blackburn Rovers Football Club, since Juan Moser, who was of Irish descent and a member of the club, donated a batch of uniforms brought from England. The kit consisted of a shirt with two stripes, one dark blue and the other white with the embroidered emblem of the Bilbao Consulate (a commercial and maritime institution that preceded the current Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation); dark blue breeches and dark blue stockings trimmed with a white stripe across the top.

In 1910, the Athletic Club board of directors, led by President Alberto Zarraoa, commissioned Juan Elorduy (who was also a mining engineering student) from Bilbao to take advantage of his Christmas vacation to England to bring fifty blue and white shirts like the ones they already used in some specialized sportswear store to distribute them between the Biscayne team and its Madrid branch. However, Elorduy left the order for the last day and it is not known exactly, but either it turned out that the shirts were sold out or they did not have a sufficient number of copies. Once in Southampton, the port city where he was going to catch the ferry back to Bilbao, and in order not to return empty-handed, he bought the shirts of the local team, the Southampton Football Club, which he casually wore a red and white striped shirt, the colors of the maritime flag of the port of the city. So, even at the risk of not being liked, he bought fifty red and white shirts.

This uniform was definitively adopted on November 13, 1910. In addition, the change in uniform also meant that the club modified its hitherto blue and white shield accordingly. In 1913, Athletic began to permanently use black pants. During the following decades the kit did not undergo major changes, apart from small modernizations to adapt it to the new times.

In the 1948-49 season, Athletic changed its classic black socks for red and white ones, which they changed again in the 1974-75 season for black, but this time with a red and white decoration on the upper part. The kit has remained that way ever since.

The American brand New Balance has been in charge of dressing the team since 2017, having signed a contract for the next six seasons, while its sponsor has been the Biscayan refinery Petronor since 2008, the first commercial advertisement in its 110-year history in the red and white shirt. Previously, it carried institutional advertising for "Euskadi" in the 2004-05 UEFA Cup and "Bizkaia" on the shirts of the women's team and the lower categories.

The home kit consists of a red and white striped shirt, black shorts and black socks. The number of stripes and their thickness have varied over the years; normally the shirt has consisted of 4 to 5 red stripes of medium thickness, reflected on a white background. Occasionally, three thick stripes have also been used. The goalkeeper's starting kit, although variable, has traditionally been black. Other colors such as green and blue are also often used. As alternative colors, gray, red, and rarely maroon and orange have been used occasionally. The most famous goalkeeper kit that is remembered was the one worn by Iribar in the 1960s and 1970s, which consisted of a black shirt, black shorts and red and white socks.

As for the second kit, it has traditionally consisted of a blue Bilbao shirt, with pants and socks of the same color. Another widely used option has been a two-tone shirt (blue and white) that commemorated the first kit in the club's history. Alternatively, other colors have been used for the second and third kits, the most repeated being white and black, although there have been cases of other rarer colors, such as gray for the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons., the light blue of the 2004/05 season or the green of the 2011-12, 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2019-20 seasons.

In addition, the shirts include the emblems of the competitions that take place. In the league competition, it wears the logo of the Professional Football League on the right sleeve. For European competition, it wears its logo on the right sleeve. The women's team wears the logo of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, organizer of the league competition, on the right sleeve.

First

(See evolution)

Actual

Infrastructure

Stadium

Athletic plays its matches in San Mamés, this stadium was inaugurated on September 16, 2013 and has a capacity of 53,289 locations. It was designed by the Bilbao architect César Azcárate, and located a few meters from where the old San Mamés was located. It was recognized in 2017 with the "Venue of the Year" award, which represents the category of best soccer sports facility, for the World Football Summit. Like the previous one, it takes its name from the neighboring San Mamés asylum, to which the land on which the old stadium was later built belonged. From this name comes the nickname “Los leones de San Mamés”, or simply “Los leones”, with which Athletic players are known, since they According to Christian mythology, Saint Mamés (San Mamés) was a Christian martyr thrown to the lions by the Romans:

The legend of San Mamés;

According to the legend, Mamés (“the one who was breast-feeding”) was born in a modest family. Some historians date their birth in 259 and their martyrdom in 275.

Son of Theodoto and Rufina, Saint Mamés was born in prison as his parents were imprisoned for being Christians. Shortly after his birth the father and the mother died, both being raised to the altars. Since then, Mamés was raised by a rich widow named Ammia, also holy, who died when Mamés was fifteen years old leaving the young heir to his estate.

The governor of Cesarea of Cappadocia (Asia Menor, current Turkey) subjected St.Mames to torments, without getting him to abjure his faith. Then he sent him to the Aurelian emperor who ordered to subject him to new torture. Legend has it that an angel freed him and sent him to take refuge in a mountain near Caesarea.

Apparently, San Mamés managed to amass the lions he had been handed over to in the circus and, in front of this portento, they decided to end his life by nailing a trident in the abdomen. Although bleeding, the young Mamés managed to reach the cave near the theater, where he died invited to heaven by the angels.

The stadium has been selected to host the finals of the European Champions Cup and Rugby European Challenge Cup in 2018.

The venue is owned by San Mames Barría S.L., made up of five partners, including Athletic Club (23.58%), the Basque Government (23.58%), Kutxabank (23.58%) the Provincial Council of Vizcaya (23.58%) and the Bilbao City Council (5.68%), thus existing a majority of public capital, although Athletic has rights to its use, having to share it for other municipal uses as will be said, or other sporting events outside Athletic Club. As for its facilities, the stadium has a sports innovation center and a sports medicine center, an underground athletics track and a municipal sports center with a swimming pool, gym, fitness, spa, etc. In addition to a restaurant and the club's museum.

Panoramic San Mamés.

Sports facilities

Ibaigane Palace.

The facilities of Lezama (Vizcaya), located in the municipality of the same name, are the sports complex where all the Athletic categories train, and were inaugurated in 1971. The facilities are made up of 8 soccer fields, a residence for players, a medical center, a gym, a covered pavilion, a pediment and a press room. Field No. 1, where the women's team and Bilbao Athletic play their matches, has two grandstands with a capacity for 2,000 spectators in total, and is decorated with the arch of the old San Mamés. Fields 1, 2, 3 and 5 are natural grass, while fields 4, 6, 7 and 8 have artificial turf. In addition, the latter is dedicated exclusively to the practice of soccer 7.

Headquarters

Formerly, the club's headquarters were located in different places in the city of Bilbao, but since August 22, 1988, it has been located in the Ibaigane Palace.

Club details

For statistical details of the club see Athletic Club Statistics

Institutional information

• Full name: Athletic Club
• Year of foundation: 1898
• Year of foundation (legal): 1901
• Social Headquarters: Ibaigane Palace
• Address: Alameda Mazarredo 23, Bilbao
• Number of partners: 43 425 (as at 30 June 2021)
• Official Peñas: 473
• Budget: 116 332 445,56 € (2020-21).
• Television income: 72 800 000 € (2019-2020).
• Average attendance in League: 40 980 fans (temporary 2019-20).

Honours of Prizes

National competition (35 titles)	Titles	Subcamponatos
First Division of Spain (8)	1929-30, 1930-31, 1933-34, 1935-36, 1942-43, 1955-56, 1982-83, 1983-84.	1931-32, 1932-33, 1940-41, 1946-47, 1951-52, 1969-70, 1997-98. (7)
Spanish Cup (23)	1903, 1904, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1921, 1923, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1943, 1944, 1944-45, 1949-50, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1969, 1972-73, 1983-84.	1905, 1906, 1913, 1920, 1942, 1948-49, 1952-53, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1976-77, 1984-85, 2008-09, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2019-20, 2020-21. (16)
Supercopa de España (3)	1984, 2015, 2021.	1983, 2009, 2022. (3)
Eva Duarte Cup (1)	1949-50.

International competition (0 titles)	Titles	Subcamponatos
UEFA European League (0)		1976-77, 2011-12. (2)
Latin Cup (0)		1956. (1)

** It was runner-up in an Iberian Cup in 1983 that is not included in the list as it is not an official competition, being organized by the clubs involved although They will have the support of the national federation.

Regional competition (18 titles)	Titles	Subcamponatos
Northern Regional Championship (5)	1913-14, 1914-15, 1915-16, 1919-20, 1920-21. (Récord)	1916-17. (1)
Vizcaya Regional Championship (12)	1922-23, 1923-24, 1925-26, 1927-28, 1928-29, 1930-31, 1931-32, 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1938-39, 1939-40. (Récord)	1924-25, 1926-27, 1929-30. (3)
Basque Cup (1)	1934-35.

Since 2015, and in keeping with the old and renowned Monchín Triana trophy, the club awards the One Club Man Award to those footballers who have developed their entire sports career in the same club, proving their fidelity and commitment by identifying with the values of the entity they represent, making them their own and defending them at all times. They are some of the most recognizable characteristics of the club's idiosyncrasy. Since then, Matt Le Tissier, Paolo Maldini, Sepp Maier, Carles Puyol, Billy McNeill, Ryan Giggs have been recognized. In addition, it was decided to create a female category in 2019, with Malin Moström being the first winner.

Trajectory

For more details, see Athletic Club Trayectoria and Athletic Club Statistics

The club is one of the only three that has always played in the Primera División —the highest club competition in Spain— since it was founded in the 1928-29 season, making a total of ninety-one appearances. It occupies fifth place in the classification among the sixty-three historical participants in addition to being the fourth most successful with eight titles. His worst performance was recorded in the 2006-07 season when he finished in seventeenth place, one point behind the descent. br/>As for the international scene, the club was one of the clubs that participated in the second edition of the European Cup —now the Champions League (in. Champions League) and the most prestigious competition of clubs in Europe—, having played it a total of five seasons. His best participation after reaching the quarterfinals was his debut, for an overall 115th place among its 530 historical participants. Two runners-up in the Europa League —formerly the UEFA Cup— are his best results in Europe (1977 and 2012).

In the rest of the official competitions, its one hundred and eleven appearances in the Copa del Rey stand out, the second most important competition in Spain, out of one hundred and eighteen possible— to be the club that has played it the most times, and where it reaped its greatest successes and recognitions for which he was recognized for decades as the "king of cups" - In total he has won 35 championship titles as one of the great and historic Spanish football.

Note: In bold active competitions.

Evolution

Note: the 1936-37, 1937-38 and 1938-39 seasons were not contested due to the Civil War.

Statistics

Best positions

• Position in the historic classification of the First Division: 5.o
• Seasons in First Division: 90 (all)
• Best place in the League: 1.o (8 times)
• Worse placed in the League: 17.o (2006-07)
• Total participations in European competitions: 32 (including Fairs, Recopa and Intertoto).
• Participation in the UEFA Champions League (5): 1956-57, 1983-84, 1984-85, 1998-99, 2014-15.
• Best place in the UEFA Champions League: quarter finals (1956-57).
• Participation in the UEFA European League (18): 1971-72, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1978-79, 1982-83, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1988-89, 1994-95, 1997-98, 2004-05, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18.
• Best place in the UEFA European League: subfield (1976-77, 2011-12).

Player records

• Maximum club history scorer: Telmo Zarra, 335 goals (251 in League, 84 in national cups).
• Player with more matches in the history of the club: José Ángel Iribar, 614 matches (466 in Liga, 93 in Copa, 55 in European competitions).
• Player with more titles won with the club: Gregorio Blasco (16 titles).
• Player with more national titles won with the club: Piru Gaínza (10 titles).
• Youngest player in debut (national/international commission): Iker Muniain (debuted on 30 July 2009, at 16, 7 months and 11 days, against the Young Boys).
• Youngest debuter (regional commissioner): Domingo Gómez-Acedo (debuted on October 18, 1914, at 16, 4 months and 12 days, against Arin Sport).
• Senior Player: Armando Ribeiro (retired on 15 May 2010, at 39 and 119 days).
• Youngest scorer: Iker Muniain (marked goal on August 6, 2009 at 16, 7 months and 18 days, against the Young Boys).
• Youngest scorer in a final: Domingo Gómez-Acedo (marked on 7 May 1916, at 17 years and 335 days against Real Madrid).
• Oldest hitter: Aritz Aduriz (marked on August 16, 2019 at 38 years and 186 days).
• Most expensive tab of the story: Iñigo Martínez (built for €20,000 in 2018 to the Royal Society).
• Sale more face of history: Kepa Arrizabalaga (translated by €80 000 in 2018 to Chelsea F. C.).

Goal records

• Increased number of goals in a League season: 88 goals in 30 matches (1950-51).
• Greatest goal in League as a local: Athletic 12 - F. C. Barcelona 1 (1930-31).
• Greatest goal in League as a visitor: C.A. Osasuna 1 - Athletic 8 (1958-59).
• Greatest goleada in the King's Cup: Athletic 12 - R. C. Vigo Celt 1 (1946-47).
• Greatest goal in European competitions: Standard Liège 1 - Athletic 7 (2004-05).

Best and worst streaks in the League:

• Major streak of undefeated parties: 20 (from 10 June 1929 to 30 March 1930).
• Greater streak of consecutive victories: 7 (from 1 December 1946 to 2 February 1947).
• Major streak of defeats: 6 (from 26 March 1961 to 10 September 1961).
• Greatest streak without victories: 13 (from August 23, 2018 to December 3, 2018).

Sports organization chart

For a complete detail of the current season, see Season 2022-23 of the Athletic Club

Players

Pichichi's bust in San Mamés.

Since it was founded in 1898, more than 600 players have worn the Athletic shirt; almost entirely Basque. The one who played the most games with the club was José Ángel Iribar, with 614 in 18 seasons, while the one who scored the most goals was Telmo Zarra, reaching the figure of 335 goals in 354 games with the club.

Athletic is the club that has contributed the third most players to the Spanish team throughout its history, with a total of 101 internationals. The club's first charismatic player was Rafael Moreno Aranzadi; Better known by the nickname “Pichichi” , he was one of the first goalscorers in Spanish soccer. He won the Spanish Soccer Championship four times with Athletic (in addition to other regional titles), and won the silver medal at the Antwerp Olympic Games with the Spanish team. He died of typhus at the age of 29 and Athletic had a bust built in his honor: today it is a tradition that every team that sets foot in San Mamés for the first time places a bouquet of flowers on Pichichi's bust, in honor of the player. The sports newspaper Marca also created, in 1954, the Pichichi Trophy, to reward the top scorer in the Spanish league each season.

From the 1930s, players such as goalkeeper Gregorio Blasco (three-time winner of the Zamora Trophy) or the components of Athletic's “first historical forward”, made up of Lafuente, Iraragorri, Bata (winner of the Pichichi Trophy in 1930-31), Chirri II and Gorostiza (winner of the Pichichi Trophy in 1929-30 and 1931-32). All of them winners of four leagues and four cups with Athletic (Gorostiza also won two Leagues and one Cup with Valencia C.F.). In the two decades that followed, the club's “historical second forward”, made up of Iriondo, Venancio, Zarra, Panizo and Gaínza, enjoyed great success. This squad was the winner of one league and five Cup championships. It is also worth mentioning the goalkeeper Raimundo Pérez Lezama, winner of the Zamora Trophy in 1946-47 and who spent sixteen seasons at the club. In the 1960s and 1970s, the figure of José Ángel Iribar stood out greatly. He won a European Championship with the Spanish team and two Cups with Athletic, with whom he also won the Zamora Trophy (1969-70), in addition to playing in a UEFA Cup final Other notable players from that time at Athletic, were; Eneko Arieta (third top scorer in the club's history, without counting goals in the Regional Championship), Fidel Uriarte, Txetxu Rojo, Ángel María Villar and Javier Irureta.

In the 1980s, the name of Andoni Zubizarreta stood out, winner of two Leagues and one Cup with Athletic before being transferred to FC Barcelona, and who would later become the player who played the most games with the Spanish team. Other players also stood out at that time, such as the defender Andoni Goikoetxea, the winger Estanislao Argote or the forwards Dani Ruiz-Bazán and Manu Sarabia. The most charismatic player of the 1990s was Julen Guerrero. Nicknamed "the Pearl", he became a symbol for most of the fans, due, apart from his talent, to his decision to reject offers from big European clubs, including a blank check that A. C. Milan offered him to stay at the club. However, after the 1990s ended, when he was still only 26 years old, he stopped appearing in the starting lineups to the surprise of many. Other outstanding players of the time were Joseba Etxeberria and Ismael Urzaiz. In 2010, the players Fernando Llorente and Javi Martínez, the first coming from the quarry, were proclaimed champions of the Soccer World Cup with the Spanish soccer team and later champions of Euro 2012.

Note: amateur matches (such as regional tournaments) are not counted. In bold active players.

Squad 2022-23

Players	Technical body		More used tactical scheme
N.o Nac. Pass. Pos. Name Age Eq. provenance Cont. INT. Porteros 1 Spain! 0BY One Simon 25 years quarry 2025 Absolute 13 Spain! 0BY Julen Agirrezabala 22 years quarry 2025 Sub-21 35 Spain! 0BY Ander Iru 24 years quarry 2023 Defense 3 Spain! 1DEF Dani Vivian 23 years quarry 2026 4 Spain! 1DEF Iñigo Martínez 31 years Real Society 2023 Absolute 5 Spain! 1DEF Yeray Álvarez 28 years quarry 2026 Sub-21 15 Spain! 1DEF Iñigo Lekue 29 years quarry 2023 17 Spain! 1DEF Yuri Berchiche 33 years Paris Saint-Germain F. C. 2024 Sub-17 18 Spain! 1DEF Óscar de Marcos 33 years Deportivo Alavés 2023 Sub-21 21 Spain! 1DEF Ander Capa 31 years S. D. Eibar 2024 24 Spain! 1DEF Mikel Balenziaga 34 years Real Valladolid C. F. 2023 Sub-21 31 Spain! 1DEF Aitor Paredes 22 years quarry 2025 Campers 6 Spain! 2MED Mikel Vesga 29 years quarry 2024 8 Spain! 2MED Oihan Sancet 22 years quarry 2024 Sub-21 10 Spain! 2MED Iker Muniain 30 years quarry 2024 Absolute 14 Spain! 2MED Dani García 32 years S. D. Eibar 2024 16 Spain! 2MED Unai Vencedor 22 years quarry 2027 Sub-21 19 Spain! 2MED Oier Zarraga 24 years quarry 2023 23 Spain! 2MED Ander Herrera 33 years Paris Saint-Germain 2024 Absolute Delanteros 2 Spain! 3OF THE Jon Morcillo 24 years quarry 2024 7 Spain! 3OF THE Alex Berenguer 27 years Torino F. C. 2024 9 Spain! 3OF THE Iñaki Williams 28 years quarry 2028 Absolute 11 Spain! 3OF THE Nico Williams Jr. 20 years quarry 2024 Absolute 12 Spain! 3OF THE Gorka Guruzeta 26 years S. D. Amorebieta 2024 22 Spain! 3OF THE Raúl García 36 years Atletico de Madrid 2023 Absolute 29 Spain! 3OF THE Malcom Adu Ares 21 years quarry 2025	Coach(s) Ernesto Valverde Deputy(s) Jon Iñaki Aspiazu Physical Preparer(s) José Antonio Pozanco Coach(s) of porters Aitor Iru Delegate(s) Sendoa Agirre Physical therapist(s) Readapt: Alvaro Campa Jesus María López Isusko Ortuzar Other members Technical: Alberto Iglesias Chief Medical Service: Josean Lekue Nurse: Juanma Ipiña, Alvaro Campa Pologue: Jorge Guisasola Charges of material: Jon Escalza, Iker López, Josu Arambarri Legend Captain Mission quarry (club-trained) Training (association-trained) European passport Aliens Extracommunity without restriction Lost to the club Granted to another club Discarded / No chip Updated on 14 July 2022 Official web template		4-2-3-1 ESP! BY 1 DEF 18 DEF 5 DEF 4 DEF 17 MED 23 OF THE 12 MED 6 MED 9 MED 11 MED 8 Incorporation 2022-23 Gorka Guruzeta ( S.D. Amorebieta) Ander Herrera ( Paris Saint-Germain) Filials with participation Malcom Adu Ares (Debut on 15-08-2022) Aitor Paredes (Debut 29-08-2022)

• Players with dorsals above 25 are, for all purposes, players from Bilbao Athletic, and as such, will be able to match matches with the first and second team. As required by the LFP regulations, the players of the first template will have to carry the dorsals from 1 to 25.

Ups and downs 2022-23

Costs for tiles: €0

Altas
Player	Position	Proceedings	Type	Cost
Gorka Guruzeta	Delantero	S.D. Amorebieta	Free
Jon Morcillo	Camper center	Real Valladolid	End of assignment
Julen Agirrezabala	Porter	quarry	Promotion of the subsidiary
Ander Herrera	Camper center	Paris Saint-Germain	Lost

Sales income: 0 €

Low
Player	Position	Destination	Type	Cost
Jokin Ezkieta	Porter	Racing of Santander	Contract termination
Iñigo Córdoba	Delantero	Fortuna Sittard	Contract termination
Iñigo Vicente	Delantero	Racing of Santander	Contract termination
Imanol García de Albéniz	Defence	S.D. Eibar	Cession
Unai Nuñez	Defence	Vigo Celt	Cession
Alex Petxarroman	Defence	F.C. Andorra	Cession
Nico Serrano	Delantero	C.D. Mirandés	Cession
Peru Nolaskoain	Camper center	S.D. Eibar	Cession
Asier Villalibre	Delantero	Deportivo Alavés	Cession

Technical staff

Frederick Pentland in his football season.

At the beginning of the 20th century, football in Vizcaya was a relatively new sport, so there were still no experts in the field. For this reason, the Bilbao club decided that it was best to hire professional coaches from England, who at that time were the ones who knew the sport best. Thus, in 1910 they hired the English Shepperd, who left just a month and a half later due to what, in his opinion, was a "chaos of players". It was not until 1914 when the second coach, William Barnes, arrived, who was in charge of training an Athletic that had already been champion that same year and was living the first golden years of its history. The Englishman arrived in Bilbao loaded with good intentions and with the intention of imposing a bit of seriousness in training. Under his tutelage, Athletic won the Copa del Rey and the Northern Regional Championship for the second and third consecutive year in 1915 and 1916. Between 1917 and 1920 the club —which was going through a bad financial moment— left the bench empty, until in In 1920 they hired William Barnes again, with whom they again won the Copa del Rey in 1921.

The following year Frederick Pentland ended up on the bench, who already left good impressions during his time at Racing de Santander. The Anglo-Saxon coach was a regular at watching matches between the Vizcaya clubs in search of talents that could be used by Athletic. With a renewed team, he won the Cup title in 1923 and the Vizcaya Regional Championship in 1923 and 1924. A year later he finished his first stage in Bilbao. After several seasons without national success for the club, Pentland returned in 1929 and designed the team that during the 1930s won four league and four cup championships, making it the most successful in the history of Athletic. At the end of the 1932-33 season, the Briton terminated his career at the club, because the board of directors failed to reach an agreement to renew his contract. Many years later, on December 8, 1959, the club decided to award him the gold and diamond badge in recognition of his long career and the achievements made during his stay in Bilbao; That act included a tribute match in which Athletic and Chelsea F.C. faced each other in San Mamés.

Javier Clemente was the last coach to win the League and the Cup with the Athletic.

After the Spanish Civil War, in 1940, Juan Urkizu from Biscay ended up on the Athletic bench, who had the difficult task of rebuilding a team that had dissolved years before because of the war. Like Pentland, Urkizu toured the Vizcaya fields in search of young talents for the new Athletic. He not only achieved it, but also managed to form one of the best forwards in the history of Athletic, the so-called “historical second forward” , made up of Iriondo, Venancio, Zarra, Panizo and Gaínza. In the eight years that he led Athletic, he won a league championship and three cups.Another of the relevant coaches in the club's history was Ferdinand Daučík, who had just played a great role with FC Barcelona. The Czechoslovak arrived in the 1954-55 season with the mission of rejuvenating the team and modernizing its style of play. He dissolved the already veteran “historical second forward” and managed to put together a young team that soon became champions. He won the League and Cup double in the 1955-56 season and led the team to the quarterfinals of the European Cup.

Ernesto Valverde is the most matched coach to the Athletic.

In 1969 Athletic hired the English coach Ronnie Allen, with whom they intended to carry out an ambitious project. However, during his stay in Bilbao the results went from more to less and he was dismissed in November 1971. In 1976, former Athletic player Koldo Aguirre took over the bench, who led the team to play in the Cup finals. of UEFA and the Copa del Rey in the 1976-77 season, in addition to reaching third place in the League. Already in the eighties he joined the Javier Clemente club. The man from Baracaldés won the 1982-83 and 1983-84 Leagues, and the Copa del Rey and the 1984 Spanish Super Cup. Clemente finished his first spell at the Bilbao club in 1986 and later returned in the 1990-91 season to try to solve the difficult situation in which the team found itself, but it failed and he was dismissed in the middle of the season. His last stage took place in the 2005-06 campaign, on that occasion the team was immersed in the fight for permanence, which it achieved on the penultimate day and left the team in 12th position. Despite this, he was dismissed due to disagreements with the president, Fernando Lamikiz.

The second half of the 1990s was marked by the arrival of Luis Fernández, with whom Athletic became runner-up in the League, in addition to qualifying for the Champions League, a feat that the club celebrated in style, and that was accentuated by the centenary celebration. In 2007, Joaquín Caparrós took over the controls of an Athletic in a period of crisis, which had been on the verge of relegation in previous seasons. The Sevillian coach restructured the team and gave it the stability it needed, as well as paying special attention to the youth academy and promoting several players who later had important weight in the squad. His greatest achievement was leading Athletic to play the final of the Copa del Rey in 2009, a fact that became highly relevant, since the club had not achieved it for 24 years. In 2012, with Argentine Marcelo Bielsa on the bench, the club reached the Europa League final for the second time in its history, something it had not achieved for 35 years, in addition to playing in the Cup final. Although in both cases it came out loser.

In 2015, Ernesto Valverde managed to end Athletic's long title drought, which after 31 years of waiting won the Spanish Super Cup, where they beat Leo Messi's FC Barcelona with a resounding win (5-1 in the global). He also led Athletic to play in the Champions League in the 2014-15 season, after 16 years without achieving it. He left the club in 2017 with the record for games managed (306) in six seasons.

Directive

The current Board of Directors is chaired by Jon Uriarte, whose candidacy won the elections held on June 24, 2022, succeeding the previous president, Aitor Elizegi. Jon Uriarte, Iñaki Arechabaleta and Ricardo Barkala participated in those elections. A total of 23,506 votes were counted, representing 56.36% participation of members with the right to vote. Jon Uriarte was the winner with 10,979 votes, while his rivals at the polls, Iñaki Arechabaleta and Ricardo Barkala, garnered 7,927 and 4,262 votes respectively. Likewise, 213 members voted blank, and the remaining 125 votes were considered invalid.

The Athletic Club Board of Directors is made up of the following directors:

• Chairman: Jon Uriarte.
• First Vice-President: Nerea Ortiz.
• Second Vice-Chairman: Jon Ruigómez.
• Secretary: Jon Salinas.
• Deputy Secretary: Xabier Álvarez.
• Treasurer: Guillermo Ruiz-Longarte.
• Vice-President: Adolfo Plaza.
• Vocals: Igor San Román, Josetxu Urrutia, Ibon Narberan, Egoitz Begoña, Ignacio Urigüen, Roque Echániz, Laura Ruiz de Azua, Ana Díez, Gorka Cubes, Ainhoa Iza, Goizalde Santamarina and Garazi Unibaso.

Idiosyncrasy

Sports Philosophy

Estatua de Diego López V de Haro, founder of the villa, engalanada con loscolors del Athletic.

As published by the club itself on its website:

Our sporting philosophy is governed by the principle that determines that players who have been made in the quarry and those trained in Euskal Herria clubs can play in their ranks, which encompasses the following territorial demarcations: Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba, Nafarroa, Lapurdi, Zuberoa and Nafarroa Behera, as well as, of course, the players and players.

Special consideration must be given to La Rioja, a land that, without currently and officially forming part of that area, has indeed been a historical component of it. There are already several players from La Rioja who have played in the club's first team, and even more those who have done so and continue to do so in lower categories. In its philosophy, the club has always been respectful of the current official status and that is why it does not explicitly include La Rioja within the scope of recruiting players on its website. But Athletic is aware of the ancient Basque historical and linguistic component of La Rioja that dates back to ancient Basque Calahorra; and this has its translation in the relevant presence of players from La Rioja, even if it is through somewhat convoluted paths.

This philosophy has no legal validity, so it does not go beyond being a tradition adopted by the club. Only the members of the entity are the ones who keep this idea in force, using their right to democratically elect the board of directors in charge of running the club. For this reason, no board has considered changing it without the approval of the social mass, since practically all the members defend this cause. On the other hand, Athletic's philosophy is not only characterized by playing only with players of land, but also and especially based on the fact of promoting youth work, in opposition to the policy of massive transfers carried out by many clubs in the world today, such as Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester City. Thus, for example, Athletic youth players had the highest percentage of minutes played (64%) of all the teams in the main European leagues between 2016 and 2017.

History and origin

In blue, Basque Country and Navarre, in yellow French Basque Country.

In the early years of the club's life, during the 1900s, Athletic was made up mostly of local players and those it recruited for its Copa del Rey matches from its Madrid branch, as well as English players residing in Bilbao, in the same way that it happened in most of the Spanish teams of the time. At Athletic, English players or players from other places in Spain occasionally lined up, who lived in Bilbao for work reasons. Many were from Bilbao, who participated in the social life of the town. The thing was not very different from what happened in other cities; thus, the first president of FC Barcelona was the Englishman Walter Wild and, in Madrid, the Frenchman Parages, became president of Real Madrid. For the 1909 championship, both Real Sociedad and Athletic brought the first English players. They were not professionals, because the rules in England did not allow them to play outside their country. The championship was won by Real Sociedad. For the 1910 championship the situation was repeated, but Athletic won, which had three Englishmen, while Real had three Englishmen, one Frenchman and two players from Madrid. For the 1911 championship held in Bilbao, Athletic once again brought English players, but Real Sociedad failed to do so. After the first game, protests arose over the alignment of these Athletic players. After long and bitter discussions, Athletic agreed to withdraw two of its Englishmen, leaving Martyn Veitch, who had already been champion with Athletic the previous year. The regulations stipulated that foreign players had to have been in the club's city for at least 6 months so that they could play for it. In spite of everything, the discussions were continuous throughout the championship and, in this way, Barcelona was challenged over the lineup of goalkeeper René.

To definitively settle the conflict, the FECF, organizer of the championship, established a new regulation in 1912 by which only Spanish players could participate, "considering as such those who are so according to the Constitution of the Spanish State." With this new regulation, the English surnames disappeared from the Athletic line-ups and the rest of the football clubs.

It was in that year when, according to the club, Athletic began to play exclusively with players from Biscay. Although there is no objective proof that this event was premeditated or the result of chance. Already in the 1950s, when the first foreign players began to arrive in La Liga, Athletic remained faithful to its tradition of playing exclusively with Biscayan players. An event that corroborates this fact was when the then Athletic coach, Ferdinand Daučík, witnessed a match between students from the University of Deusto and the Faculty of Economics; Among them was Miguel Jones, a talented player of Spanish nationality and of the black race whom Daučík tried to sign for Athletic, but the rojiblanco club rejected his signing because he was not originally from Vizcaya. The same thing happened with Eulogio Gárate, white and from Buenos Aires. Apparently, during the 1960s and 1970s this rule was transformed and the first players from outside Vizcaya began to be seen; such as Agustín Guisasola or José Ángel Iribar, both from Guipúzcoa. After this, other players like Javier Irureta, José Ignacio Churruca or José María Lasa, also from Gipuzkoa, arrived. By the mid-1970s it was already common to see non-Vizcayan players on the team.

By the 1980s, there was already a large presence of non-Vizcayan players at the club, such as Andoni Zubizarreta (Álava), Miguel Sola or Miguel de Andrés (Navarra), among others. In this decade, the first player from outside "Euskal Herría" trained in a Basque quarry also made his debut, in the case of Luis de la Fuente, a player originally from La Rioja who made his debut for Athletic in 1980, after training since he was 15 years old in Lezama. Since then, there have been players born outside "Euskal Herria" who, after training in the youth ranks of a Basque team, played in Athletic's first team; the case, for example, of Jose Mari, Aranzubia or Santi Ezquerro from La Rioja, those of Ernesto Valverde from Extremadura or Patxi Ferreira from Salamanca., although born in Angola, lived in Erandio. From the XXI century, the cases of homegrown players born in other countries. At the beginning of 2010, the number of Biscayan players in the first team dropped considerably. So much so, that March 2, 2011 went down in history as the day that Athletic's starting eleven did not present any Biscayan in its 113 years of history. On November 20, 2011, he debuted for the first time, in a official, the first black player in the club's history; Jonas Ramalho.

Controversy

The philosophy is not embodied in the club's statutes to avoid legal problems, so it may be subject to possible variations depending on the circumstances, or the preferences of the current board of directors. For this reason, there are different opinions about various players who have played for Athletic Club, especially in the last 25 years.

In 2007, for example, there was controversy over the signing of David López from La Rioja, although the club stated that he fell within the philosophy for having been trained in the youth ranks of a club in "Euskal Herria", in this case Osasuna. As a significant fact, UEFA considers that a player must spend at least 3 years in a club's youth system to be considered a youth player for the club. David López spent 4 years in the Osasuna youth system before making his debut in the first team. According to the press, Athletic considered the option of signing foreign players of Basque descent, in the case of Gonzalo Higuaín, Kepa Blanco and Jorge López, but ultimately no signing of this type was carried out. In 2010, the Uruguayan Diego Forlán acknowledged that when he was going to leave Manchester United in 2004, he wanted to sign for the rojiblanco club. In December 2010, the club's then president, Fernando García Macua, assured in an interview that the French Real Sociedad player, Antoine Griezmann, I did not enter philosophy because I did not belong to Iparralde, one of the places accepted by philosophy. For his part, a month later, Athletic's sports director, Javier Irureta, disagreed with his own president when he stated that Griezmann did fit into the philosophy because he was trained at a Basque club. Shortly after, with the arrival of Josu Urrutia at the presidency in 2011, Athletic settled the debate on the philosophy by making it public on the club's official website.

Lower Categories

Historically, Athletic's youth academy is considered one of the most important in Spanish football, having contributed names of great importance in the history of the Spanish First Division, such as coaches Javier Clemente, Koldo Agirre, Iñaki Sáez and Ernesto Valverde or the footballers, José Ramón Alexanko, the brothers Julio and Patxi Salinas, Rafael Alkorta, Genar Andrinua, Andoni Goikoetxea, Julen Guerrero, Fran Yeste, Aritz Aduriz, Andoni Iraola, or the world champion Fernando Llorente, among others.

Athletic annually invests a large sum of money (around 10 million euros) in promoting the work of its youth academy, hiring a multitude of coaches and specialists in the development of grassroots football. The catchment area for young soccer players expands throughout the Basque Country, Navarra, and the French Basque Country, where it has several residences and soccer schools.

In addition, the club occasionally carries out events in support of Bizkaian grassroots football; for example, he played a friendly match against Celtic F.C. in order to collect benefits to donate them to Biscayan football clubs, which had a convenience contract with the club itself.

Affiliates

Party between the Bilbao Athletic and the C. D. Leganés in the Municipal Stadium of Butarque.

The Bilbao Athletic and the Club Deportivo Basconia are the two subsidiary teams of the club, the first was founded in 1964 and plays in the RFEF First Division. On the other On the other hand, Basconia was founded as an independent club in 1913 and, since 1997, it has been the second subsidiary of the club. It is currently a member of Group IV of the Tercera División RFEF.

The name of Bilbao Athletic obeys the desire to honor one of the first two soccer teams that Bilbao had at the origin of soccer in Vizcaya. The history of Bilbao Athletic began long before its official foundation. In 1938, Spain was immersed in the civil war, the league had been suspended and Athletic, which had lost most of its players, was looking for a formula to be able to participate in the regional championship with an acceptable team. Considering that the available players were not guaranteed to face said tournament, Athletic decided to participate with a different name, in order not to dirty the image of the original. For this reason, it was decided to rescue the name of the disappeared Bilbao Football Club and, in this way, the name of Bilbao Athletic was used for the first time, although temporarily. It wasn't until 1964, when Athletic saw the need to create a subsidiary team where they could train their players. Thus, the club recovered the name of Bilbao Athletic and registered this team in the second regional division of Vizcaya, with former player Piru Gaínza as coach. The team was promoted the following year to the first regional division and Piru Gaínza was promoted to the first team, his position was held by another former player; Rafael Iriondo. In the 1965-66 season, the subsidiary was promoted to the Third Division of Spain, in which it remained for two seasons, until in 1968-69 it achieved promotion to the Second Division. A year later he would return to the third, a category that seven seasons later would become the Second Division B. In this category, Bilbao Athletic trains players to be incorporated into the first team, but also becomes a pool of coaches, such as Javier Clemente, Ernesto Valverde or Jose Luis Mendilibar.

In the 1982-83 season, Bilbao Athletic achieved promotion to the Second Division, with a team full of players who would later make the leap to the first team, such as Julio and Patxi Salinas, Genar Andrinua and Joseba Agirre. The following year, a Bilbao Athletic coached by José Ángel Iribar, achieved the best classification in its history, being runner-up in Second Division A; of which Julio Salinas was proclaimed Pichichi Trophy, having scored 20 goals. In later years the subsidiary remained in the second division (with the exception of the 1987-88 season, in which it was relegated to return the following year) contributing young promises to the first team such as Ander Garitano, Julen Guerrero, Aitor Larrazabal, Óscar Vales, etc.. Bilbao Athletic was relegated to Second Division B again in the 1995-96 season, and it was not until 2015-16 when they managed to return to the silver category, although a year later they were relegated again.

Bilbao Athletic has contributed many players to the first team who have subsequently established themselves in the First Division. Between 2015 and 2017 ten players were promoted to the first team: Iñaki Williams, Sabin Merino, Iñigo Lekue, Enric Saborit, Ager Aketxe, Mikel Vesga, Yeray Álvarez, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Unai Núñez and Iñigo Córdoba. Other notable cases are those of Aritz Aduriz, Mikel San José, Aymeric Laporte, Iker Muniain, Fernando Llorente or Fernando Amorebieta.

Academy

The Club has two federated teams in the youth category: Youth A, which participates in the Youth Honor Division and in the Copa del Rey Youth, and Youth B, which plays in the provincial competitions.

Other sports sections

Women's Soccer

The female team during the holding of a liguero title.

Athletic has a women's soccer team, which emerged from the union with Leioa EFT in 2002. It currently plays in the Spanish Women's First Division, where it has won five league titles, the last in the 2015-16 season, becoming the team in the category with the most awards.

Historical sections disappeared

Recent appearances of new chronicles from the beginning of the century refer to the fact that in 1903 the club had not only its main section, that of soccer, but also had one dedicated to cycling. Few other references are made about this discipline within the club, until new data was collected in the 1920s. At that time, the time of the first dictatorship in the country, it was still an activity that aroused concern and public disturbance, which is why other Societies began to collect their practice in their breasts, being the football clubs who saw it with the greatest enthusiasm.

Despite this and for financial reasons, the section ended up disappearing in the middle of that decade.

Social area and sociocultural dimension

Hobby

Athletic fans receive the team in front of Bilbao City Hall after losing the 2008-09 King Cup final.

Athletic has a social mass of 42,949 members and 475 official supporters clubs. A study carried out in 2017 places it as the fifth club with the most followers in Spain.

The Athletic fans, also known as the San Mames fans, are famous for the great atmosphere in their stadium. It is a tradition in Bilbao and Vizcaya that the cities and towns of the province are decked out in rojiblancos decorations to support the team in important matches; be it by hanging red-and-white flags on balconies and bars, decorating shop windows with red-and-white motifs, and other events organized by private entities. It is also very common for the fans to gather en masse to support the team before a match great significance, such as in the Europa League round of 16 against Manchester United (2012) or in the Copa del Rey semifinal against Sevilla F.C. (2009), among others, when a mass of thousands of fans waited for the exit from the hotel where the players were gathered to cheer on the team as they left by bus for the stadium.

In March 2012, Athletic achieved the record for being the club that has traveled the most fans abroad (except for the finals), when around 8,000 fans traveled to Manchester to witness the round of 16 match of the Europa League, which pitted Athletic against Manchester United. In 2015, around 70,000 fans flocked to Barcelona for the preview of the Cup final against FC Barcelona. Athletic Club fans have received innumerable praise from personalities from the world of football, such as the president of UEFA Aleksander Čeferin or former footballers of the stature of Maradona or Kempes, among others.

The Athletic fans received the award for the "best fans" of the 2010-11 season, from the newspaper Marca.

Reactions to terrorism

Athletic Club has made its position on ETA terrorism public on several occasions.

On December 30, 1985, Juan Pedro Guzmán, an industrialist and manager of Athletic, was kidnapped by ETA. The Real Sociedad and Athletic players issued a statement in which they denounced the kidnapping as an attack on Athletic and the Vizcaya sports environment, accusing the kidnappers of not having more to live on than “violence and extortion. The intolerance and dogmatism of a few». The kidnapping would have “broke into a new area of coexistence. Before now, work, the street, home... Now, the festive space of sport. Like wanting to put an end to all areas of meeting and coexistence of the men of this town. And we say: enough!". Guzmán was released by the police a few days later.

On March 9, 2008, Athletic Club agreed for the first time in its history to observe a minute of silence in memory of someone assassinated by ETA, the former PSE-EE councilor Isaías Carrasco, murdered two days earlier in Mondragón. The referee decided to interrupt it when only eight seconds had elapsed, because a part of the public, mainly the members of the ultra groups Herri Norte and Abertzale Sur, did not respect him. Until then, he had only observed minutes of silence to pay tribute to people especially related to the club, such as Javier Uría, then president, or Telmo Zarra, one of the emblematic players in the club's history. He also observed a minute of silence after the assassination of the leader of Herri Batasuna, Santiago Brouard, assassinated by the GAL in 1984.

Rivalries

Royal Society

Iribar and Kortabarria jump to the Atocha lawn by carrying the ikurriña on the Royal-Athletic derbi on December 5, 1976.

The classic Basque derby is the match played between Athletic Club and Real Sociedad. Both clubs have met 147 times in the league, with a favorable balance for the people of Bilbao of 59 wins, 37 draws and 51 losses, with 239 goals for and 199 against, until the 2020-21 season. Cup they have met 18 times, with 8 victories for Athletic, 6 draws and 5 defeats, passing the rojiblanco club in seven of the nine qualifiers. The first record of friction arose in the 1911 Cup, when Real Sociedad, backed by other clubs, denounced Athletic Club for fielding three English players in the match against Real Club Fortuna de Vigo, declaring that they were not wearing long enough residing in Spain. The complaint was rejected by the Federation and the San Sebastian team withdrew from the competition. The club decided not to line up Hesloop and Martins again, lining up only Martyn Veitch, who had been with the team for more than a year. The first league derby was played in a royalist fiefdom on February 10, 1929, coinciding with the first League history day. The match ended with a draw at one goal, Paco Bienzobas for Real and Luis Bergareche were the scorers. A year later, Athletic achieved what would be the biggest win in Real's field, defeating it by a resounding 1-7; Ignacio Alcorta Cholín was in charge of opening the scoring by making it 1-0, but Athletic with two hat-tricks from Guillermo Gorostiza and José Iraragorri, plus a goal from Victorio Unamuno, overwhelmed the San Sebastian team.

During the 1930s, 40s and 50s, Athletic Club beat Real Sociedad regularly, with Telmo Zarra being the leading scorer with 14 goals (he scored five goals in a 7-1 win in 1951). bulging occurred in the 1934-35 season; three goals from Agustín Sauto Bata, two from Hermenegildo Elices, and one from Ángel Careaga and José Mandaluniz completed a resounding 7-0 win for "los leones". Between 1958 and 1968 Athletic Club linked its best streak without losing (seven wins and six draws). Athletic's longest winning streak at home occurred between the 2001-02 and 2005-06 seasons, with the rojiblancos winning the derby on five consecutive occasions. As a visitor, Athletic linked a streak of five consecutive seasons winning between the 1934-35 and 1949-50 seasons. On the other hand, between the 1968-69 and 1981-82 seasons, Athletic was unable to avoid defeat as a visitor for 14 consecutive years. Also, between 1993 and 2001 the rojiblanco club went 15 games without winning. On April 29 In 1984, the Bilbao team achieved a victory (2-1) in the last day of the league, thanks to goals from Íñigo Liceranzu, which allowed them to obtain the league title.

At the end of the eighties and beginning of the nineties, the rivalry intensified due to several Athletic Club signings from the San Sebastian club such as Loren Juarros, David Billabona, Bittor Alkiza, Joseba Etxeberria or Andoni Imaz. In 2008, Athletic Club was sentenced to pay five million euros to Real Sociedad for the signing, in 2005, of Iban Zubiaurre. In recent years several Real Sociedad players signed termination clauses with a higher value for Athletic Club After not having paid for any Real Sociedad player since 1995, with the exception of the sentence for Zubiaurre, on January 30, 2018, Athletic Club paid the termination clause for Iñigo Martínez, one of the club's captains txuri-urdin.

Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona

Match between the Athletic Club and Real Madrid.

With Real Madrid and F. C. Barcelona, Athletic has competed for many League and Cup titles throughout its history. Athletic Club is the team that has achieved the most victories against F. C. Barcelona and Real Madrid in the history of Spanish football (78 against Catalans and 76 against Madrid), ahead of teams like Atlético de Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla, Espanyol or Real Sociedad. The matches against both teams are considered a classic of the Spanish league as they given since the creation of the competition, although, due to the great difference in level between these two clubs and the rest in recent times, they no longer have the impact of yesteryear. The last time Athletic played a title with one of these teams was in the final of the 2021 Spanish Super Cup, won by Athletic with a 3-2 result for the Basques. The matches between Real Madrid and Athletic have added interest due to the differences politics of the two af tions, which causes the matches between these two clubs to have a certain political background.

The clashes against Real Madrid are known as El Viejo Clásico in Spanish football, as it was the most repeated match until 2011. In the sporting section, Biscayans and Madrid have met in eight Copa del Rey finals, having won Athletic Club six times (1903, 1916, 1930, 1933, 1943 and 1958) and Real Madrid twice (1905 and 1906). Also, they have played 21 Cup qualifiers, the team having qualified ten times from Bilbao for eleven of the white team. Regarding the league competition, in four of the eight leagues that the Basque team has won (1934,1936,1983 and 1984), Real Madrid has been runner-up, while the Bilbao team has been runner-up behind Real Madrid on two occasions (1932 and 1933).

As for the rivalry against F. C. Barcelona, it is also known as a classic due to the numerous clashes throughout its history. The Catalan club and the Basque club have met in eight other Cup finals, Athletic Club having won twice (1932 and 1984) and FC Barcelona six times (1920, 1942, 1953, 2009, 2012 and 2015). Also, they have played 16 Cup qualifiers, the Basque team having qualified five times for the Catalan team eleven. In addition, Athletic Club has in its museum the 1902 Coronation Cup in which Club Bizcaya defeated the Barcelona club 2-1. Regarding the league competition, in two of the eight leagues that the Basque team has won (1930 and 1956), FC Barcelona has been runner-up, while the Bilbao team has been runner-up behind the Barcelona fans twice (1952 and 1998). In European competitions, the Basque club won 4-3 on aggregate in the 1976-77 UEFA Cup quarterfinal tie. Finally, in the Spanish Super Cup the Catalan club has won the 1983 editions and 2009, while in the 2015 and 2021 editions, Athletic Club won. The biggest wins at home against both teams were each 0-6.

C. A. Osasuna

Another of the teams with which Athletic maintains a great rivalry is C. A. Osasuna, a team with which it has had continuous friction in recent years. In June 1998, the Navarrese club was in a delicate financial situation, for which reason he reached an agreement with the rojiblanco club that would last four seasons. Osasuna would receive 200 million pesetas and, in exchange, Athletic could have a preferential right for a player each season and acquire it with a 30% discount on the price of its termination clause. Through this agreement Pablo Orbaiz and Tiko arrived. This agreement was canceled after two seasons by Osasuna, for which it had to return half of the money entered (600,000 euros). The Navarrese club came to break relations with Athletic, in 2005, due to the signings of the cadets Javier Eraso and Isma López, and since then the relationship between these two clubs has been tense. The Osasuna fans have chanted against Athletic during matches, shouting " They are not from Lezama, they are from Tajonar!", alluding to the Navarrese players who are or have been part of the Athletic first team, some of them with a past in Osasuna. So much so that, in 2003, one of these players, Tiko, refused to jump into the field of El Sadar (with 1-4 in favor) due to insults from the rojillos fans. In February 2011, the then president from Osasuna, Patxi Izco stated after the renewal of Nacho Monreal: "If a team comes, we will listen to the offer. If Athletic comes, let them pay the clause and that's it". against Osasuna it was special for him (since he is originally from Pamplona, the city of the Navarrese club) he replied: «I don't know why I have to be fond of Osasuna. They have never given me anything and they still do not give it to me", statements that did not sit well with the rojillos fans. Later, in March 2012, the two clubs found themselves involved in a new controversy, after a match in which Athletic players had to endure throwing objects by Navarrese fans, and even one of the players, Andoni Iraola, was hit by one of the objects, causing a small cut on his cheekbone. In addition, the Athletic president Josu Urrutia exploded at the end of the game by pointing out in an ironic tone "What a good ball boy you have in Pamplona!", alluding to the delay in returning the ball to the field with the aim of wasting time to benefit his team, to which a manager of the Navarrese club responded sarcastically «If you want, you can sign them for Athletic. They are of cadet age", alluding to previous signings of the rojiblanco club. In July 2017, the Navarrese club announced that it was breaking all relations or diplomacy with the Bilbao club after the payment of the termination clause of the contract of the youth soccer player Jesús Areso by the Basque club. A few days later, the transfer of Álex Berenguer to Torino included a clause in which, in the event of a future transfer to the rojiblanco club, the Navarrese club would receive financial compensation of 1'5 million euros. Three years later, Athletic signed Berenguer and Torino joined was forced to pay the aforementioned clause.

Annexes

Filmography

• Documentary TVE (16-2-1970), "Histores del balompié - Athletic Club" in rtve.es.
• Documentary ETB (1994), Athletic - Case unique in football history(part 2) on YouTube.
• Documentary TVE (1994) Season 93-94 on YouTube.
• Documentary TVE (1998) Season of centenary 97-98 on YouTube.
• Documentary ETB, (1998), "Athletic, a century of passion" on YouTube.
• Documentary ETB, (2009), "The King of Cups" on YouTube.
• Documentary ETB, (2010), Joseba Etxeberria: the last rooster song on YouTube.
• Documentary TVE (19-2-2013), « Vintage Connection - Athletic de Bilbao» in rtve.es.
• Documentary ETB (2013), The Spirit of San Mamés on YouTube.
• Documentary ETB (2013), A century and 90 minutes on YouTube.
• Documentary TVE (23-10-2014), Connection Vintage - Telmo Zarra, el gol en rtve.es.
• Documentary TVE (16-4-2015), Connection Vintage - Iribar en rtve.es.
• Documentary TVE (16-4-2015), Ochéntame Again - Those unforgettable leagues in rtve.es
• Documentary TVE (28-09-18): Connection Vintage - Clemente (part 1) in rtve.es.
• Docuemntal TVE (26-10-18): Connection Vintage - Clemente (part 2) in rtve.es.