Athletic Bilbao

Professional football clubhouse from Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain

football club
Athletic Club ( Basque : Bilboko Athletic Kluba ; spanish : Athletic Club de Bilbao ), normally known as Athletic Bilbao or good Athletic, is a professional football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country in Spain. They are known as Los Leones ( The Lions ) because their stadium was built near a church called San Mamés ( Saint Mammes ). Mammes was an early on christian hurl to the lions by the Romans. Mammes pacified the lions and was late made a ideal. The team plays its home matches at the San Mamés Stadium. Its home colours are bolshevik and white-striped shirts with blacken shorts.

Reading: Athletic Bilbao

athletic are the fourth most successful baseball club in La Liga with eight titles to their appoint. In the table of Copa del Rey titles, Athletic is second alone to Barcelona, having won it 23 times. [ note 1 ] It is besides the most successful Basque football cabaret in both league and cup titles won. The club besides has one of the most successful women ‘s teams in Spain, which has won five championships in the Primera División Femenina. The club is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the lead division since its origin in 1929, the others being real Madrid and Barcelona. These three clubs, along with Osasuna, are the entirely four professional clubs in Spain that are not sports corporations ; rather they are owned and operated by club members. Athletic ‘s independent rivals are real Sociedad, against whom it contests the Basque bowler hat, and Real Madrid, due to sporting and political identity ; a minor competition besides exists with Barcelona due to diachronic meaning. At versatile points in the golf club ‘s history, further Basque league derbies have been contested against Alavés, Eibar and Osasuna. The clubhouse is known for its cantera policy of bringing new Basque players through the ranks, adenine well as recruiting players from other Basque clubs. Athletic ‘s official policy is to sign players native to or trained in football in the greater Basque Country, which includes Biscay, Gipuzkoa, Álava and Navarre ( in Spain ) ; and Labourd, Soule and Lower Navarre ( in France ). [ 3 ] Since 1912, Athletic has played entirely with players meeting its own criteria to be deemed Basque. This can be seen as a singular case in european football ; [ 4 ] it has gained Athletic both admirers and critics. The club has been praised for promoting home grow players and clubhouse loyalty. The rule does not apply to coaching staff, with respective examples of non-Basques both from Spain and abroad having coached the first team. Despite the implications of the mention ‘Athletic Club ‘ in English, and unlike some of the early major spanish teams which have several departments, it is not a multi-sport club, participating merely in football, although sections for cycling and others existed prior to the spanish Civil War in the 1930s. [ 5 ]

history [edit ]

Bilbao FC, Athletic Club and Club Bizcaya [edit ]

athletic Club with the inaugural Copa del Rey, in 1903, with Juan de Astorquia in the center football was introduced to Bilbao by two distinct groups with british connections : british workers and Basque students returning from schools in Britain. In the late nineteenth hundred, Bilbao was a lead industrial town and attracted many migrant workers, including miners from the northeast of England and shipyard workers from Southampton, Portsmouth and Sunderland. They brought with them the crippled of football and came together to form Bilbao Football Club. interim, sons of the Basque educated classes, like Juan de Astorquia, went to Britain to complete their studies, developed an interest in football and on their render began to arrange games with british workers. In 1898, Juan de Astorquia, Luis Astorquia and early students founded the Athletic Club, using the english spell. In 1901, a suffer held in the Café García established more formal rules and regulations. In 1902, the two clubs formed a blend team known as Club Bizcaya and elected as president founding member Juan de Astorquia in the foremost Copa del Rey and won the competition. This led to the eventual fusion of the two clubs as Athletic Club in 1903. In the same year, under the presidency of Juan de Astorquia, Basque students besides formed Athletic Club Madrid, which later evolved into Atlético Madrid. The club itself declares 1898 as its foundation garment go steady .

Copa del Rey [edit ]

The club featured prominently in early on Copas del Rey. Following the inaugural address succeed by Club Bizcaya, the newly formed Athletic Bilbao won it again in 1903, both times under Juan de Astorquia who was President and Captain. In 1904, they were declared winners after their opponents failed to turn up. In 1907, they revived the name Club Vizcaya after entering a combined team with Union Vizcaino. After a abbreviated calm, they won again in 1910, with Luis de Astorquia as the new captain and goalkeeper 1910 Copa del Rey and then three times in a row between 1914 and 1916. The star topology was Pichichi, who scored the first goal at the San Mamés stadium in 1913 and a hat-trick in the 1915 cup final. The La Liga top scorer award is named in his award .

The beginning La Liga [edit ]

other Basque clubs such as real Unión, Arenas Club de Getxo and Real Sociedad were besides founding members of La Liga in 1928 and by 1930 they were joined by CD Alavés ; five of the ten-spot clubs in the Primera División were from the Basque Country. The saying “ Con cantera y afición, no hace falta importación “, translated as “ With home-grown teams and support, there is no need for consequence ”, made common sense during these early days .

The Fred Pentland Era [edit ]

In 1921, a newly british bus, Fred Pentland, arrived ; in 1923, he led the cabaret to victory in the Copa del Rey. He revolutionised the way Athletic played, favouring the short-passing game. In 1927, Pentland left Athletic but returned in 1929 and led the baseball club to La Liga/Copa del Rey doubles in 1930 and 1931. The club won the Copa del Rey four times in a course between 1930 and 1933 and they were besides La Liga runner-up in 1932 and 1933. In 1931, Athletic defeated Barcelona 12–1, the latter ‘s worst-ever frustration .

The league title under Garbutt [edit ]

Athletic ‘s achiever under british coaches continued with William Garbutt. His beginning season in Spain was a massive achiever as he managed to win the Liga [ 6 ] that year. He had inherited a talented team which included strikers Guillermo Gorostiza and Bata. Garbutt promoted the young Ángel Zubieta to the first team, a actor who at 17 years of long time went on to become the youngest ever to play for the spanish national team [ 6 ] at the time. In the final game of the season, the title was decided when Athletic defeated Oviedo 2–0 at home on 19 April 1936, winning the entitle equitable two points clear of actual Madrid. [ 6 ] In July 1936, football halted due to the outbreak of the spanish Civil War. The league did not restart until the 1939–40 season. athletic Club did not win the title again until 1943 and by that time Garbutt had been exiled. [ 6 ]

Atlético Bilbao [edit ]

In 1941, the clubhouse changed its identify to Atlético Bilbao, following a decree issued by Franco. The same year Telmo Zarra made his debut. He went on to score 294 goals in all competitions for Athletic. His 38 goals in the 1950–51 season stood as a record for 60 years. In 1943, the club won a double and retained the Copa in both 1944 and 1945. During the early 1950s, the club featured the legendary forward agate line of Zarra, Panizo, Rafa Iriondo, Venancio and Agustín Gaínza. They helped the club win another Copa del Generalisimo in 1950. Coach Ferdinand Daučík led the team to another double in 1956 and to more Copa victories in 1955 and 1958. In 1956 the club besides made their debut in the european Cup. The 1960s were dominated by Real Madrid, and Atlético only had a single Copa del Rey win in 1969, although the ten saw the egress of a club caption, José Ángel Iribar .
authoritative 1970s-era players Dani ( L ) and Iribar ( R ) along with coach Aguirre ( C ) The 1970s were not much better, with alone another single Copa del Rey win in 1973. In December 1976, before a game against Real Sociedad, Iribar and Sociedad captain Inaxio Kortabarria carried out the Ikurriña, the Basque sag, and placed it ceremoniously on the centre-circle – this was the first public display of the ease up since the death of Francisco Franco. In 1977, the baseball club reached the concluding of the UEFA Cup, merely losing on away goals to Juventus. By then the Franco government besides ended and the golf club reverted to using the name Athletic .

The Clemente years [edit ]

In 1981, Javier Clemente became coach. He put together one of the most successful teams in the clubhouse ‘s history. In 1983 the club won La Liga, and in 1984 they won a La Liga/Copa del Rey double. In 1985 and 1986, Athletic finished third and fourth respectively. Clemente ‘s Athletic acquired notoriety for its aggressive vogue of free rein. The club has failed to win a major trophy since the achiever of the era. A succession of coaches that included José Ángel Iribar, Howard Kendall, Jupp Heynckes and Javier Irureta and even a returning Clemente failed to reproduce his success .

The Fernández earned run average [edit ]

In 1998, coach Luis Fernández led the club to second in La Liga and UEFA Champions League qualification. Fernández benefited from the club adopting a more compromising approach to the cantera. In 1995, Athletic had signed Joseba Etxeberria from regional rivals real number Sociedad, causing considerable bad feeling between the two clubs. [ 7 ] Etxeberria was a outstanding penis of the 1997–98 police squad, along with Rafael Alkorta and Julen Guerrero .

twenty-first century [edit ]

The club narrowly invalidate relegation during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, [ 8 ] the latter being the worst in the club ‘s history. [ 9 ] In the Copa del Rey, they reached their first final in 24 years, losing 4–1 to Barcelona. [ 10 ]
athletic Bilbao fans in Bucharest before the Europa League concluding anterior to the 2011–12 season, Athletic ‘s new president of the united states, early musician Josu Urrutia, brought in coach Marcelo Bielsa ; [ 11 ] [ 12 ] Athletic advanced to their first european concluding since 1977, losing 3–0 to spanish rivals Atlético Madrid on 9 May in the 2012 UEFA Europa League Final at the Arena Națională in Bucharest. [ 13 ] They besides reached the 2012 Copa del Rey Final, losing again to Barcelona. [ 14 ] After star midfielder Javi Martínez moved to FC Bayern Munich, Athletic were eliminated from the 2012–13 Europa League group stage, and were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Basque club Eibar of the third tier. Relegation was a threat until the end of the season, and the final league game at the “ old ” San Mamés ended in kill. Athletic would soon move to a modern stadium, albeit in a partially completed state. Bielsa promoted young defender Aymeric Laporte into the side, while hitter Fernando Llorente completed a rid transfer to Juventus. [ 15 ]
After Bielsa, Ernesto Valverde returned for a second while as director, and he signed or brought through respective new players as acrobatic came fourth in the league, meaning a UEFA Champions League campaign. Ander Herrera transferred to Manchester United for €36 million deal at the end of the season. [ 16 ] [ 17 ] Athletic had a triumphant first full-capacity match in the new San Mamés as they defeated Napoli to qualify for the Champions League group degree, [ 18 ] however they could alone finish 3rd in the group. [ 19 ] Athletic reached the 2015 Copa del Rey Final, but once again lost to Barcelona, 3–1. [ 20 ] In the first stage of the 2015 Supercopa de España at San Mamés, Athletic defeated Barcelona 4–0, with Aritz Aduriz scoring a hat-trick. In the reelect leg at Camp Nou, Athletic cling on with a 1–1 draw to win their first trophy since 1984. [ 21 ] [ 22 ] Aduriz finished with 36 goals in all competitions. Athletic advanced to the quarter-finals in the Europa League where they were entirely defeated on penalties by the holders and eventual repeat winners Sevilla FC. Valverde left his military position at the end of the 2016–17 season after four years. [ 23 ] It was confirmed that his successor would be erstwhile player José Ángel Ziganda, moving up from Bilbao Athletic. [ 24 ] On 29 November the club suffered a shock kill to SD Formentera in the domestic cup. [ 25 ] [ 26 ] At the conclusion of a inadequate season overall, Ziganda was dismissed and Eduardo Berizzo was appointed. however, his spell was even less fruitful [ 27 ] and in December 2018, having won equitable two of his fifteen matches at the helm and with the team in the delegating zone, Berizzo was dismissed. B-team coach Gaizka Garitano took over [ 28 ] and oversaw an improvement in results, with the club moving well out of danger and narrowly missing out on a Europa League spot on the last day. [ 29 ] The beginning of the 2019–20 temper saw more consistent results. After the beginning five games of the temper, the Lions sat at the top of the table, their best start in 26 years. [ 30 ] That form could not be maintained, and by the center point they had slipped to mid-table after several draws. however, in the Copa del Rey, they survived two punishment shootouts against second-tier opponents and then defeated Barcelona to reach the semi-finals. [ 31 ] The club then defeated Granada CF in the semi-final on away goals to meet local rivals actual Sociedad in the final [ 32 ] – which was then postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, both clubs happy to delay in the hope of supporters being able to attend the historic Basque bowler hat occasion. This did not come to pass, and the final was finally played in an empty stadium in 3 April 2021, Real Sociedad emerging winners by a 1–0 scoreline. [ 33 ] By that time, Aduriz had finally retired from playing, Garitano had been replaced as coach by Marcelino, and the 2020–21 Supercopa de España originally intended to follow the stay cup final examination was contested, Athletic defeating Real Madrid then Barcelona to claim the trophy. [ 34 ] They besides defeated Levante in the semi-final of the 2020–21 Copa del Rey to reach the final examination on 17 April 2021, making them the entirely team to take region in the collector’s item event twice in a many weeks ; [ 35 ] however, Athletic lost that final examination a well, to Barcelona by a 4–0 scoreline. [ 36 ] In October 2021, a report from the International Centre for Sports Studies ( CIES ) showed that Athletic Bilbao and Desna Chernihiv ( Ukraine ) were the alone teams in european continental competitions without foreign players. [ 37 ]

Club colours [edit ]

athletic began playing in an improvised ashen kit out, but in the 1902–03 season, the clubhouse ‘s first official strip became half-blue, half-white shirts exchangeable to those worn by Blackburn Rovers, [ 38 ] which were donated by Juan Moser. Later, a young student from Bilbao named Juan Elorduy, who was spending Christmas 1909 in London, was charged by the club to buy 25 fresh shirts, but was ineffective to find enough. Waiting for the ship back to Bilbao and evacuate handed, Elorduy realised that the color of the local team Southampton [ 39 ] matched the color of the City of Bilbao, and bought 50 shirts to take with him. Upon arriving in Bilbao, the cabaret ‘s directors decided about immediately to change the team ‘s strip to the new color, and since 1910, Athletic Club have played in loss and white stripes. Of the 50 shirts bought by Elorduy, one-half were then sent to Atlético Madrid, where Elorduy was a committee member and a former musician ; it had primitively begun as a youth branch of Athletic Bilbao. [ 40 ] [ 41 ] [ 42 ] [ 43 ] [ 44 ] Before the trade from blue and white to red and egg white, lone one other team wore red and white, Sporting de Gijón, since 1905. athletic were one of the last major clubs who did not have the logo of an official sponsor emblazoned on their kit. In the UEFA Cup and the Copa del Rey of 2004–05, the shirt sported the word “ Euskadi “ in green in rally for hundreds of thousands of euros from the Basque Government [ 45 ] ( Red, white and greens are the Basque color ). This policy was changed in 2008, when Athletic made a deal with the Biscay -based Petronor anoint company [ 46 ] to wear their logo in exchange for over €2 million. In 2011, Athletic revealed a new away kit that was inspired by the Basque sag. The Kutxabank logo now adorns the front man of Athletic ‘s kits. between 2001 and 2009 Athletic besides manufactured their own play kit, under the brand 100% Athletic and utilising the humble design from their centennial celebrations as a manufacturer ‘s logo.

crest [edit ]

1903 AC crest Athletic ‘s shield has incorporated the escutcheons of Bilbao and Biscay. From the harbor of Bilbao, it takes the bridge and the church service of San Anton, and the wolves from the mighty Haro syndicate, who were lords of Biscay and founders of Bilbao in 1300. From the harbor of Biscay, it takes the Gernikako Arbola ( Guernica ‘s tree ) and the cross of Saint Andrew ( saltires ). Its beginning documented use dates from 1922 .
1913 pin The first official club crest was a blue lap surrounded by a belt with the letters A and C in the center in white ( as the baseball club color were at that point ). [ 47 ] The second was from 1910, consisting of a red-and-white flag ( newly adopted as the shirt color ) with a bolshevik feather in the top leave corner, containing the initials of the club in white. The third, from 1913, involved the lapp flag, but in this case shown on a punt wrapped around a football ( this is identical similar to the Real Sociedad crest still in habit today, ignoring the crown of royal condescension ). [ 47 ]
1922 shield The inaugural adaptation of the current cap, approximately an anatropous triangular shield shape with a section of red-and-white stripes and a section of local motifs, is from 1922 ; this was a very simple version which was adapted several times, some of which closely resembled the cap of Atlético Madrid, in the first place a branch of the Bilbao club. [ 47 ] Finally, in 1941 the first version of the current carapace was created, but the name “ Atlético Bilbao ” was used when General Francisco Franco outlawed all non-Spanish names during his fascist predominate. In 1972, the clubhouse added full color to the design and recovered the original English “ acrobatic Club ” mention. [ 47 ] In 2008, the form of the carapace was slenderly altered and a new “ athletic Club ” font was introduced .

Players [edit ]

current team [edit ]

As of 11 September 2021[48]

note : Flags indicate home team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

Reserve team [edit ]

note : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

Out on loanword [edit ]

note : Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality .

Coaching staff [edit ]

presidency [edit ]

The current board is presided by Aitor Elizegi, businessman by profession, whose campaigning was successful during the elections in December, succeeding the former president, Josu Urrutia. [ 49 ] There were a total of 19,340 votes. Elizegi was the winner with 9,264 votes ( 47.9 % ), while confrontation candidate Alberto Uribe-Echevarría garnered 9,179 ( 47.46 % ). 781 ( 4.04 % ) members voted lacuna and 116 ( 0.6 % ) remaining votes were considered invalid. [ 50 ] The board of the Athletic Club is composed of the follow directors : [ 51 ] [ 52 ]

President: Aitor Elizegi.
Vice-President: Mikel Martínez.
Secretary: Fernando San José.
Vice-Secretary: María Tato.
Treasurer: Aitor Bernardo.
Accountant: Jon Ander de las Fuentes.
Board members: Begoña Castaño, Goyo Arbizu, Itziar Villamandos, Óscar Beristain, Joana Martínez, Iker Goñi, Óscar Arce, Ricardo Hernani, Tomás Ondarra, Jorge Gómez, Manu Mosteiro.
Managing Director: Jon Berasategi.
General Secretary: Juan Ignacio Añibarro.
Sports Director: Rafael Alkorta.

Coaches [edit ]

Kit development [edit ]

1903
1910
1913
1950
1970
1982
1996
2004
2015

^[54] However, The English-based kit manufacturer Umbro took responsibility for supplying the team in 2009, having agreed to a long-run shrink which was supposed to expire in 2017.However, Nike sold auxiliary Umbro, the kits were manufactured by Nike from season 2013–14 onwards .

Honours [edit ]

Results [edit ]

Pos. = Position ; Pld = Matches played ; W = Matches won ; D = Matches draw ; L = Matches Lost ; GF = Goals For ; GA = Goals Against ; Pts = Points
Winners

Runners-up

Champions League qualification

Europa League qualification

Zarra Trophy

Statistics and records [edit ]

Statistics [edit ]

Institutional information:

Associates: 44,171
Official fans groups: 452
Budget: €101,940,138 (2018–19 season).
TV income: €71,000,000 (2016–17 season)

Best positions

Seasons in La Liga: all.[60]
Best position in La Liga: 1st (8 times)
Worst position in La Liga: 17th (once)
Historical position in the ranking of La Liga: 5th[61]
Best position in UEFA Champions League / European Cup: Quarter-finals (1956–57)
Best position in UEFA Europa League / UEFA Cup: Runners-up (1976–77, 2011–12)
Entries in UEFA competitions: 32 (as of 2017–18 season)

Goals records

Most goals scored in one match home: Athletic 12 – Barcelona 1 (1930–31).
Most goals scored in one match away: Osasuna 1 – Athletic 8 (1958–59).
Most goals scored in one match in Copa del Rey: Athletic 12 – Celta Vigo 1 (1946–47)
Most goals scored in one match in European competitions: Standard Liège 1 – Athletic 7 (2004–05).

Players records

Records [edit ]

Together with Real Madrid and Barcelona, Athletic is one of only three teams to have contested all editions of La Liga, without ever having been relegated.[70]
In the 1929–30 season, finished the league unbeaten after 18 games.[70]
Has the record for the biggest win in La Liga (12–1 to Barcelona, in 1931).[70]
Has the record for the biggest win in Copa del Rey (12–1 to Celta Vigo, in 1947).[70]
Has the record for the biggest win away to Real Madrid (0–6 in Santiago Bernabéu), Barcelona (0–6 in Camp Nou), Espanyol (1–5) and Osasuna (1–8).[70]
Telmo Zarra is the only player in the history of La Liga to be top scorer six times.[70]
Zarra is the top scorer in the history of Copa del Rey (81 goals).[70]
Gaínza has the record of most goals scored in a single La Liga match (8 goals).[70]
Zarra holds the record for most goals in a Copa del Rey final (4 goals).[70]

stadium information [edit ]

Panoramic view of San Mames stadium . San Mames

San Mames [edit ]

Name: San Mamés
Nickname: La Catedral (The Cathedral)
City: Bilbao
Opened: September 2013
Capacity: 53,289[2]
Beginning construction: 25 May 2010.
End construction (partial): September 2013.
End construction (total): August 2014.
Pitch size: 105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)
Sports Facilities: Lezama

Lezama facilities [edit ]

An aeriform view of the Lezama building complex, 2019 The Lezama Facilities is the building complex where all of the categories of Athletic coach. It was opened in the 1971–72 season, under the presidency of Felix Oráa. At present, facilities include, inter alia, five natural denounce fields, a secondary school, a pediment, a medical center and a residence for youthful players. Lezama has undergone remodeling since 1995 under the presidency of José María Arrate with the construction of modern roads and parking entrance and exit able to absorb the large number of vehicles that come every day, and a platform cover bringing greater public toilet to fans attending the matches of the young person teams and early youth football teams. These facilities are located in the municipality of Lezama, approximately ten miles from Bilbao .

future [edit ]

The Board has given the green inner light to the alleged “ Lezama Master Plan ” [ when? ], which was founded with the determination of modernizing the structures of both the youth teams and first team. The “ plan ” is the solution of a rigorous survey of the basic needs for the future of the Athletic Club. The function will take place over the course of two to three years and its budget is around €12 million. The Club is committed to consolidate its cantera structure, which is the basis for the future of the Club and in this respect Lezama will be expanded to classrooms for youth work in the lower categories and create an audiovisual department .