Fixtures

Spain Primera Liga 03/31 19:00 30 Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao - View
Spain Copa del Rey 04/06 19:30 1 Athletic Bilbao vs Mallorca - View
Spain Copa del Rey 04/06 20:00 - Athletic Bilbao vs Mallorca - View
Spain Primera Liga 04/14 19:00 31 Athletic Bilbao vs Villarreal - View
Spain Primera Liga 04/21 19:00 32 Athletic Bilbao vs Granada - View
Spain Primera Liga 04/28 19:00 33 Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao - View

Results

Spain Primera Liga 03/16 20:00 29 [5] Athletic Bilbao v CD Alaves [13] W 2-0
Spain Primera Liga 03/10 15:15 28 [9] Las Palmas v Athletic Bilbao [5] W 0-2
Spain Primera Liga 03/03 20:00 27 [5] Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona [3] D 0-0
Spain Copa del Rey 02/29 20:30 2 Athletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid W 3-0
Spain Primera Liga 02/25 15:15 26 [7] Real Betis v Athletic Bilbao [5] L 3-1
Spain Primera Liga 02/19 20:00 25 [5] Athletic Bilbao v Girona [2] W 3-2
Spain Primera Liga 02/12 20:00 24 [20] Almeria v Athletic Bilbao [5] D 0-0
Spain Copa del Rey 02/07 20:30 2 Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao W 0-1
Spain Primera Liga 02/02 20:00 23 [5] Athletic Bilbao v Mallorca [15] W 4-0
Spain Primera Liga 01/28 15:15 22 [18] Cadiz v Athletic Bilbao [5] D 0-0
Spain Copa del Rey 01/24 20:30 3 Athletic Bilbao v Barcelona W 4-2
Spain Primera Liga 01/20 17:30 21 [9] Valencia v Athletic Bilbao [3] L 1-0

Stats

 TotalHomeAway
Matches played 55 26 29
Wins 28 16 12
Draws 15 6 9
Losses 12 4 8
Goals for 84 49 35
Goals against 51 21 30
Clean sheets 25 13 12
Failed to score 15 6 9

Wikipedia - Athletic Bilbao

Athletic Club (Basque: Bilboko Athletic Kluba; Spanish: Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as just Athletic, is a Spanish professional football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain. They are known as Los Leones (The Lions) because their stadium was built near a church called San Mamés, which was named after Saint Mammes, an early Christian thrown to the lions by the Romans. Mammes pacified the lions and was later made a saint. The team plays its home matches at the San Mamés Stadium. Its home colours are red and white-striped shirts with black shorts.

Athletic are the fourth most successful club in La Liga with eight titles to their name. In the table of Copa del Rey titles, Athletic is second only to Barcelona, having won it 23 times. It is also the most successful Basque football club in both league and cup titles won. The club also 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 top division since its inception in 1929, the others being Real Madrid and Barcelona. These three clubs, along with Osasuna, are the only four professional clubs in Spain that are not sports corporations; instead they are owned and operated by club members. Athletic's main rivals are Real Sociedad, against whom it contests the Basque derby, and Real Madrid, due to sporting and political identity; a minor rivalry also exists with Barcelona due to historical significance. At various points in the club's history, further Basque league derbies have been contested against Alavés, Eibar and Osasuna.

The club is known for its cantera policy of bringing young Basque players through the ranks, as 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), as well as Labourd, Soule and Lower Navarre (in France). Since 1912, Athletic has played exclusively with players meeting its own criteria to be deemed Basque. This can be seen as a unique case in European football; it has gained Athletic both admirers and critics. The club has been praised for promoting home grown players and club loyalty. The rule does not apply to coaching staff, with several examples of non-Basques both from Spain and abroad having coached the first team.

Despite the implications of the name 'Athletic Club' in English, and unlike some of the other major Spanish teams which have several departments, it is not a multi-sport club, participating only in football, although sections for cycling and other sports existed prior to the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s.

History

Bilbao FC, Athletic Club, and Club Bizcaya

Athletic Club with the first 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 19th century, Bilbao was a leading industrial town, thus becoming the home to a large British colony, mainly made up of migrant workers, including shipyard workers and miners from the northeast of England, such as Southampton, Portsmouth, and Sunderland. Along with coal, they brought with them (as in so many other parts of the world) the game of football. Meanwhile, sons of the Basque educated classes, such as Juan Astorquia, went to Britain to complete their studies, and while there, they developed a deep interest in football, so when they returned they began to organize games with British workers at the Hippodrome of Lamiako, which at the time was the home of organized football in Biscay.

In 1898, Juan Astorquia and 6 other Basque students belonging to the Gymnasium Zamacois, began to practice football in Lamiako. Three years later, in 1901, at a meeting held at the Café García, this group of football pioneers, now larger, began conversations to become a legalized official football club, which they called Athletic Club, using the English spelling. Luis Márquez became the club's first president, while Astorquia and Alfred Mills (the club's only foreign-born founder) were named the team's captain and vice-captain, but in 1902, Astorquia replaced Márquez as president, ruling from 1902 until 1903. Under his presidency, Athletic and their city rivals Bilbao Football Club reached an agreement to combine the best players of both sides to form a team known as , which was created to compete in the Copa de la Coronación (forerunner of the Copa del Rey which officially began a year later) held in Madrid; Bizcaya returned to Bilbao with the trophy after beating Joan Gamper's FC Barcelona 2–1 in the final. On 24 March 1903, Bilbao FC and its associates were officially and definitively absorbed by Athletic Club.

In the same year, Basque students also formed an affiliated team, Athletic Club Madrid, which later evolved into Atlético Madrid, after watching Athletic's epic triumph in the 1903 Copa del Rey Final. The club itself declares 1898 as its foundation date.

Pichichi and Copa del Rey

Athletic Club champion team in 1915 along with the 1914 and 1915 Copa del Rey trophies.

The club featured prominently in early Copas del Rey. Following their triumph at the Copa de la Coronación by , the newly formed Athletic Bilbao won the very first Copas del Rey in 1903, both times under Juan 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 brief lull, they won again in 1910, with Luis Astorquia as the new captain and goalkeeper.

In 1911, former team captain Alejandro de la Sota, was elected as the 7th president of the club, and he was the driving force behind the construction of the San Mamés Stadium (whose architect was Manuel María Smith), which opened in 1913 and soon become one of the symbols of Athletic's dominance in the 1910s, winning the Copa del Rey three times in a row between 1914 and 1916, with Billy Barnes as coach. Between 1917 and 1919 the club went through a period of institutional crisis and during that time it did not participate in the Copa del Rey. In 1920, with the return of Billy Barnes, Athletic once again participated in the national championship and in 1921 won the Copa del Rey again.

The star of this team was Pichichi, a prolific goalscorer who scored the very first goal at the San Mamés on 21 August 1913 and a hat-trick in the 1915 final. The last championship won by Pichichi was the 1921 Copa del Rey, before dying aged just 29 in 1922. Today, the La Liga top-scorer is declared the in his honour.

Eight championships at 1930s

In the 1930s, Athletic Bilbao won four leagues and four cups in just six years. In the image, the 1930–31 La Liga winning team.

Along with fellow Basque clubs such as Real Unión, Arenas Club de Getxo and Real Sociedad, Athletic was a founding member of La Liga in 1928 and by 1930 they were joined by CD Alavés; five of the ten 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 import", made sense during these early days.

In 1922, a new English coach, Fred Pentland, arrived; in 1923, he led the club 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 club to La Liga/Copa del Rey doubles in 1930 and 1931. The club won the Copa del Rey four times in a row between 1930 and 1933 and they were also La Liga runners-up in 1932 and 1933. In 1931, Athletic defeated Barcelona 12-1, the latter's worst defeat and the biggest win in LaLiga history.

Athletic's success under English coaches continued with William Garbutt. His first season in Spain was a massive success as he managed to win the Liga that year. He had inherited a talented squad that included one of the best strikers in the club's history, known as Primera delantera histórica (en: First historic attack), formed by Lafuente, Iraragorri, Bata (top scorer of LaLiga in 1930-31), Chirri II and Gorostiza (top scorer of LaLiga in 1929-30 and 1931–32). Goalkeeper Gregorio Blasco also stood out, who was the most unbeaten goalie in LaLiga on three occasions.

Garbutt promoted the young Ángel Zubieta to the first team, a player who at 17 years of age went on to become the youngest ever to play for the Spanish national team 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 title just two points clear of Real Madrid. 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.

Zarra and the second historic attack

Atlético Bilbao team with the 1945 Copa del Generalísimo trhopy, with Telmo Zarra in the center.

In 1941, the club was forced to change its name to Atlético Bilbao, following a decree issued by Franco, who also changed the name of the Copa del Rey to Copa del Generalísimo, in reference to his own figure.

A year before Telmo Zarra made his debut, who became one of the club's great legends and the top scorer in its history with 335 goals. He won six Pichichi Trophies for being the top scorer in LaLiga (a record only surpassed by Messi in 2020), and his 38 goals in the 1950–51 season stood as a record for 60 years. He was also the top scorer in LaLiga history since 1950 with 251 goals, until in 2014 he was surpassed by Lionel Messi and later by Cristiano Ronaldo (however, he is still the top Spanish scorer in the championship).

During the 1940s and early 1950s, the club featured the legendary forward line formed by Iriondo, Venancio, Zarra, Panizo and Gaínza, which was nicknamed Segunda delantera histórica (en: Second historic attack); midfielder Nando and goalkeeper Lezama (winner of a Zamora Trophy in 1946-47) also stood out from this team. This squad won a double in 1943 and retained Copa del Generalísimo in both 1944 and 1945. They helped the club win another Copa del Generalísimo and a Copa Eva Duarte (the official precedent of the Supercopa de España) in 1950.

The team of eleven villagers

Atlético Bilbao team in the 1958 Copa del Generalísimo final.

In 1954, coach Ferdinand Daučík retired the team of second historic attack and gave way to a new generation of players. Daučík managed to form a new champion team that won the double in 1956 and two other victories in the Generalissimo Cup in 1955 and 1958. The latter is remembered as one of the club's most important achievements, because Athletic managed to beat Di Stefano's Real Madrid, which had just won the European Cup and LaLiga, and the Spanish federation also ignored Athletic's request to play in a neutral field and forced the final to be played in Chamartin (Real Madrid stadium). However, the Bilbao team won the match 2-0 with goals from Arieta and Mauri, and lifted the Cup in Chamartin Stadium. From that moment on, this was remembered as el equipo de los once aldeanos (en: the team of eleven villagers), since club president Enrique Guzmán shouted during the title celebration: "With eleven villagers, we have beaten them to death!", in allusion to the club's tradition of playing only with players from its homeland. The classic team lineup was: Carmelo; Orue, Garay, Canito; Mauri, Maguregui, Marcaida; Arteche, Arieta (whom they considered Zarra's successor), Uribe and Gaínza. Thanks to the to league title triumph, the team represented Spain in the 1956 Latin Cup, where they reached the final and lost to AC Milan by a score of 3-1.

In the same year the club also made their debut in the European Cup, where they reached the quarterfinals after eliminating FC Porto and Ferenc Puskás's Honvéd FC. They then beat Manchester United Busby Babes 5-3 at San Mamés Stadium, but were defeated 3-0 at Old Trafford, in a match in which goalkeeper Carmelo had to play almost the entire match injured because substitutions did not exist at that time.

Iribar and the first European final

Dani, coach Koldo Aguirre and Iribar in 1978.

The 1960s were dominated by Real Madrid, and Atlético went through a few years of transition in which the only figure that shone was goalkeeper José Ángel Iribar, who became one of the club's greatest legends along with Zarra. Due to the team's bad form, the fans used to constantly repeat the phrase Juegan Iribar y diez más (en: Iribar and ten more are playing). The situation improved when in 1969 Atlético won a Copa del Generalísimo and was runner-up in LaLiga in the 1969–70 season. The main stars of this team −in addition to Iribar− were the scorer Fidel Uriarte (winner of a Pichichi Trophy) and the winger Txetxu Rojo.

The 1970s were not much better, with only another single Copa del Generalísimo win in 1973. In December 1976, before a game against Real Sociedad, Iribar and Sociedad captain Inaxio Kortabarria carried out the Ikurriña (the Basque nationalist flag), and placed it ceremonially on the centre-circle – this was the first public display of the flag since the death of Francisco Franco. By then the Franco regime also ended and the club reverted to using the name Athletic. In 1977, the club reached the final of the UEFA Cup after eliminating teams like AC Milan or FC Barcelona, among others, and only losing on away goals to Juventus. They also reached the Copa del Rey final, which they lost to Real Betis on penalties (Iribar missed the decisive one, which gave the Sevillians the victory), and reached third position in LaLiga. Despite these defeats, this is remembered as one of the best teams in the history of Athletic Bilbao, which included historical players of the club such as Iribar, Rojo, Guisasola, Alexanko, Goikoetxea, Irureta, Dani or Carlos (last player to win the Pichichi Trophy with the club).

The Clemente years

Coach Javier Clemente.

In 1981, Javier Clemente became manager. He put together one of the most successful teams in the club's history, the main lineup of this team was: Zubizarreta; Urkiaga, Goikoetxea, Liceranzu, De la Fuente; De Andrés, Sola, Urtubi; Dani, Sarabia and Argote. In 1982–83 season, Athletic became LaLiga champion after surpassing Santillana's Real Madrid in the standings on the last round. The following year they won a LaLiga and Copa del Rey double. In that cup final they beat Maradona's FC Barcelona 1-0; the Argentine player did not take the defeat well and attacked an Athletic player, which caused a brawl between both teams. Months earlier, Goikoetxea had injured Maradona after a hard tackle from behind, from which it took him several weeks to recover, and the Bilbao native was sanctioned with 17 games without playing (although the match referee did not show him any card for this fact).

In 1985 and 1986, Athletic finished third and fourth respectively. During the 1985-86 season Clemente was fired due to a bad relationship with the team's star, Sarabia. 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 era

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 flexible approach to the cantera. In 1995, Athletic had signed Joseba Etxeberria from regional rivals Real Sociedad, causing considerable bad feeling between the two clubs. Etxeberria was a prominent member of the 1997–98 squad, along with Rafael Alkorta, Ismael Urzaiz and Julen Guerrero.

21st century

Marcelo Bielsa led Athletic Bilbao to its second European final.

The club narrowly avoided relegation during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons, the latter being the worst in the club's history. In the Copa del Rey, they reached their first final in 24 years, losing 4–1 to Barcelona.

Prior to the 2011–12 season, Athletic's new president, former player Josu Urrutia, brought in coach Marcelo Bielsa; Athletic advanced to their first European final 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. They also reached the 2012 Copa del Rey Final, losing again to Barcelona.

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 defeat. Athletic would soon move to a new stadium, albeit in a partially completed state. Bielsa promoted young defender Aymeric Laporte into the side, while striker Fernando Llorente completed a free transfer to Juventus.

Aritz Aduriz became one of the top scorers in the club's history with 172 goals.

After Bielsa, Ernesto Valverde returned for a second spell as manager, and he signed or brought through several new players as Athletic 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.

Athletic had a triumphant first full-capacity match in the new San Mamés as they defeated Napoli to qualify for the Champions League group stage, however they could only finish 3rd in the group. Athletic reached the 2015 Copa del Rey Final, but once again lost to Barcelona, 3–1.

In the first leg of the 2015 Supercopa de España at San Mamés, Athletic defeated Barcelona 4–0, with Aritz Aduriz scoring a hat-trick. In the return leg at Camp Nou, Athletic hung on with a 1–1 draw to win their first trophy since 1984. Aduriz finished with 36 goals in all competitions. Athletic advanced to the quarter-finals in the Europa League where they were only defeated on penalties by the holders and eventual repeat winners Sevilla FC.

Valverde left his position at the end of the 2016–17 season after four years. It was confirmed that his successor would be former player José Ángel Ziganda, moving up from Bilbao Athletic. On 29 November the club suffered a shock defeat to SD Formentera in the domestic cup. At the conclusion of a poor season overall, Ziganda was dismissed and Eduardo Berizzo was appointed. However, his spell was even less fruitful and in December 2018, having won just two of his fifteen matches at the helm and with the team in the relegation zone, Berizzo was dismissed. B-team coach Gaizka Garitano took over 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.

Ernesto Valverde is the coach who has led the most games for Athletic Bilbao .

The beginning of the 2019–20 season saw more consistent results. After the first five games of the season, the Lions sat at the top of the table, their best start in 26 years. That form could not be maintained, and by the halfway point they had slipped to mid-table after several draws. However, in the Copa del Rey, they survived two penalty shootouts against second-tier opponents and then defeated Barcelona to reach the semi-finals. The club then defeated Granada CF in the semi-final on away goals to meet local rivals Real Sociedad in the final – 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 derby occasion. This did not come to pass, and the final was eventually played in an empty stadium on 3 April 2021, Real Sociedad emerging winners by a 1–0 scoreline. 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 delayed cup final was contested, Athletic defeating Real Madrid then Barcelona to claim the trophy. They also defeated Levante in the semi-final of the 2020–21 Copa del Rey to reach the final on 17 April 2021, making them the only team to take part in the showpiece event twice in as many weeks; however, Athletic lost that final as well, to Barcelona by a 4–0 scoreline. In October 2021, a report from the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) showed that Athletic Bilbao and Desna Chernihiv (Ukraine) were the only teams in European continental competitions without foreign players.

Athletic Bilbao is a professional soccer team based in Bilbao, Spain. The team was founded in 1898 and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Spanish football history. Athletic Bilbao is known for its unique policy of only signing players who are either born or raised in the Basque Country, a region in northern Spain.

The team plays its home matches at the San Mamés Stadium, which has a capacity of over 53,000 spectators. Athletic Bilbao has a strong rivalry with Real Sociedad, another Basque team, and their matches are known as the Basque derby.

Athletic Bilbao has won numerous titles throughout its history, including eight La Liga titles, 23 Copa del Rey titles, and two Spanish Super Cups. The team has also had success in European competitions, reaching the UEFA Cup final twice and the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals once.

The team's style of play is characterized by its physicality, high pressing, and quick transitions. Athletic Bilbao is known for its strong defense and counter-attacking ability, as well as its ability to dominate possession and create scoring opportunities.

Overall, Athletic Bilbao is a proud and historic club with a unique identity and a passionate fan base. The team's commitment to its Basque roots and its success on the field have made it one of the most respected and admired clubs in Spanish football.