Athletic Bilbao

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Athletic Club

Full name

Athletic Club

Nickname(s)

Los Leones (The Lions)

Founded

1898

Ground

San Mamés,
Bilbao, Spain
(Capacity 39,750^[1])

Chairman

Fernando García Macua

League

La Liga

2007-08

La Liga, 11th





Home colours





Away colours

Athletic Club is a Spanish football club from Bilbao in Biscay, Basque Country, Spain. The club has played in the Primera División of La Liga since its start in 1928. Of the founding members, only Athletic, Real Madrid, and FC Barcelona have never been relegated. Athletic are historically one of the most successful clubs in Spain. They have won La Liga on eight occasions and the Copa del Rey twenty-four times.

They are known as the Rojiblancos or Zurigorri because of their red and white striped shirts and as Los Leones because their stadium was built near a church called San Mamés (Saint Mammes). Mammes was an early Christian thrown to the lions by the Romans. The lions refused to eat Mames and he was later made a saint.

The club is known for its cantera policy of bringing young Basque players through the ranks, as well as recruiting top Basque players from other clubs (like Joseba Etxeberria or Javi Martínez). Athletic only signs professional players native to one of the seven Basque provinces: Biscay, Guipúzcoa, Álava and Navarre in Spain and Labourd, Soule and Lower Navarre in France. This has gained Athletic both admirers and critics. The club has been praised for promoting home grown players and club loyalty.

[edit] History

[edit] Bilbao FC, Athletic Club and Team Bizcaya

Football was introduced to Bilbao by two distinct groups of players, both with British connections; British steel and shipyard workers and Basque students returning from schools in Britain.

In the late 1800s Bilbao was a leading port at the heart of an important industrial area with iron mines and shipyards nearby. It was the driving force of the Spanish economy and as a result attracted many migrant workers. Among them were miners from the north-east of England, and shipyard workers from Southampton and Portsmouth. The British workers brought with them (as to so many other parts of the world) the game of football. In the early 1890s these workers came together and formed Bilbao Football Club.

Meanwhile, sons of the Basque educated classes had made the opposite journey and went to Britain to complete their studies in civil engineering and commerce. While in the United Kingdom these students developed an interest in football and on their return to Bilbao they began to arrange games with British workers. In 1898 students belonging to the Gymnasium Zamacois founded the Athletic Club, using the English spelling. In 1901 a meeting was held in the Cafe Garcia which established more formal rules and regulations.

In 1902 the two Bilbao clubs formed a combined team, known as Club Vizcaya , in the first Copa del Rey. They returned with the trophy after defeating FC Barcelona in the final. This would lead to the eventual merger of the two clubs as Athletic Club de Bilbao in 1903. In the same year Basque students also formed Athletic Club de Madrid. This club later evolved into Atlético Madrid. The club's foundation date is a subject of debate among football historians. The club itself declares 1898, but others claim 1901 is the true founding year. There is also a strong case for 1903.

[edit] Club colours

Equally debated, is the origin of the club colours. Although their first colours were blue and white stripes, in 1910 they switched to red and white stripes. There are three schools of thought about why this occurred. The most common theory is that they were changed out of deference to Sunderland and Southampton, cities where the original British founders were from. [1]. Another is that an Athletic member was sent to the Britain to buy a batch of blue and white tops but could not find any and returned with red and white tops instead. Perhaps the most credible theory, however, is that red and white striped tops were the cheapest stripes to make because the same combination was used to make bed mattresses. The left over cloth was easily converted into football shirts. Although both Athletic Bilbao and Atlético Madrid started out with blue and white stripes, the discovery of a cheaper option probably persuaded them to change. The Madrid club did it first and they became known as Los Colchoneros - the mattress makers.

Athletic are one of the few clubs who do not have the logo of an official sponsor emblazoned on their kit. However in the UEFA cup and the Copa del Rey of 2004-2005, the shirt sported the word "Euskadi" in green in exchange for hundreds of thousands of euros from the Basque Government^[2] (red, white and green are the Basque colours).

[edit] Copa del Rey

The club featured prominently in early Copa del Rey competitions. Following the inaugural win by Club Vizcaya , the newly formed Athletic Bilbao won it again in 1903. In 1904 they were declared winners after their opponents,Club Español de Madrid, 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 the competition again in 1911 and then won it three times in a row between 1914 and 1916. The star of this team was Pichichi, a prolific goalscorer who scored the very first goal in the San Mamés stadium, on August 21 1913 and a hat-trick in the 1915 final. Today the La Liga top-scorer is declared the Pichichi in his honour.

[edit] Basque nationalism

The club's success gave the Basques something to be proud of and supporting the club became a legitimate way of expressing Basque nationalism during the Franco years. Some prominent members of the EAJ-PNV were also Athletic members. Jose Antonio Aguirre, a distinguished player with the club in the 1920s and an EAJ-PNV member, became the first elected Basque president in 1936.

On 5 December 1975 (15 days after the death of Franco), Athletic's Iribar and Real Sociedad's Kortabarria entered the ground of the Real vs Athletic local derby carrying the still illegal Basque flag^[3].

[edit] The First La Liga

Athletic were not the only Basque team represented in the 1920 squad. Other clubs such as Real Unión, Arenas Club de Getxo and Real Sociedad also provided players. These four clubs were all founding members of La Liga in 1928 and by 1930 they were joined by CD Alaves. This meant that five of the ten clubs in the Primera Division of Spain’s national league were from the Basque Country. The saying Con cantera y afición, no hace falta importación, translated as With home-grown teams and supporters, there is no need for imports made sense during these early days.

[edit] El Bombín

In 1921 a new coach, Fred Pentland arrived from Racing Santander. 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 he left Athletic and coached Athletic Madrid, Real Oviedo and Spain. In 1929 he rejoined Athletic and he subsequently led Athletic 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 also defeated FC Barcelona 12-1, the latter’s worst ever defeat.

[edit] Atlético Bilbao

In the 1941 the club changed its name to Atlético Bilbao, following a decree issued by Franco, banning the use of non-Spanish language names and refuting the policy of only letting Basque-born players in the team (see origins of the "grandparent rule"). The same year also saw Zarra make his debut. Over the next thirteen seasons he went on to score 294 goals in all competitions for Atletico, plus another 20 for Spain in as many games. His 38 goals in the 1950/51 season still stands as a record. Another great player from this era was Panizo. In the 1943 the club won a La Liga/Copa del Generalisimo double and they subsequently retained the Copa del Rey in both 1944 and 1945.

During the early 1950s the club featured the legendary forward line of Zarra, Panizo, Rafa Iriondo, Venancio and Agustín Gaínza. They helped the club win another Copa del Generalisimo in 1950. The arrival of coach Ferdinand Daučík improved the club's fortunes further. He led the team to another double in 1956 and to further Copa del Generalisimo victories in 1955 and 1958. In 1956 the club also made their debut in the European Cup, eventually been knocked out by Manchester United.

What helped the club succeed in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s were the strict limits imposed on foreign players. In most cases clubs could only have three foreign players in its squad, meaning that at least eight local players had to play in every game. While Real Madrid and FC Barcelona circumnavigated these rules by playing dual citizens such as Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, José Santamaria and Ladislao Kubala, Athletic adhered strictly to their cantera policy, showing little or no flexibility. The 1960s, however were dominated by Real Madrid and Atlético Bilbao only had a single Copa del Rey win in 1969.

Like international teams, the club has used the grandparent rule, allowing the recruitment of some players of Basque descent. This enabled Barcelona-born Armando Merodio to play for the club. However during 1960s other players such as Jesus María Pereda, Miguel Jones, and José Eulogio Gárate were overlooked. Although none of them were Basques by birth, all three grew up in the Basque Country and could be classified as naturalised Basques. Gárate even had Basque parents.

On a positive note the 1960s saw the emergence of an Athletic legend José Ángel Iribar. The 1970s were not much better with only another single Copa del Rey win in 1973. In December 1976, before a game against Real Sociedad, Iribar and the Real captain Ignacio Kortabarria, carried out the Ikurriña, the Basque flag and placed it ceremonially on the centre-circle. This was the first public display of the flag since the death of Franco. In 1977 the club reached the UEFA Cup final, only losing on away goals to Juventus. By now the club had reverted to using the name Athletic Bilbao.

[edit] The Clemente Era

In 1981 the club appointed Javier Clemente as manager. He soon set about putting together one of the most successful Athletic Bilbao teams in the clubs history. Young players from the cantera such as Santiago Urkiaga, Miguel De Andres, Ismael Urtubi, Estanislao Argote and Andoni Zubizarreta joined veterans Dani and Goikoetxea. In his first season in charge, Clemente led the team to 4th place in La Liga. 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 3rd and 4th respectively. Clemente’s Athletic acquired notoriety for its aggressive style of play, personified by hard man Goikoetxea. He favoured two defensive midfielders playing in front of twin centre backs and a sweeper and as a result critics regarded his teams as dour but effective.

Athletic Bilbao has failed to win a major trophy since the success of the Clemente era. A succession of coaches including José Ángel Iribar, Howard Kendall, Jupp Heynckes and Javier Irureta and even a returning Clemente failed to reproduce his success.

[edit] The Fernandez Era

The most successful Athletic coach since Clemente has been Luis Fernández, appointed in 1996. In 1998 he led the club to second in La Liga and UEFA Champions League qualification. Fernandez benefited from the club adopting a more flexible approach to the cantera. Now anybody could play for Athletic, just as long as they acquired their skills in the Basque Country. Thus Patxi Ferreira from Salamanca and Biurrun, a Brazilian-born player who immigrated to the region at a young age, played for the club in the late 1980s. Despite this new approach, their definition of a Basque is still open to interpretation, with both Roberto López Ufarte and Benjamín being overlooked despite having Basque parents.

Athletic also began to recruit players from the canteras of other Basque clubs, leading to allegations of poaching. In 1995 Athletic signed Joseba Etxeberria from Real Sociedad, causing considerable bad feeling between the two clubs. Although Lizarazu left after one season, Urzaiz, José Mari and Etxeberria, were prominent members of the 1997/98 squad along with Rafael Alkorta, Julen Guerrero and Patxi Ferreira.

[edit] Recent Events

In recent seasons Athletic Bilbao have languished in mid-table and the club was embroiled in a relegation battle during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. In 2006 top-flight survival was ensured on the 37th match day when Deportivo de la Coruña were beaten at Riazor 2-1. Javier Clemente began his third spell as club coach in 2005, at a time when the club were last in the table. He is widely acknowledged to have brought defensive stability to the team, and so is also credited with having saved the club from relegation, despite this he was not left in charge for the 2006-2007 season. The 2006-2007 season has been the worst in the club's history, top-flight survival was ensured on the last match day when Levante were beaten at San Mamés 2-0. Despite the lack of on-field success, a majority of the club's supporters think the club's identity is more important than winning trophies. According to an El Mundo survey in the 1990s, 76% of Athletic fans would rather see the club relegated than give up the cantera policy. The most successful Athletic team of recent times has been the women’s football team who have won the Superliga Femenina four times between 2003 and 2007.

[edit] Current squad

The numbers are established according to the official website:www.athletic-club.net and www.lfp.es

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Armando
2	DF	Expósito
3	DF	Del Horno
4	DF	Ustaritz
5	DF	Amorebieta
6	DF	Zubiaurre
7	MF	Tiko
8	MF	Joseba Garmendia
9	FW	Fernando Llorente
10	MF	Yeste
11	MF	Gabilondo
12	DF	Koikili
13	GK	Aranzubía
14	DF	Prieto

No.	Position	Player
15	DF	Iraola
16	MF	Pablo Orbaiz
17	FW	Etxeberria (Captain)
18	MF	Gurpegi
19	DF	Murillo
20	DF	Aitor Ocio
21	MF	Cuéllar
22	MF	Muñoz
23	FW	Aduriz
24	MF	Javi Martínez
25	MF	David López
26	GK	Raúl
27	MF	Susaeta
45	FW	Aitor Ramos

[edit] Unregistered players

No.		Position	Player
—		GK	Iraizoz (injured)
—		DF	Casas (left out of squad)

[edit] Trophies

[edit] Men’s Football

National titles:

Liga titles: (8) (1930, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1943, 1956, 1983, 1984).

Copa del Rey: (24) (1902, 1903, 1904, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1921, 1923, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1969, 1973, 1984).
- The number of Copa wins Athletic Club have been credited with is disputed. The 1902 competition was won by Club Vizcaya, a team made up of players from Athletic Club and Bilbao FC. In 1903 these two clubs merged as Athletic Club. The 1902 cup is on display in the Athletic museum [2] and the club includes it in its own honours list.[3]. However LFP and RFEF official statistics do not include this as an Athletic win.

Spanish SuperCup: (1) (1985).

Northern Championship: (3) (1914, 1915, 1916).

Bizkaia Championship: (13) (1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1940)

Basque Cup: (1) (1935)

International titles:

UEFA Cup Subchampionship^[4]: (1977)

[edit] Women’s Football

SuperLeague:
- 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2006-07 : 4

Athletic v Celta Vigo,2005

[edit] History

4 Participations in the UEFA Champions League
16 Participations in the UEFA Cup
1 Participation in the Intertoto Cup
77 seasons (All) in La Liga

Season		Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe
1996/1997	1D	6	42	16	16	10	72	57	64	Rd 4
1997/1998	1D	2	38	17	14	7	52	42	65	quarterfinal	UC	2nd round
1998/1999	1D	8	38	17	9	12	53	47	60	Rd 5	UCL	Group Stage
1999/2000	1D	11	38	12	14	12	47	57	50	Rd 2
2000/2001	1D	12	38	11	10	17	44	60	43	Rd 3
2001/2002	1D	8	38	14	11	13	54	66	53	semi-final
2002/2003	1D	7	38	15	10	13	63	61	55	Rd 2
2003/2004	1D	5	38	15	11	12	53	49	56
2004/2005	1D	9	38	14	9	15	59	54	51	semi-final	UC	last 16
2005/2006	1D	12	38	11	12	15	40	46	45	last 16
2006/2007	1D	17	38	10	10	18	44	62	40
2007/2008	1D	9	38	13	11	14	40	43	50	quarterfinal

[edit] Statistics 2007/08

La Liga	Position	Pts	P	W	D	L	F	A
Athletic Club	8	43	31	11	10	10	31	29

Top Scores:
- Fernando Llorente - 11 goals
- Aduriz - 5 goals
- Susaeta and Etxeberria - 4 goals
Top Goalkeepers
- Iraizoz - 12 goals in 13 Matches
- Armando - 7 goals In 9 Matches
- Aranzubía - 8 goals In 10 Matches