Athletic Club Bilbao Tickets
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About Athletic Club Bilbao
There are certain specific terms that describe Athletic Club Bilbao. Only Athletic Bilbao and no other football club in the world. Because Athletic Bilbao is unique, stands on its own and doesn’t resemble any other club in the world of football. And at the end of the day, it’s all about tradition that has been going on for over one hundred years. As if to say: we do things our way. It doesn’t matter if it’s the right or the wrong way It’s ours.
Athletic Club Bilbao, like Real Madrid and Barcelona, is the only club to have never been relegated from La Liga’s first division. And like Real Madrid and Barcelona, Bilbao is owned by its members, the community, with 44,560 paying members (Socios).
The first term that comes to mind when talking about Athletic Bilbao is Basque. Or, to be more precise: Basque only. The beautiful city of Bilbao lies in the heart of Spain’s Basque Country and Navarre. Ever since the club’s establishment, only players of Basque origins, residence and decent could wear the red and white stripes. That, by the way, also include players who come from the Northern Basque Country in France. But no others. That is a restriction the club imposes upon itself, but also very proud of, and no exceptions. That rule binds the local community around the club, making it more than just a football club. It’s a local and beloved institution, part of the community.
Athletic Club Bilbao was formed in 1903, when British shipyard workers and the Basque students returning from their studies in Britain merged two football clubs, hence the use of the English term “Athletic” rather than the Spanish “Athletico”. The new team wasted little time and won the first two Copa del Rey Cups in 1903 and 1904 and made it to the final in the two following seasons. First La Liga title arrived in Bilbao in 1929–30 and on following years, the club became a powerhouse in Spanish football, until hard times struck during the 60’s and 70’s. It all changed with the appointment of former player Javier Clemente as coach in 1981. Athletic bounced back and won two league titles in a row after the 1982–83 and 1983–84, it’s last league championship to date. The same year, Athletic won the domestic double, after a 1-0 win over Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final, a match that would be remembered for the on-pitch fight that broke out at the end, including a very active participation from one, Barcelona’s Diego Maradona.
Now is the time for the second term associated with Bilbao – loyalty. Players do love to play for the football club, respect its tradition and values and are not in a hurry to leave, sometimes even when very tempting offers from other clubs are brought up. The family feeling in Bilbao is very strong, on-going process, causing the players to feel special commitment and desire to contribute. For that, the average stay of a first-team player at Athletic is between seven and eight years.
Which brings us to the third term – youth development and patience. Athletic knows it can’t compete with elite clubs in terms of buying powers and there is the limitation of Basque only. Therefore, most of the funds goes into development of talent from early age, through youth ranks. The philosophy is that young players have to feel close to the senior team, so they train on the same practice grounds and have an opportunity to talk to, watch and feel senior team players. When a player graduates from the U-18 team, he is send to Bilbao Athletic (Athletic’s farm team) before being called back. And one more important factor – Bilbao’s head coach understands the method, where patience is important in bringing up young players.
Athletic Bilbao play in the beautiful downtown San Mamés Stadium, nicknamed “The Cathedral”, which opened in 2013 and has a capacity of 53,289 seats.
Athletic’s appearance leader is José Ángel Iribar, who played 614 matches for the club between 1962-1980. Top goalscorer is Telmo Zarra, who scored 336 goals in 277 matches between 1940-1955.
Athletic has won 8 La Liga championships, 23 Copa del Rey Cups and 2 Supercopa de Espania Cups.
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