Athletic Bilbao

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Athletic Club de Bilbao are a Spanish football team from Bilbao in Vizcaya. The club, which was founded by British expatriates in 1898, currently plays in the Primera División, where they have resided since the formation of Spain's national league in 1928. Of the founding league members, only Athletic, Real Madrid, and FC Barcelona have never been relegated. Their championships are totally national championships, being the team which won more cups in spanish history (24). Their biggest international success was in the season 1976-77, reaching to the final of the UEFA cup against Juventus of Turin.

They are known as the Rojiblancos, because of their strip colour: red with white stripes and black shorts; and as Los leones ("the lions"), from the supporter of their coat-of-arms. Their stadium is the San Mamés, also known as La Catedral ("the cathedral" (of football)), which seats 46,500 spectators.

The Athletics are one of the great names of Spanish football. They have been consistently successful over their history, although since the 1980s, championships have eluded them, finding it hard to compete against the great spending power of Real Madrid and Barcelona. This was compounded by a policy of only signing Basque players which exists to this day; this severely limits the scope of transfer targets. After 1912, only one non-Spanish player has ever been signed by the club—Bixente Lizarazu, a French Basque who played for the club late in the 1990s. At one time, Pais Vasco was a breeding ground of great Spanish players, and this worked in their favour. In the competitive world of modern football, it is not such an advantage.

The Basqueness of players has been interpreted differently from time to time. Miguel Jones, a Negro born in Equatorial Guinea but raised at the Bilbao cantera, couldn't play for Athletic in the 1950s, while other players born abroad with Basque ancestors have in some cases been admitted. Contrast this with Athletic's Basque rival Real Sociedad, which once had a similar Basque-only policy but has now abandoned it.

Atlético de Madrid was founded by Basque students in Madrid. The early relationships between both teams are visible in the similar uniforms.

In 2003, in its first season, the female team won the Spanish championship.

Honours

  • Copa del Rey winners 24 times (last 1984).
  • Primera División champions eight times (last 1984).
  • Super Cup once, in 1985.

Famous players

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