Idaho Statesman Logo

Athletic Bilbao 101: What you need to know before the Basque Soccer Friendly | Idaho Statesman

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Customer Service
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Archives
    • Buy Photos and Pages
    • Contact Us
    • Newsletters
    • Newspaper in Education
    • Subscribe
    • Subscriber Services

    • News
    • Boise
    • West Ada
    • Canyon County
    • Crime
    • State News
    • Nation/World News
    • Databases
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Idahoans in the Military
    • Weather
    • Traffic
    • Helping Works
    • In the Classroom
    • Our Community
    • Sports
    • Boise State Football
    • Boise State Basketball
    • Idaho Vandals
    • High Schools
    • Bronco Beat
    • Chadd Cripe
    • Varsity Extra Blog
    • NFL
    • NBA
    • NHL
    • MLB
    • Golf
    • Idaho Politics
    • Elections
    • Government and Business
    • Capitol & State
    • Letters from the West
    • National Politics
    • Business
    • Business Insider
    • Business Columns & Blogs
    • Personal Finance
    • Legal Notices
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Bill Manny
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Guest Opinion
    • Submit a Letter or Opinion
    • Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Restaurant Reviews
    • Arts and Culture
    • Festivals
    • Movie Reviews
    • Movie Showtimes
    • Music
    • Television
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Puzzles & Games
    • Horoscopes
    • Puzzles
    • Words & Deeds
    • ArtsBeat
    • Outdoors
    • Playing Outdoors Blog
    • Biking
    • Camping
    • Fishing
    • Hiking and Trails
    • Hunting
    • Winter Recreation
    • Living
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Treasure
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Best of Treasure Valley
    • Heart of the Treasure Valley
    • Margaret Lauterbach
    • Tim Woodward
    • Carolyn Hax
  • Obituaries

  • Contests
  • Advertise
  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Place An Ad

  • About Us
  • Mobile & Apps

Sports

Athletic Bilbao 101: What you need to know before the Basque Soccer Friendly

By Michael Lycklama - mlycklama@idahostatesman.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

July 14, 2015 11:43 PM

The Spanish soccer power brings a storied history with it to Boise, one that dates back to English sailors at the end of the 19th century as commercial production of automobiles ramped up, the Klondike Gold Rush drew prospectors to Alaska and James Naismith invented basketball.

Here’s a breakdown of the key facts about the club:

CLUB HISTORY

Athletic Bilbao’s founding date sparks a debate among soccer historians.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

British steel and shipyard workers introduced the sport to Bilbao, a port town in Northern Spain, in the 1890s, as did Basque students returning from England, home of the sport. The club’s first formation came in 1898, adopting the English spelling. But some historians claim its formal founding didn’t come until 1901.

Athletic stands as one of the pillars of Spanish soccer. It was one of the 1928 founding members of La Liga, the top level of Spanish soccer. Athletic, Real Madrid and Barcelona are the only teams in league history to never be relegated to the second division.

Bilbao ranks second behind Barcelona with 23 Copa del Rey titles, awarded to the winner of the country’s domestic tournament. And it ranks fourth with eight league titles in history.

The club’s most successful years came in the early 1900s and in the 1980s, when it won a league and Copa del Rey title in 1983-84, Athletic’s last major trophies. It fought off relegation in the mid 2000s, but bounced back and qualified for the Champions League last season and finished second in the UEFA Europa League, Europe’s second-tier club tournament, in 2011-12.

TEAM COLORS

The vertical red and white stripes define the home jersey of Athletic. But the colors came from a move of desperation.

Athletic first wore a blue-and-white kit similar to the English club Blackburn Rovers. But when Juan Elorduy traveled to England in 1909 to buy 25 jerseys, he couldn’t find enough blue and white ones. So instead of leaving empty handed, he purchased 50 jerseys from English club Southampton, which mirrored the red and white official colors of the city of Bilbao.

Twenty-five jerseys went to Bilbao and the other 25 to Atlético Madrid, another Spanish soccer mainstay which began as a youth team for Bilbao. Atlético Madrid still wears red and white stripes.

The team was one of the final holdouts to place a sponsor on its jersey before signing with Basque oil company Petronor in 2008. The Nike-produced jerseys will switch to a bank sponsor, Kutxabank, in 2015-16. The team will also move away from its Basque flag-inspired away jerseys for a black kit this season.

SECOND TRIP TO AMERICA

Athletic promoted its trip to Boise as its first to the United States. But an astute fan quickly corrected the club, reminding it of an April 4, 1967, game in Chicago, where Athletic topped Red Star Belgrade of the former Yugoslavia 3-1.

The trip was part of a promotion for the North American Soccer League, which started the following year, and the exhibition drew 9,786 fans, Dennis J. Seese wrote in his book, “ The Rebirth of Professional Soccer in America: The Strange Days of the United Soccer Association.”

“LOS LEONES”

European soccer clubs don’t emphasize mascots to the extent of American sports teams. But Bilbao is known by the nickname of “The Lions,” which comes from a church near Bilbao’s home stadium dedicated to Saint Mammes, a Christian child thrown to the lions by Romans who tamed the animals.

The club’s stadium is known as San Mamés Stadium, and its players go by “The Lions of San Mamés,” or simply, “The Lions.”

WORLD-CLASS STADIUM

Bilbao opened a new San Mamés Stadium in 2013 over the site over its former stadium, which debuted in 1913. The original stadium, called “La Catedral” (the cathedral), seated 7,000 when it opened and grew to 46,000 when it hosted World Cup matches in 1982.

The new stadium holds 53,289. And after earning the highest rating possible from UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), it will host group stage games and one round-of-16 game for the Euro 2020, the national team championships for European countries.

FAN OWNERSHIP

Bilbao is one of four teams in La Liga, Spain’s top league, owned solely by fans as part of a “socios,” which translates to “partners.” The others include Barcelona, Real Madrid and Osasuna.

The team claims 44,385 partners of its club. Membership, which costs about $1,700, guarantees season tickets and voting rights for the club’s president.

Before opening a new, larger stadium in 2013 that could support more members, it was next to impossible to become a member, said Juanma Mallo, who covers the team for El Correo, the daily newspaper in Bilbao.

Related stories from Idaho Statesman

sports

Athletic Bilbao sticks to its Basque-only policy

July 14, 2015 11:53 PM

sports

Frequently asked questions about the Basque Soccer Friendly

July 14, 2015 11:50 PM

  Comments  

Videos

Boy flops like the NBA pros

Best dunks in the NBA All-Star Dunk Contest

View More Video

Trending Stories

Stick this in your pipe and smoke it, Utah! Idaho is one of least sinful U.S. states

February 20, 2019 04:04 PM

Boise franchisees say franchiser double-crossed them. What Idaho’s Supreme Court ruled

February 20, 2019 02:16 PM

Cold case breakthrough: Man charged with murder in 1995 death of Idaho teen

February 20, 2019 05:09 PM

Amazon’s Nampa center will increase traffic, so city wants it to pay for road upgrades

February 20, 2019 12:03 AM

Former Boise State football stars among NFL’s most sought-after free agents

February 20, 2019 02:47 PM

Read Next

Boise State parts ways with freshman guard after his arrest

Boise State Basketball

Boise State parts ways with freshman guard after his arrest

By Rachel Roberts

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 21, 2019 08:01 PM

A Boise State spokesman said Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, that redshirting freshman guard Jaycson Bereal is no longer on the men’s basketball team. The news comes a little more than a week after his arrest on two misdemeanor charges.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Idaho Statesman

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE SPORTS

Shoveling and need a good listen? Check out our podcast full of hoops, football and more

Girls High School Basketball

Shoveling and need a good listen? Check out our podcast full of hoops, football and more

February 21, 2019 02:43 PM
Idaho boys basketball state tournaments: Scores, brackets and updated matchups

Boys High School Basketball

Idaho boys basketball state tournaments: Scores, brackets and updated matchups

February 21, 2019 04:28 PM
Idaho 5A boys basketball state tournament scores, bracket and matchups

Boys High School Basketball

Idaho 5A boys basketball state tournament scores, bracket and matchups

February 21, 2019 03:45 PM
Idaho 4A boys basketball state tournament scores, bracket and matchups

Boys High School Basketball

Idaho 4A boys basketball state tournament scores, bracket and matchups

February 21, 2019 03:49 PM
Idaho 3A boys basketball state tournament scores, bracket and matchups

Boys High School Basketball

Idaho 3A boys basketball state tournament scores, bracket and matchups

February 21, 2019 03:59 PM
Idaho 2A boys basketball state tournament scores, bracket and matchups

Boys High School Basketball

Idaho 2A boys basketball state tournament scores, bracket and matchups

February 21, 2019 04:05 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Idaho Statesman App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Archives
Advertising
  • Information
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • Place an Obituary
  • Today's Circulars
Copyright
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story