Bilbao’s main football team, Athletic Club’s fierce sense of identity, inspired by their playing philosophy and passionate fanbase, has drawn praise from all over the world.
Foundation and early years
Athletic Club was formed in 1898 by a group of Basque students who had been living in the United Kingdom.
In their early days, Athletic, as the club is commonly referred to by locals, mostly took on other sides from around Bilbao and Bizkaia. Initially they played matches at ‘La Campa de los Ingleses’, a multi-purpose field close to a historic dockyard, which is now where the Guggenheim Museum is located.
As the club became more popular they relocated to Jolaseta in Getxo before eventually moving to their permanent home in the inner-city borough of San Mames.
In 1901, a group of 33 founding members, who would regularly meet up at Cafe García, created Athletic’s first official statutes. In 1903, the club incoporated the structure of local rivals Bilbao Football Club to form what is the basis of the modern day institution. Athletic Club’s main reserve side are named Bilbao Athletic in a nod of recognition to Bilbao FC.
The Basque-only philosophy
Athletic Club are perhaps best known for their unique sporting policy. The club is governed by an unwritten code which dictates that the entity can only field players who were born or raised in the one of the Basque Country’s seven historic provinces, or players who were developed in the academy of a Basque football club.
The philosophy came into effect in 1912, before which the club had regularly used foreign footballers, especially British players. However, a dispute in the previous season’s Copa del Rey, in which other sides accused Athletic of fielding ineligible players, led to the Spanish Football Federation tightening its rules about the use of overseas footballers. In turn, Los Leones decided to only field Basque-born players from that moment onwards.
With the exception of Chivas in Mexico, who only use Mexican nationals, no other elite football team adopts a similar philosophy.
With most players having been born in Bizkaia and products of Athletic’s famed Lezama academy, the philosophy means there is a true reflection of society on the pitch, creating a strong sense of identity and union between the club and Athletic fans.
San Mames stadium
A UEFA four-star elite stadium, the new San Mames, a 53,000 seater collosuem was inaugurated in 2013, exactly 100 years after the old San Mames was opened in the same place.
Nicknamed ‘The Cathedral of Football’, due to its close proximity to a chapel dedicated to Saint Mammes, from which the stadium and neighbourhood takes their names, the stadium has one of the most ferocious atmospheres in European football.
Athletic are often called ‘Los Leones’ or ‘Lehoiak’ by their fans. It’s a tribute to the story of Saint Mammes, who came out unscathed after being thrown to lions by the Romans, and an appreciation of the club’s intense playing style.
Matchdays at San Mames are sacred for Bilbainos. Athleticzales (the term for Athletic fans in Basque) will prepare for home matches by frequenting bars and restaurants down Calle Licenciado Poza, or just Pozas for locals, a long narrow street which cuts through the heart of Bilbao and leads right up to The Cathedral’s forecourt.
If you’re a sports fan visiting Bilbao, watching a match at San Mames is a must. Tickets tend to go on general sale around 10-15 days before a game and can be purchased via Athletic Club’s website.
This is our guide with tips and recommendations to help you get a ticket for a match while in the city.
Even if you can’t make it to Bilbao on a match day, there’s still plenty to do at San Mames. The ground has a world-class museum, with tickets that include a stadium tour, two in-built bars and a restaurant run by Michelin-starred chef, Fernando Canales.
Have a look at our guide with things to do at San Mames on a normal day without a fixture.
Honours and trophy celebrations
Athletic Club are only of the most decorated sides in Spanish football history. A founding member of LaLiga in 1929, Spain’s top flight, they are one of three sides to have never been relegated from the first divison, along with FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Athletic were the main pioneers of early football in Spain. From their foundation until the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Los Leones had won four LaLiga titles and 14 Copas del Rey for a combined 18 trophies – double that of Barça and Real Madrid at the same point.
The outbreak of war, the subsequent dictatorship, the globalisation of football and Athletic’s steadfast commitment to their Basque-only philosophy, saw the club’s triumph become more sporadic in the more modern era of the game.
In fact, only recently, in 2023/24, the club broke a 40-year period of winning no major silverware. Athletic Club beat RCD Mallorca on penalties in the 2024 Copa del Rey final to spark one of the biggest parties Bilbao has ever seen.
During the early 80s, the Lions started a tradition of celebrating their triumphs by sailing down Bilbao’s River Nervion on a repurposed barge called ‘La Gabarra’. After a 40-year wait to see it again, around one million Athleticzales lined the Nervion’s banks to salute La Gabarra on 11 April 2024.
Iconic players and One-Club Award
Athletic have produced a plethora of historic footballers who have impacted not only the club, but the sport of football in general.
From the likes of Pichichi in the club’s early days, to iconic shotstopper Jose Angel Iribar, captain fantastic and Maradona’s nemesis Andoni Goikoetxea, to modern legends like Iker Muniain and Iñaki Williams, several Athletic players have massive legacies at the club.
In Bilbao, there is no team other than Athletic Club. Every young player’s ambition is to play for Athletic and there’s no higher honour than becoming a One-Club Footballer.
In fact, it’s an ideal so close to Athletic’s heart that they invented the One-Club Award to honour those footballers who spent their entire career at a single side. Winners include the likes of Jamie Carragher Paolo Maldini, Carles Puyol, Billy McNeill, Joelle Murray, Malin Malstrom and Pia Wunderlich.
