Lions of the Cathedral: Athletic Bilbao

Athletic Bilbao players after qualifying for Europa League final 2012

The 3^rd most successful club in Spain, the only club along with Real Madrid and Barcelona to have never been relegated from Spanish top flight, and yet today they are rarely mentioned in the same breath as the other Spanish giants. Such is the apparent fall in stature of Athletic Bilbao. But don’t let the prolonged lack of silverware fool you. The ‘Los Leones’ still have a proud tradition and are an integral part of Spanish football history. Athletic Bilbao is more than a club; it’s an institution.

It was on the 5^th of April 1901 when 33 members of Gimnasio Zamacois officially formed Athletic Club at Café Garcia. Their fiercest rival was Bilbao FC. The following year, the rivals joined hands to contest in the Copa de la Coronacion, a tournament held to mark the coronation of King Alfonso XIII. They won the tournament, today known as Copa del Rey, under the name Club Bizcaya. A year later, the two clubs officially merged and thus began the forging of the legend of Athletic Bilbao.

Athletic Bilbao – early days

Football isn’t about tradition these days. There is no reward for upholding sentiments and principles. And yet even after more than 110 years since its inception, the club fields a squad solely comprising natives of Basque and talents from their youth academy. 8 league titles and 23 cup victories do little to justify the heights attained by this club. In 1958, the Los Leones defeated the all-conquering Real Madrid side in the final of the Copa del Rey at the Santiago Bernabeu, their most prized scalp yet.

Jose Iribar, Angel Vilar, Andoni Zubizarreta and Inaki Saez are only some of the legends to have graced the San Mames pitch. The top scorer award in the league (Pichichi Trophy) is also named after another Bilbao goal-scoring legend, Pichichi Moreno. They boast of one of the finest youth setups in Spain at the Lezema Academy. Their stadium, San Mames, one of the oldest in Spain, is a legend in itself. Named after a Christian, Mammes, who returned unscathed after being thrown to the lions, this stadium is the footballing cathedral of Spain.

Athletic Bilbao may no longer be a name that strikes fear into the opposition, but it is definitely a name that embodies footballing culture and tradition. They are one of the only 4 clubs in Spain (other than Madrid, Barcelona and Osasuna) completely owned and operated by its associates. Theirs is a story of faith, faith in their own, faith in their principles; principles which still hold strong despite the economics of today’s game. Long have they produced and nurtured Basque talents, players who live and breathe Bilbao, Lions of the Cathedral; and long may it continue.