Athletic Bilbao

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Athletic Club

Full name	Athletic Club
Nickname(s)	Los Leones (The Lions)
Founded	1898
Ground	San Mamés (Capacity: 39,750[1])
President	Fernando García Macua
Manager	Joaquín Caparrós
League	La Liga
2008–09	La Liga, 13th
Home colours Away colours

Athletic Club, commonly known as Athletic Bilbao in English, is a football club from Bilbao in Biscay, Basque Country, Spain. The club has played in the Primera División of La Liga since its start in 1928. They have won La Liga on eight occasions. In the historical classification of La Liga took 3rd place behind Real Madrid and Barcelona. The club also has a women's team, which has won 4 championships in the Spanish Superliga.

They are known as the Los Leones (the lions) because their stadium was built near a church called San Mamés (Saint Mammes). Mammes was an early Christian thrown to the lions by the Romans. The lions refused to eat Mames and he was later made a saint. The San Mames Stadium is hence nicknamed "the football cathedral".

The club is known for its cantera policy of bringing young Basque players through the ranks, as well as recruiting top Basque players from other clubs (like Joseba Etxeberria or Javi Martínez). Athletic only signs professional players native to one of the seven Basque provinces: Biscay, Guipúzcoa and Álava, Navarre; and Labourd, Soule and Lower Navarre in France, although in recent times some players born in Cantabria and La Rioja, close to the Basque Country have played for the team. This has gained Athletic both admirers and critics. The club has been praised for promoting home grown players and club loyalty. On the other hand, is one of only four professional clubs in Spain, with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Osasuna, which is not a sports corporation, so that ownership of the club lies in its partners.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Bilbao FC, Athletic Club and Team Bizkaia 1.2 Club colours 1.3 Copa del Rey 1.4 The First La Liga 1.5 El Bombín 1.6 Atlético Bilbao 1.7 The Clemente Era 1.8 The Fernández Era 2 Recent events 3 Players 3.1 Current squad 3.2 Player records 3.2.1 Pichichi Trophy 3.2.2 Ricardo Zamora Trophy 3.2.3 All-time top scorers 3.2.4 Most games played in La Liga 3.3 International players 4 Coaches 5 Uniform's evolution 5.1 Shirt sponsors and manufacturers 6 Honours 6.1 Men’s Football 6.1.1 National tournaments 6.1.2 International tournaments 6.1.3 Friendly tournaments 6.1.4 Regional tournaments 6.2 Women’s Football 7 History 8 Records and Statistics 8.1 Records 9 Stadium information 9.1 Future Stadium 9.2 Lezama facilities 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Bilbao FC, Athletic Club and Team Bizkaia

Football was introduced to Bilbao by two distinct groups of players, both with British connections; British steel and shipyard workers and Basque students returning from schools in Britain.

In the late 1800s Bilbao was a leading port at the heart of an important industrial area with iron mines and shipyards nearby. It was the driving force of the Spanish economy and as a result attracted many migrant workers. Among them were miners from the north-east of England, and shipyard workers from Sunderland, Southampton and Portsmouth. The British workers brought with them (as to so many other parts of the world) the game of football. In the early 1890s these workers came together and formed Bilbao Football Club.

Meanwhile, sons of the Basque educated classes had made the opposite journey and went to Britain to complete their studies in civil engineering and commerce. While in the United Kingdom these students developed an interest in football and on their return to Bilbao they began to arrange games with British workers. In 1898 students belonging to the Gymnasium Zamacois founded the Athletic Club, using the English spelling. In 1901 a meeting was held in the Cafe Garcia which established more formal rules and regulations.

In 1902 the two Bilbao clubs formed a combined team, known as Club Vizcaya, in the first Copa del Rey. They returned with the trophy after defeating FC Barcelona in the final. This would lead to the eventual merger of the two clubs as Athletic Club de Bilbao in 1903. In the same year Basque students also formed Athletic Club de Madrid. This club later evolved into Atlético Madrid. The club's foundation date is a subject of debate among football historians. The club itself declares 1898, but others claim 1901 is the true founding year. There is also a strong case for 1903.

[edit] Club colours

Equally debated, is the origin of the club colours. Although their first colours were blue and white stripes, in 1910 they switched to red and white stripes. There are three schools of thought about why this occurred. The most common theory is that they were changed out of deference to Sunderland and Southampton, cities where the original British founders were from. [3]. Another is that an Athletic member was sent to Britain to buy a batch of blue and white tops but could not find any and returned with red and white tops instead. Perhaps the most credible theory, however, is that red and white striped tops were the cheapest stripes to make because the same combination was used to make bed mattresses. The left over cloth was easily converted into football shirts. Although both Athletic Bilbao and Atlético Madrid started out with blue and white stripes, the discovery of a cheaper option probably persuaded them to change. The Madrid club did it first and they became known as Los Colchoneros - the mattress makers.

Athletic are one of the few clubs who do not have the logo of an official sponsor emblazoned on their kit. However in the UEFA cup and the Copa del Rey of 2004-2005, the shirt sported the word "Euskadi" in green in exchange for hundreds of thousands of euros from the Basque Government^[2] (red, white and green are the Basque colours). This policy will be changed for the three seasons starting on 2008, where Athletic will play with the logo of the Biscay-based Petronor oil company^[3] in exchange for over 2 million euros.

[edit] Copa del Rey

The club featured prominently in early Copa del Rey competitions. Following the inaugural win by Club Vizcaya, the newly formed Athletic Bilbao won it again in 1903. In 1904 they were declared winners after their opponents, Club Español de Madrid, failed to turn up. In 1907 they revived the name Club Vizcaya after entering a combined team with Union Vizcaino. After a brief lull they won the competition again in 1911 and then won it three times in a row between 1914 and 1916. The star of this team was Pichichi, a prolific goalscorer who scored the very first goal in the San Mamés stadium, on August 21, 1913 and a hat-trick in the 1915 final. Today the La Liga top-scorer is declared the Pichichi in his honour.

[edit] The First La Liga

Athletic were not the only Basque team represented in the 1920 squad. Other clubs such as Real Unión, Arenas Club de Getxo and Real Sociedad also provided players. These four clubs were all founding members of La Liga in 1928 and by 1930 they were joined by CD Alaves. This meant that five of the ten clubs in the Primera División of Spain’s national league were from the Basque Country. The saying Con cantera y afición, no hace falta importación, translated as With home-grown teams and supporters, there is no need for imports made sense during these early days.

[edit] El Bombín

In 1921 a new coach, Fred Pentland arrived from Racing Santander. In 1923 he led the club to victory in the Copa del Rey. He revolutionised the way Athletic played, favouring the short-passing game. In 1927 he left Athletic and coached Athletic Madrid, Real Oviedo and Spain. In 1929 he rejoined Athletic and he subsequently led Athletic to La Liga/Copa del Rey doubles in 1930 and 1931. The club won the Copa del Rey four times in a row between 1930 and 1933 and they were also La Liga runners-up in 1932 and 1933. In 1931 Athletic also defeated FC Barcelona 12-1, the latter’s worst ever defeat.

[edit] Atlético Bilbao

In 1941 the club changed its name to Atlético Bilbao, following a decree issued by Franco, banning the use of non-Spanish language names and refuting the policy of only letting Basque-born players in the team (see origins of the "grandparent rule"). The same year also saw Zarra make his debut. Over the next thirteen seasons he went on to score 294 goals in all competitions for Atletico, plus another 20 for Spain in as many games. His 38 goals in the 1950/51 season still stands as a record. Another great player from this era was Panizo. In the 1943 the club won a La Liga/Copa del Generalisimo double and they subsequently retained the Copa del Rey in both 1944 and 1945.

During the early 1950s the club featured the legendary forward line of Zarra, Panizo, Rafa Iriondo, Venancio and Agustín Gaínza. They helped the club win another Copa del Generalisimo in 1950. The arrival of coach Ferdinand Daučík improved the club's fortunes further. He led the team to another double in 1956 and to further Copa del Generalisimo victories in 1955 and 1958. In 1956 the club also made their debut in the European Cup, eventually been knocked out by Manchester United.

What helped the club succeed in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s were the strict limits imposed on foreign players. In most cases clubs could only have three foreign players in its squad, meaning that at least eight local players had to play in every game. While Real Madrid and FC Barcelona circumnavigated these rules by playing dual citizens such as Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, José Santamaria and Ladislao Kubala, Athletic adhered strictly to their cantera policy, showing little or no flexibility. The 1960s, however were dominated by Real Madrid and Atlético Bilbao only had a single Copa del Rey win in 1969.

Like international teams, the club has used the grandparent rule, allowing the recruitment of some players of Basque descent. This enabled Barcelona-born Armando Merodio to play for the club. However during 1960s other players such as Jesus María Pereda, Miguel Jones, and José Eulogio Gárate were overlooked. Although none of them were Basques by birth, all three grew up in the Basque Country and could be classified as naturalised Basques. Gárate even had Basque parents.

On a positive note the 1960s saw the emergence of an Athletic legend José Ángel Iribar. The 1970s were not much better with only another single Copa del Rey win in 1973. In December 1975, before a game against Real Sociedad, Iribar and the Real captain Ignacio Kortabarria, carried out the Ikurriña, the Basque flag and placed it ceremonially on the centre-circle. This was the first public display of the flag since the death of Franco. In 1977 the club reached the UEFA Cup final, only losing on away goals to Juventus. By now the club had reverted to using the name Athletic Bilbao.

[edit] The Clemente Era

In 1981 the club appointed Javier Clemente as manager. He soon set about putting together one of the most successful Athletic Bilbao teams in the clubs history. Young players from the cantera such as Santiago Urkiaga, Miguel De Andres, Ismael Urtubi, Estanislao Argote and Andoni Zubizarreta joined veterans Dani and Goikoetxea. In his first season in charge, Clemente led the team to 4th place in La Liga. In 1983 the club won La Liga and in 1984 they won a La Liga/Copa del Rey double. In 1985 and 1986 Athletic finished 3rd and 4th respectively. Clemente’s Athletic acquired notoriety for its aggressive style of play, personified by hard man Goikoetxea. He favoured two defensive midfielders playing in front of twin centre backs and a sweeper and as a result critics regarded his teams as dour but effective.

Athletic Bilbao has failed to win a major trophy since the success of the Clemente era. A succession of coaches including José Ángel Iribar, Howard Kendall, Jupp Heynckes and Javier Irureta and even a returning Clemente failed to reproduce his success.

[edit] The Fernández Era

The most successful Athletic coach since Clemente has been Luis Fernández, appointed in 1996. In 1998 he led the club to second in La Liga and UEFA Champions League qualification. Fernandez benefited from the club adopting a more flexible approach to the cantera. Now anybody could play for Athletic, just as long as they acquired their skills in the Basque Country. Thus Patxi Ferreira from Salamanca and Biurrun, a Brazilian-born player who immigrated to the region at a young age, played for the club in the late 1980s. Despite this new approach, their definition of a Basque is still open to interpretation, with both Roberto López Ufarte and Benjamín being overlooked despite having Basque parents.

Fernandez signed Bixente Lizarazu, the first French-born Basque to join the club, Ismael Urzaiz and José Mari. Athletic also began to recruit players from the canteras of other Basque clubs, leading to allegations of poaching. In 1995 Athletic signed Joseba Etxeberria from regional rivals Real Sociedad, causing considerable bad feeling between the two clubs. Although Lizarazu left after one season, Urzaiz, José Mari Garcia Lafuente and Etxeberria, were prominent members of the 1997/98 squad along with Rafael Alkorta, Julen Guerrero and Patxi Ferreira.

[edit] Recent events

In recent seasons Athletic Bilbao have languished in mid-table and the club was embroiled in a relegation battle during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons. In 2006 top-flight survival was ensured on the 37th match day when Deportivo de la Coruña were beaten at Riazor 2-1. Javier Clemente began his third spell as club coach in 2005, at a time when the club were last in the table. He is widely acknowledged to have brought defensive stability to the team, and so is also credited with having saved the club from relegation, despite this he was not left in charge for the 2006-2007 season. The 2006-2007 season has been the worst in the club's history, top-flight survival was ensured on the last match day when Levante were beaten at San Mamés 2-0. In December 2008 Spanish media claimed that this match had been fixed and that some of Levante UD players accepted a bribe from the Basque club. Despite the lack of on-field success, a majority of the club's supporters think the club's identity is more important than winning trophies. According to an El Mundo survey in the 1990s, 76% of Athletic fans would rather see the club relegated than give up the cantera policy. The most successful Athletic team of recent times has been the women’s football team who have won the Superliga Femenina four times between 2003 and 2007.

[edit] Players

[edit] Current squad

The numbers are established according to the official website: www.athletic-club.net and www.lfp.es

Update May 7, 2009

No. Position Player 1 GK Gorka Iraizoz 2 FW Gaizka Toquero 3 DF Koikili 4 DF Ustaritz 5 DF Fernando Amorebieta[4] 7 MF David López 8 MF Joseba Garmendia 9 FW Fernando Llorente 10 MF Francisco Yeste (vice-captain) 11 MF Igor Gabilondo 13 GK Armando 14 MF Markel Susaeta 15 DF Andoni Iraola 16 MF Pablo Orbaiz

No. Position Player 17 FW Joseba Etxeberria (captain) 18 MF Carlos Gurpegi 19 DF Ander Murillo 20 DF Aitor Ocio 21 FW Ion Vélez 22 MF Iñaki Muñoz 24 MF Javi Martínez 26 MF Ander Iturraspe 29 DF Xabier Etxeita 33 DF Eneko Bóveda 41 MF Adrien Goñi 42 DF Mikel Balenziaga 47 DF Xabi Etxebarria FW Iñigo Díaz de Cerio

• The players with dorsal over 25 belong to the subsidiary with appearances in the first team.

[edit] Player records

[edit] Pichichi Trophy

In Spanish football, the Pichichi is the trophy awarded by Spanish sports newspaper Marca to the top goalscorer for each league season.

Name	Season	Goals
Carlos	1974-1975	19
Uriarte	1967-1968	22
Zarra	1952-1953	24
Zarra	1950-1951	38(R)
Zarra	1949-1950	25
Zarra	1946-1947	34
Zarra	1945-1946	24
Zarra	1944-1945	19
Unamuno	1939-1940	26
Gorostiza	1931-1932	12
Bata	1930-1931	27
Gorostiza	1929-1930	19

• (R) = Record.

[edit] Ricardo Zamora Trophy

The Ricardo Zamora Trophy is a football (soccer) award, established by Spanish newspaper MARCA in 1958. The award goes to the goalkeeper who has the lowest "goals-to-games" ratio.

Name	Season	Goals
Iribar	1969-1970	20
Lezama	1946-1947	29
Echevarría	1940-1941	21
Blasco	1935-1936	30
Blasco	1933-1934	21
Blasco	1929-1930	20

[edit] All-time top scorers

	Player	Total Club[5]	Goals in La Liga[5]	Goals in Copa del Rey[5]	Goals in UEL[5]	Goals in UCL[5]
1º	Telmo Zarra	333	252	81
2º	Daniel Ruiz Bazán	199	147	37	11	0
3º	Eneko Arieta	170	136	30	2	2
4º	Panizo	163	126	37
5º	"Piru" Gaínza	149	119	29		1
6º	Gorostiza	148	111	37
7º	Bata	141	105	36
8º	José Luis Artetxe	133	105	23	0	5
9º	Ismael Urzaiz	129	116	12	0	1
10º	Fidel Uriarte	121	90	22	8	0
11º	Manu Sarabia	118	83	28	3	0
12º	Julen Guerrero	116	101	11	2	2
13º	Rafael Iriondo	115	84	31
13º	Carlos Ruiz Herrero	115	81	29	5	0
14º	José Iraragorri	112	88	24
15º	Joseba Etxeberria (act.)	102	88	10	2	2

• (act.) = Active player.
• Note: In the total goals the anoted ones are not added in the regional championship, but on the other hand yes they appear annotated in other official competitions as it are the Supercup, League Cup, Intertoto and Recopa. All the information has been gathered from the official web of the club.^[5]

[edit] Most games played in La Liga

• Iribar (466)
• Etxeberria (435)
• Rojo (414)
• Orúe (391)
• Larrazabal (390)
• Gaínza (382)
• Guerrero (372)
• Urzaiz (367)
• Canito (354)
• Urrutia (348)

[edit] International players

[edit] Coaches

Cat:Athletic Bilbao managers

Trainers list of the XX Century[6]
Year	Trainers (1910-1963)		Year	Trainers (1963-2000)
1910-1914	Mr. Sheperd		1963-1964	Juan Ochoantezana
1914-1915	Mr. Barness		1964-1965	Antonio Barrios (2º cycle)
1915-1919	?		1965-1968	Agustín Gaínza
1919-1915	Mr. Barness (2º cycle)		1968-1969	Rafael Iriondo
1921-1922	Mr. Burton		1969-1971	Ronnie Allen
1922-1925	Juan Arzuaga		1971-1972	Salvador Artigas
1925-1926	Mr. Kirby / Fred Pentland		1972-1974	Milorad Pavić
1926-1929	Lippo Hertzka		1974-1975	Rafael Iriondo (2º cycle)
1929-1933	Fred Pentland (2º cycle)		1975-1979	Koldo Aguirre
1933-1935	Patricio Caicedo		1979-1981	Helmut Senekowitsch
1935-1937	William Garbutt / J. M Olabarria		1981	Iñaki Sáez
1939-1941	Roberto Echevarria		1981-1986	Javier Clemente
1940-1947	Juan Urquizu		1986-1987	José Ángel Iribar
1947-1949	Mr. Bagge		1987-1989	Howard Kendall
1949-1952	José Iraragorri		1989-1990	Txetxu Rojo
1952-1954	Antonio Barrios		1990-1991	Javier Clemente (2º cycle)
1955-1957	Ferdinand Daučík		1991-1992	Iñaki Sáez (2º cycle) / Jesús Aranguren
1957-1958	Baltasar Albéniz		1993-1994	Jupp Heynckes
1958-1960	Martím Francisco		1994-1995	Javier Irureta / J.M Amorrortu
1960-1962	Juan Antonio Ipiña		1995-1996	Dragoslav Stepanović
1962-1963	Ángel Zubieta		1996-2000	Luis Fernández

Trainers list of the XXI Century[6]
Year	Trainers
2000-2001	Txetxu Rojo
2001-2003	Jupp Heynckes
2003-2005	Ernesto Valverde
2005-2006	José Luis Mendilibar / Javier Clemente (3º cycle)
2006-2007	Félix Sarriugarte / José Manuel Esnal "Mané"
2007-today	Joaquín Caparrós

[edit] Uniform's evolution

[edit] Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt partner
1980–1990	Adidas	None
1990–1999	Kappa
1999-2001	Adidas
2001-2008	100% Athletic
2008-2009		Petronor
2009-2017	Umbro[7]

[edit] Honours

[edit] Men’s Football

[edit] National tournaments

La Liga

• Winners (8): 1930, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1943, 1956, 1983, 1984.
• Runners-up (7): 1932, 1933, 1941, 1947, 1952, 1970, 1998.

Copa del Rey

• Winners (23 + 1^[8] ): 1902, 1903, 1904, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1921, 1923, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1969, 1973, 1984.
• Runners-up (12): 1905, 1906, 1913, 1920, 1942, 1949, 1953, 1966, 1967, 1977, 1985, 2009.

Supercopa de España

• Winners (1): 1984.
• Runners-up (1): 1985.

Copa Eva Duarte^[9]

• Winners (1): 1950.
• Runners-up (1): 1945.

[edit] International tournaments

UEFA Europa League

• Runners-up (1): 1977.

[edit] Friendly tournaments

Morocco Summer Cup

• Winners (1): 2008.

Trofeo Ramón de Carranza

• Winners (1): 1972.

Trofeo Colombino

• Winners (3): 1981, 1990, 1999.

Trofeo Costa del Sol

• Winners (2): 1961, 1978

Trofeo Teresa Herrera

• Winners (2): 1947, 1983.

Trofeo Villa de Gijón

• Winners (1): 2005

Trofeo Ibérico

• Winners (1): 1977.

Trofeo Lasesarre

• Winners (1): 2007.

Trofeo Ciudad de Vigo

• Winners (1): 1979.

Copa Latina

• Runners-up (1): 1956.

[edit] Regional tournaments

Basque Cup

• Winners (1): 1935.

Northern Championship / Biscay Championship

• Winners (17): 1914, 1915, 1916, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1939, 1940.

[edit] Women’s Football

Superliga Femenina

• Winners (4): 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2006-07

[edit] History

• 4 Participations in the UEFA Champions League
• 17 Participations in the UEFA Europa League
• 78 seasons (All) in La Liga

Season		Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe		Notes	Coach
1996–97	1D	6	42	16	16	10	72	57	64	Rd 4			Qualified for UEFA Cup	Luis Fernandez
1997–98	1D	2	38	17	14	7	52	42	65	quarterfinal	UC	2nd round	Qualified for UEFA Champions League
1998–99	1D	8	38	17	9	12	53	47	60	Rd 5	UCL	Group Stage
1999–2000	1D	11	38	12	14	12	47	57	50	Rd 2
2000–01	1D	12	38	11	10	17	44	60	43	Rd 3				José Francisco Rojo
2001–02	1D	8	38	14	11	13	54	66	53	semi-final				Jupp Heynckes
2002–03	1D	7	38	15	10	13	63	61	55	Rd 2
2003–04	1D	5	38	15	11	12	53	49	56				Qualified for UEFA Cup	Ernesto Valverde
2004–05	1D	9	38	14	9	15	59	54	51	semi-final	UC	last 16	Qualified for UEFA Intertoto Cup
2005–06	1D	12	38	11	12	15	40	46	45	last 16	UIC	Rd 3		Mendilibar / Javier Clemente
2006–07	1D	17	38	10	10	18	44	62	40					Félix Sarriugarte / Mané
2007–08	1D	11	38	13	11	14	40	43	50	quarterfinal				Joaquín Caparrós
2008–09	1D	13	38	12	8	18	47	62	44	Runner-up			UEFA Europa League 2009–10 Third qualifying round 1

Colours :

Gold	Champion
Silver	Runner-up
Bronze	3rd position & semi-final

[edit] Records and Statistics

• Associates: 34,373^[10]
• Budget: €53,100,000 ^[11]
• Seasons in La Liga: 77 (all).
• Most goals scored in one match home: Athletic 12 - FC Barcelona 1 (1930-31).
• Most goals scored in one match away: Osasuna 1 - Athletic 8 (1958-59).
• Most goals scored in one match in Copa del Rey: Athletic 12 - Celta de Vigo 1 (1946-47)
• Most goals scored in one match in European competitions: Standard Liège 1 - Athletic 7 (2004-05).
• Best position in La Liga: 1st (8 times)
• Worst position in La Liga: 17th (06-07).
• Historical position in the ranking of La Liga: 3rd ^[12]
• Participations in UEFA Europa League: 17
• Best position in UEFA Europa League: Runner-up.^[13]
• Participations in UEFA Champions League: 4
• Best position in UEFA Champions League: Quarter final.^[14]

[edit] Records

• It is with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona the only team to have contested all editions of La Liga, without having ever fallen category.^[15]
• In the 1929-30 season, finished the league unbeaten.^[15]
• Has the record for the biggest win in La Liga (12-1 to FC Barcelona, in 1931).^[15]
• Has the record for the biggest win in Copa del Rey (12-1 to Celta de Vigo, in 1947).^[15]
• Has the highest win record at Real Madrid as a visitor (0-6 in Santiago Bernabéu).^[15]
• Zarra is the only player in the history of La Liga which was 6 times top scorer of this tournament.^[15]
• Zarra holds the record for goals in the history of La Liga (252 goals).^[15]
• Zarra holds the record for goals in a single season (38 goals, in 30 matches).^[15]
• Zarra is the top scorer in the history of Copa del Rey (81 goals).^[15]
• Gainza has the record of highest scorer in a single match of La Liga (8 goals).^[15]
• Zarra holds the record for goals in a Copa del Rey final (4 goals).^[15]
• Bata is the player with the best average scorer in La Liga (0,92 goals per match played).^[15]

[edit] Stadium information

• Name - San Mamés Stadium
• City - Bilbao
• Capacity - 39,750^[16]
• Inauguration - 1913
• Pitch size - 103 x 68 m
• Sports Facilities: Lezama

[edit] Future Stadium

• Name - New San Mamés Stadium
• Approximate capacity - 53.000
• Beginning construction - 2009 / 2010
• End construction (forecast) - 2014

[edit] Lezama facilities

The Lezama facility is the complex where all of the categories of Athletic train. Opened in the 1971-72 season. At present, facilities include, inter alia, five natural grass fields, a gymnasium, a pediment, a medical center and a residence for young players.

[edit] See also

• Sports and politics

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Athletic Club de Bilbao

• (Basque) (Spanish) (English) Athletic Club Official Website
• (Spanish) Voluntad de tradición, an article on the cantera in Spanish.
• (Spanish) San Mamés Stadium

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