Athletic Bilbao guide - history, titles, logo, stadium map

Full Name: Athletic Club
City: Bilbao
Founded: 1898
Stadium: Estadio San Mamés (40,000)
Colors: Black, Red, White
Previous: Athletic Club (1898-1903), Athletic Club de Bilbao (1903-41), Atlético Bilbao (1941-77)
Nicknames: Rojiblancos, Zurigorri, Los Leones
Rival: Real Sociedad

Official Website: athletic-club.net

Description:

Athletic Club were formed in 1898 by Basques who had been studying in England. After a joint team named Club Vizcaya won the inaugural Copa del Rey in 1902, Athletic Club merged with the mainly British Bilbao FC the following year to create Athletic Club de Bilbao. Since 1912, the club has fielded only Basque players and is regarded as a symbol of Basque nationalism. In 1941 the Spanish federation forced all clubs to adopt Spanish-language names and the club became Atlético Bilbao. After the death of Franco, the club reverted to its original name - Athletic Club. Athletic are one of only three clubs, along with Real Madrid and Barcelona, to have never been relegated from the Primera Division. Athletic Bilbao reached the 1977 UEFA Cup final, their best-ever performance in Europe.

There is clear consensus on why the club adopted its red and white shirts and black shorts but one common theory attributes it to the colors of English clubs Southampton and Sunderland, where many of the founders of Bilbao FC hailed from. Along with FC Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao are one of the very few clubs that refuse to include a sponsor logo on their shirts. The Athletic Bilbao emblem includes the bridge and Cathedral of San Antón over the Nervión River, all of which are major symbolic locations in Bilbao and also present in the city's coat of arms; The Tree of Gernika, an important symbol of Basque freedom; and the club's colors in red and white vertical stripes like the shirts.

Both the nicknames rojiblancos and zurigorri mean the Red and White in Spanish and Basque respectively.

League Titles:

• La Liga (1930, 31, 34, 36, 43, 56, 83, 84)

Cup Titles:

• Copa del Rey (1903, 04, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 21, 23, 30, 31, 32, 33, 43, 44, 45, 50, 55, 56, 58, 69, 73, 84)
• Supercopa de España (1984)

Estadio San Mamés:

The stadium, built in 1913 and the oldest in Spain, is located near the cathedral of San Mames. According to legend a small boy named Mames was thrown into a lions' den. The lions refused to eat him and he later received sainthood. This is is the origin of the stadium name and the Leones (Lions) nickname. There are plans to build a new San Mamés on ground adjacent to the current site. It wil hold nearly 60,000 and be completed by 2011. Previous Stadium: Lamiako (1898-1913).

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