Joe The Tiger Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 [/center] Main information[/center] Athletic Club is a Spanish Basque 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. They are known as the Rojiblancos or Zurigorri because of their red and white striped shirts and as Los Leones 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. Basque nationalism The club's success gave the Basques something to be proud of and supporting the club became a legal way of expressing Basque nationalism during the Franco years. Some prominent members of the EAJ-PNV were also Athletic members. Jose Antonio Aguirre, a distinguished player with the club in the 1920s and an EAJ-PNV member, became the first elected Basque president in 1936. On 5 December 1975 (15 days after the death of Franco), Athletic's Iribar and Real Sociedad's Kortabarria entered the ground of the Real vs Athletic local derby carrying the still illegal Basque flag[4]. The goalkeeper Iribar was later a founding member of the independentist coalition Herri Batasuna[4], and Endika Guarrotxena entered the national board of the coalition after the arrest of the previous board[4]. Ironically one of the main beneficiaries of the cantera policy has been Spain. In the early 1920s the Basque Country was a breeding ground of great Spanish players. The influx of immigrants from all over Spain resulted in the region producing hundreds of quality players. In 1920 Spain entered a team in the Olympic Games. Of the 21 players in the squad, 14 were Basques. Athletic has provided more players for the national team then any other club, including Real Madrid. 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. [1]. Another is that an Athletic member was sent to the 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. Stadium information Name - San Mamés Stadium City - Bilbao Capacity - 39,750[10] Inauguration - 1913 Pitch size - 103 x 68 m Sports Facilities: Lezama Future stadium Name - New San Mamés Stadium Approximate capacity - 58.000 / 60.000 Beginning construction - May 2009 End construction (forecast) - 2013 History National titles: Liga titles: 8 (1930, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1943, 1956, 1983, 1984). Copa del Rey: 23 (24*) (1902*, 1903, 1904, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1921, 1923, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1969, 1973, 1984). The number of Copa wins Athletic Club have been credited with is disputed. The 1902 competition was won by Club Vizcaya, a team made up of players from Athletic Club and Bilbao FC. In 1903 these two clubs merged as Athletic Club. The 1902 cup is on display in the Athletic museum [2] and the club includes it in its own honours list.[3]. However LFP and RFEF official statistics do not include this as an Athletic win. Spanish SuperCup: 1 (1985). Northern Championship: 3 (1914, 1915, 1916). Bizkaia Championship: 13 (1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1940) Basque Cup: 1 (1935) Associates: 34,373[7] Budget: €53,100,000 [8] 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 Current squad No. Position Player 1 GK Gorka Iraizoz 2 MF Gaizka Toquero 3 DF Koikili 4 DF Ustaritz 5 DF Fernando Amorebieta[5] 6 MF Joseba del Olmo 7 MF David López 8 MF Joseba Garmendia 9 FW Fernando Llorente 10 MF Francisco Yeste (vice-captain) 11 MF Igor Gabilondo 12 FW Iñigo Vélez 13 GK Armando No. Position Player 14 MF Markel Susaeta 15 DF Andoni Iraola 16 MF Pablo Orbaiz 17 FW Joseba Etxeberria (captain) 18 MF Carlos Gurpegui 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 42 MF Mikel Balenziaga 47 DF Xabi Etxebarria Can you win the league with Bilbao? It's a challenge because of the clubs basque transfer policy. Have fun Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcidBurn Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Theres already a thread for these dude. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisandro Lopez Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=80580 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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