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| Full name | Bilbao Athletic | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Los Leones / Lehoiak (The Lions) Los Cachorros / Katxorroak (The Cubs) | ||
| Founded | 1964; 61 years ago (1964) | ||
| Ground | Lezama (Field 2) | ||
| Capacity | 3,250 | ||
| Chairman | Jon Uriarte | ||
| Manager | Jokin Aranbarri | ||
| League | Primera Federación – Group 1 | ||
| 2024–25 | Primera Federación – Group 1, 7th of 20 | ||
Athletic Club "B", officiallyBilbao Athletic,[1] is thereserve team ofAthletic Club,[a] afootball club based inBilbao, in the autonomous community ofBasque Country in Spain. The team currently compete in thePrimera Federación – Group 1. Founded in 1964, the team holds home matches at the small stadium attached to the club's training facility atLezama, holding 3,250 spectators[2] or occasionally atSan Mamés Stadium, with its 53,500-seat capacity, for important fixtures.
Reserve teams in Spain play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However, reserves cannot play in the same division as their senior team. Therefore, Bilbao Athletic are ineligible for promotion toLa Liga. Reserve teams are also no longer permitted to enter theCopa del Rey. In addition, only under-23 players, or under-25 with a professional contract, can switch between senior and reserve teams. In recent years, most of Bilbao Athletic's players have been graduates from theclub's youth setup ('cantera') via thefeeder team,Basconia. As a result of Athletic'ssigning policy, only Basque players feature also for the reserve team.
TheBilbao Athletic name was first used in 1938 during theSpanish Civil War, when bothLa Liga and theCopa del Rey were suspended; most of the top Athletic players had joined theEuzkadi XI, a team put together at the suggestion ofJosé Antonio Aguirre, the president of theBasque Country (and himself a formerAthletic Bilbao footballer). Euzkadi went on tour to raise funds for the Basque cause, and alsoplayed in the Mexican domestic league. However, at home theCampeonato de Vizcaya had resumed in 1938. With their best players abroad with Euzkadi, Athletic could only field weakened sides and, to avoid possible shameful results damaging the club's reputation, chose to enter under the nameBilbao Athletic (derived from the two clubs that merged in 1903 to become Athletic Bilbao –Bilbao Football Club andAthletic Club).[3] Despite the low expectations, they still won the championship and entered the1939 Copa del Generalísimo, as the club itself regrouped for a return to normality.
In the 1940s, a reserve team calledCD Bilbao played at regional level for a few seasons, but when they had the opportunity of promotion to the third tier, the club opted instead to send players to strengthen its more prestigious local partnerArenas de Getxo.[4]
The name was revived in 1964, when Athletic decided to establish a reserve team withAgustín Gaínza as coach. The newBilbao Athletic initially played in regional leagues before winning promotion toTercera División in 1966, underRafa Iriondo; in1969 they first reachedSegunda División.
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In1983–84, withJosé Ángel Iribar as coach, and an emergingJulio Salinas asstriker, the reserves finished in second place, only trailingCastilla CF; both teams were ineligible for promotion, and Salinas won thePichichi.
Bilbao Athletic dropped back down to the third level in 1996, but the main squad continued to be nurtured with several players who had spells with the reserves.
After 19 seasons inSegunda División B, Bilbao Athletic returned to thesecond tier after defeatingCádiz CF 3–1 on aggregate in thepromotion playoffs.[5] However, in their campaign in the Segunda they were reliant on the same group, a core squad of 20-year-olds who had never played at such a high level before, and despite battling performances in most of their games, a pattern of narrow defeats led to the team finishing bottom and being relegated back down at the first attempt.[6] Somewhat ironically, the promoted teams that season wereCD Leganés whose squad included three players on loan from Athletic who would have been eligible to play for Bilbao Athletic that season, as well as the parent club's local rivalsAlavés andOsasuna.
The team came close to another promotion in2020–21, losing toBurgos after extra time in the final round of thepromotion play-offs[7] (they had lost in the opening round in2018 and2020).
League re-organisation in 2021 meant the third level became thePrimera Federación, consisting of only two groups and a higher average standard of play than in the four groups of Segunda B. In2022–23, Bilbao Athletic finished bottom of their section (in which the reserves of local rivals Osasuna and Real Sociedad survived comfortably) and were relegated to the five-groupSegunda Federación – the first time the team had been in the fourth tier since the 1960s, and potentially damaging for player progression at the club with a wider gap between the standards of this level and La Liga.[8] They bounced back to the third tier immediately by winning their group in2023–24, losing only twice.[9]
Athletic have competed in thePremier League International Cup – anunder-23 tournament with all matches played in England – several times, with most of the players involved drawn from Bilbao Athletic plus some younger additions fromBasconia and theJuvenil squads (the rules permit the use of a limited number of overage players, but Athletic do not use them). In2014–15,2015–16 and2016–17 the club qualified from their group but were eliminated in the quarter-finals, while in the2017–18,[10]2018–19,2019–20 and2023–24 editions, they bowed out at the group stage (they did not enter in2022–23). They recorded their best progress in the2024–25 season, reaching the semi-finals before losing to eventual winnersNottingham Forest after extra time.[11]
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Jokin Aranbarri |
| Assistant head coach | Ander Murillo |
| Analyst | Iñigo Lizarralde |
| Goalkeeping coach | Armando Ribeiro |
| Fitness coach | Mikel Legarreta |
| Psychologist | Iñigo "Txolo" Aguinaga |
| Physiotherapist | Jon Ciaurri Xabier Mendieta |
| Medical services | Juan Manuel Santisteban |
| Nurse | Joseba Andoni Monasterio |
| Kit manager | José Félix Gallastegi |
| Match delegate | Javier Arkotxa |
For big matches, they useSan Mamés, thefirst team stadium.
Javier ClementeAgustín GaínzaJosé Ángel IribarRafa IriondoIgnacio Izagirre (284 matches)Iñaki Sáez (290 matches, record)[14]José Ángel Ziganda (242 matches)Note: This list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 top league games, have reached international status, or both.
Justo Ruiz
Jonás Ramalho
Iñaki WilliamsAritz AdurizBorja AgirretxuUstaritz AldekoaotaloraEdu AlonsoJoseba AguirreJosé Ramón AlexankoRafael AlkortaYeray ÁlvarezGenar AndrinúaAnaitz ArbillaKepa ArrizabalagaDaniel AstrainDani AranzubiaEstanislao ArgoteAndoni AyarzaEnrique AyúcarMikel BalenziagaIbon BegoñaJavier BellidoMario BermejoRubén BilbaoJon Pérez BoloUnai BustinzaAndoni CedrúnSergio CorinoMiguel de AndrésÓscar de MarcosAsier del HornoJuan Antonio DeustoJuan José ElgezabalXabier EskurzaImanol EtxeberriaBeñat EtxebarriaXabier EtxeitaPatxi FerreiraLuis FernandoLuis de la FuenteJosé Manuel GaldamesJosé Ramón GallegoCarlos GarcíaAnder GaritanoAndoni GoikoetxeaIbai GómezPizo GómezFernando Javier GómezJavi GonzálezJavi GraciaEndika GuarrotxenaJulen GuerreroFelipe GuréndezCarlos GurpeguiGorka IraizozAndoni IraolaAnder IturraspeAitor KarankaIñaki LafuenteAndoni Lakabeg
Aymeric LaporteAitor LarrazábalIñigo LekueÁngel LekumberriIñigo LiceranzuIñigo LizarraldeFernando LlorenteUnai LópezAlberto MartínRicardo MendigurenJesús MerinoIker MuniainAnder MurilloAndoni MurúaMiguel NavarroTxema NoriegaUnai NúñezJosé María NúñezJosé Ignacio OñaederraLuis PrietoCarlos PurroyÁlex RemiroJosé Ángel RojoTxetxu RojoDani Ruiz-BazánCarlos RuizJulio SalinasPatxi SalinasOihan SancetManuel SarabiaFélix SarriugarteMiguel SolaMarkel SusaetaUnai SimónÓscar TabuenkaSantiago UrquiagaJosu UrrutiaIsmael UrtubiJuanjo ValenciaÓscar ValesMikel VesgaJuan Carlos VidalDani VivianNico WilliamsFrancisco YesteFélix ZubiagaAndoni ZubizarretaLuís María Zugazaga
Fernando Amorebieta| Other teams |
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| Home stadium | |
| Training ground | |
| Affiliated Clubs | |
| Related articles | |
| Rivalries |
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