StrikerAritz Aduriz contributed 34 European goals for the club over a six-year spell from 2012 to 2018, winning the Europa League's top scorer award twice (one shared). The player with the most appearances, full-backÓscar de Marcos (77 matches), was also heavily involved during that period as well as in the 2011–12 and 2024–25 Europa League runs.
From 1941[2][3] until 1975,[2] the club was known asAtlético de Bilbao following a decree from theruling regime of the period that foreign words should not be used – theAthletic name, adopted at the turn of the 20th century, reflected English connections to football in the area.[4][5] Therefore, any references toAtlético Bilbao in matches during the period correctly reflect the official title at the time.
It is traditional for the captains of teams visiting Athletic's stadium for the first time to present a bouquet of flowers to abust of the club's 1920s starPichichi.[6][7] Since it is rare for Athletic to encounter new opponents in domestic football, most of these brief pre-match ceremonies take place prior to European ties.[8]
Athletic's first matches in Europe in theLatin Cup were played in Milan'sArena Civica
Athletic's first experience of European competition was the non-UEFALatin Cup held at the end of the1955–56 season in which they were champions of Spain;[9] in the small four-team tournament held inMilan, theLions finished as runners-up toA.C. Milan.[10][11] The competition ended in 1957 and has become relatively obscure although was taken seriously at the time.[12]
Winning the domestic league also granted Athletic entry to theEuropean Cup, thefirst edition of which had been won by Spanish rivalsReal Madrid.[13] During the1956–57 campaign,[14] They defeatedFC Porto in the opening round and were then drawn againstBudapest Honvéd of Hungary at a significant point in that nation's history.[15][16][17] Before the first leg of their tie – originally scheduled forBudapest – had been played, theHungarian Revolution of 1956 began. The Honvéd players, who formed the backbone of the 'Mighty Magyars' international side, were already out of the country, but their families remained at home amidst the chaos of the uprising. The legs were switched, with Athletic winning narrowly 3–2 inBilbao.[15][16][17]
The second leg was eventually played a month later inBrussels after Honvéd, unwilling to return to Hungary, took part in several exhibition matches around the continent.[15][16] That return ended in a 3–3 draw with Athletic progressing 6–5, although Honvéd played a portion of the match with ten men after the goalkeeper was injured; their international wingerZoltán Czibor took his place between the posts.[15][16] Honvéd continued to play tour matches across Europe and in South America for some time, until most returned home.[15][16][17] Czibor,Sándor Kocsis and captainFerenc Puskás did not go back and had to serve bans for their defection before they were able to play for their new clubs – Athletic's domestic rivalsFC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Honvéd would not be a major force in the game again.[15][16][17]
TheBusby Babes team, pictured about two years before their tie in Bilbao
Athletic's next opponents were the youngManchester United squad known as theBusby Babes,[9] who progressed after another battle ending 6–5. After 85 minutes of the first leg in Bilbao, the home side led 5–2 before theRed Devils scored a third goal, giving themselves a more achievable target in Manchester, and it was also with five minutes remaining in the return that they found the decisive goal to win 3–0.[18] The United players had helped to clear snow off their aeroplane atBilbao Airport to enable them to fly home after the first leg;[19] exactly a year after their win over Athletic, the English club was decimated in theMunich air disaster which involved their plane failing on take-off in wintery conditions.[20]
It would be nine years before Athletic played in Europe again, although aCopa del Generalisimo win in1958[21] and three league finishes in the top five (1958–59,1959–60,1961–62) achieved in the period would have been sufficient to qualify in later eras.[14]
In the1964–65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup tournament, the club progressed through two early rounds[22] before meeting Scotland'sDunfermline Athletic. Both won their home leg 1–0 necessitating a playoff in Bilbao, won 2–1 by the home side with a lateFidel Uriarte goal.[22][23] The quarter–final opponents were another Hungarian side,Ferencváros, and the tie finished 3–3 on aggregate; again a playoff was required, which took place in Budapest, and Ferencváros won 3–0[17][22][24] on their way to the trophy, beatingJuventus inthe final.[17][23]
Athletic have played six matches in Hungary, including four againstFerencváros at theNepstadion, losing them all
Athletic's next entry into Europe in the1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup[14] was a short unhappy venture, asRed Star Belgrade won 5–0 in the first round, first leg match inBelgrade, which remains the club's heaviest European defeat.[25] Prior to the match, the Yugoslav side's manager had underplayed his team's strength, stating "The best we can hope for is a draw". A 2–0 win at home could not retrieve the situation for Athletic.[25][26] Red Star did not have much impact on the competition, losing to another Spanish clubValencia in the next round, but their domestic rivalsDinamo Zagreb went on towin the cup.[25][27]
In thefollowing campaign,[14] a win over Denmark'sFrem was rewarded with a cross-border meeting withGirondins Bordeaux, the shortest-ever away journey at 257km.[28] That tie was successfully passed,[24][29] but after receiving abye to the quarter-finals through the luck of the draw, Athletic's next opponents were Ferencváros who once more proved too strong, despite enduring a miserable journey from Budapest to the Basque Country for the second leg;[24] the Hungarians would again reachthe final, this time losing toLeeds United.[17][30]
A late goal byEmlyn Hughes atAnfield sent Athletic's1968–69 Fairs Cup first round tie withLiverpool intoextra time.[14] (with this tiebreak method now preferred to a deciding match),[31] When that did not provide a winner,the toss of a coin (or specifically picking the correct colour of card the referee was holding, from a choice of red or green)[31] was employed for the only time in the club's European matches, with luck favouring theLions.[31][32] They overcame their first German opponentsEintracht Frankfurt through a spectacular volley from teenage defenderJosé María Igartua[33] and advanced to the quarter-finals to faceRangers, where two late goals in the first leg atIbrox proved decisive as the 4–1 loss,[31][34] including a strike byAlex Ferguson who had been in the Dunfermline side narrowly beaten four years earlier and had a goal disallowed in that tie,[23] was only countered 2–0 at home with some good chances to score a vital third being squandered.[31][35]
The change of competition to theUEFA Cup in1971–72[39] brought little upturn in fortune, as Athletic qualified (their sixth successive European campaign, the longest sequence in club history) but lost toEintracht Braunschweig[40][41] after beatingSouthampton.[40]
After a year's hiatus, adomestic cup win[42] in 1973 provided entry into the1973–74 European Cup Winners' Cup,[39] the last time the club would enter that competition, ending after two journeys behind theIron Curtain: Athletic were accompanied to theUSSR by 1000 supporters for the goalless draw withTorpedo Moscow,[43] but this result was followed by a heavy 3–0 defeat to Bulgaria'sBeroe Stara Zagora which could not be overturned back in Bilbao.[43]
The club's first major successful run to the latter stages of European competition occurred in the1976–77 UEFA Cup[39][44][45] under head coach and former playerKoldo Aguirre. Early rounds againstÚjpest of Hungary andBasel of Switzerland were overcome thanks to strong home wins in the second leg.[44] In the third round against Italians Milan, Athletic played at home first, and this time secured a strong 4–1 lead to take to Italy after scoring on 81 and 86 minutes.[44][46] In the second leg at theSan Siro, Milan scored a penalty with less than ten minutes remaining to lead onaway goals before an even later Athletic penalty turned the tie.[44][46][47]
That victory over one of thecontinent's biggest names provided confidence in facing another: domestic rivals Barcelona. It was the first time Athletic had played another Spanish team in Europe, and the two clubs had already played both league fixtures that season, theCatalans winning 3–1 in Bilbao and the Basques claiming a 2–0 victory at theCamp Nou ten days before their UEFA Cup tie.[48] The tie was played in an unusually friendly atmosphere due to the similar regional identity of the two clubs,[49][50][51][52] whose supporters were excited by the prospect of abrighter future for their respective territories after the death of dictatorGeneral Franco and the weakening ofhis regime.[53] Athletic held on for a 2–1 lead at San Mames and led by the same score by half–time in the second leg thanks to a brace fromJavier Irureta, requiring Barça to score three more times in the last 45 minutes. They could only manage one, throughJohan Cruijff, so theLions qualified for the penultimate stage of a European tournament for the first time.[44][54][55][56]
In the semi-final tie, against BelgiansR.W.D. Molenbeek, a 1–1 draw was achieved in a tough contest inBrussels[57] before a 0–0 draw in Bilbao was sufficient to progress to thetwo–legged final against anotherSerie A club, Juventus.[44] Athletic's veteran goalkeeperJosé Ángel Iribar would face his 'twin', the Italian national custodianDino Zoff (the two were of similar age, height and appearance).[58][59]
Both clubs fielded teams of a single nationality in the showpiece first leg at theStadio Comunale on 4 May before a 75,000 crowd, with the only goal scored by the hosts'Marco Tardelli.[44][46][60][61] In the return on 18 May, an earlyaway goal byJuve'sRoberto Bettega left Athletic with a tough task to score three against the side that were about to becrowned Serie A champions, had only conceded 20 goals in the league and given up just one to each of their UEFA Cup opponents that season.[62] Athletic quickly equalised on the night through Irureta, but could not find another goal untilCarlos scored the second on 78 minutes. A frantic last portion of the match failed to produce the vital third goal, the tie finished 2–2 and Juventus claimed their first European trophy on the away goals rule.[44][46][61][63] A few weeks later, Athletic suffered further disappointment when they lost the1977 Copa del Rey Final in apenalty shoot–out toReal Betis.[64]
Results thereafter were not as impressive: thefollowing season[39] began in familiar circumstances as Athletic defeated opponents from Switzerland (Servette) and Hungary (Újpest again, requiring extra time to progress)[65] before falling toAston Villa,[65] and the1978–79 UEFA Cup[39] run ended even sooner asAjax overturned a two-goal deficit to win the first–round tie withSøren Lerby scoring the decisive goal with two minutes remaining.[66][67] It was a fair outcome, as the second of Athletic's scores in Bilbao should not have been awarded:Juan Carlos Vidal's shot struck the outside of the supportingstanchion and rebounded onto thefield of play in a similar manner to the legitimate goal earlier in the match, and wasmistakenly given by the referee.[67][68]
After three years with no European football for Athletic, in the1982–83 UEFA Cup it was the Budapest team Ferencváros who once again ended their participation.[17][39] It was the third time they had been drawn together and Athletic had lost on every occasion.[17][24]
Athletic retained their league title and added the domestic cup in1983–84,[73][74] but thesubsequent European Cup campaign[75] was disappointingly brief, with Bordeaux prevailing in the first round tie[76] despite Athletic only needing a single goal to win at home and progress on away goals;[29] two goals home were disallowed and the crowd threw missiles at the referee in frustration.[76] The small consolation was that theFrench champions proved their mettle by reaching the semi-finals where they came close to beating the eventual winners Juventus.[76]
Unremarkable UEFA cup campaigns would follow,[75] with defeats toSporting CP[77] (losing 3–0 in the second leg after a run of five straight wins in earlier matches againstBeşiktaş J.K. andRFC Liège in the first two rounds) in1985–86 UEFA Cup andBeveren,[57] with the latter campaign in1986–87 the last of five consecutive seasons of qualifying for Europe.[1] In1988,[75] Athletic returned to Turin and the Stadio Comunale to face Juventus once more, this time losing heavily 5–1.[60][78]Michael Laudrup, who scored two of the goals, also opened the scoring in Bilbao to all but end the tie as a contest, although Athletic did come to within two goals of levelling the aggregate before having to settle for a 3–2 win on the night.[46]
1990s: Italian and English trips, Champions League
After five seasons without qualifying,[79] Athletic returned to European football with enthusiasm in the1994–95 UEFA Cup,[75] eliminatingAnorthosis by overcoming a two-goal first leg deficit[79][80] and English league leadersNewcastle United in a tie memorable for another comeback in the first leg (reducing arrears from 3–0 atSt James' Park by scoring twice in the last 20 minutes) and for the positive interaction between the two groups of supporters,[45][79][81][82][83][84][85] before losing out toParma, who would go on to lift the trophy,[86] in another closely–fought contest over the two legs.[46][79][87][88] In their next qualification in1997[75] the situation was reversed, with Athletic overcoming an Italian opponent –Sampdoria[46][88][89] – before losing to an English rival: Aston Villa.[90]
Athletic, coached byErnesto Valverde, made a comeback to continental competition in the2004–05 UEFA Cup,[94][95] their only participation in that tournament's five-club group stage involving one match against each opponent. Revenge for the defeat a decade earlier was achieved with a home win over Parma in the opening fixture,[88][96] and progression to the next stage was achieved in style by defeatingStandard Liège 7–1 in Belgium, the club's biggest-ever win in Europe (Santiago Ezquerro scoring three).[57][96][97] However, these positive results proved to be a false dawn as an underwhelming loss in the first knockout round to anAustria Wien side inspired byLibor Sionko followed.[96][98][99] In the aftermath of the defeat, Valverde announced he would be leaving the club at the season's end after disputes with the hierarchy.[96]
A few months after the Austria defeat, Athletic lost adomestic cup semi-final on penalties at San Mamés, again to Betis (see 1977),[100] and this method would also be their undoing in the summer in their sole entry to the early-seasonIntertoto Cup[94] (having declined previous invitations) following a 9th-place finish inthe league. In perhaps their most ignominious early exit, the only time they have fallen at a preliminary stage,[101] and (to date) the last of seven occasions where the team was eliminated from Europe after a playing just a single two-legged tie, a young understrength side lost to Romania'sCFR Cluj in theopening round after both legs finished 1–0.[102] The result came in the wake of the departure of two important players – Ezquerro to Barcelona[103] andAsier del Horno toChelsea,[104] and set the tone for a disappointingdomestic season in which the club narrowly avoided relegation after gaining 10 points in the last four matches.[105][106]
The club's next entry, into the re-brandedUEFA Europa League in2009[94] (having lost the previous season'sCup final to Barcelona),[95][107] involved the setting of new club records, as 16-year-oldIker Muniain became the club's youngest player in a European match in the first leg defeat toYoung Boys,[108] then came off the bench and scored the goal which saw Athletic progress on away goals in the return in Switzerland.[109] Despite failing to win at home again in the next round, a long journey north to theArctic Circle was rewarded with a narrow aggregate victory overTromsø[110][111] and qualification to thegroup stage, where two wins over Austria Wien (the away leg interrupted by a pitch invasion by localright-wing hooligans)[112][113] were mitigated by a pair of defeats toWerder Bremen[114] (the only German opponent to win in Bilbao).[115] In the first knockout round, Athletic endured their worst aggregate losing margin in a 1–5 reverse toAnderlecht, led by another 16-year-old forward,Romelu Lukaku,[57][116] while more violent incidents involving supporters occurred at San Mamés in the first leg[117] and in the streets of Brussels prior to the second leg.[118]
Marcelo Bielsa became Athletic coach in 2011, with his first competitive fixture aEuropa League tie at home toTrabzonspor which ended 0–0.[94] A difficult second leg on theBlack Sea coast was in prospect, but this wascancelled whenFenerbahçe were expelled from the Champions League, with Trabzonspor taking the place in that competition and Athletic progressing in the Europa League by default.[119] The club took full advantage of that piece of good fortune, winningthe group ahead ofParis Saint-Germain[29][120][121] before eliminatingLokomotiv Moscow in the last 32.[122]
Athletic were then drawn against Manchester United and won 3–2 in the first leg atOld Trafford,[123] going on to knock the three-time European champions out of the tournament with a 2–1 victory at home (a long-awaited 'revenge' win from 1957).[124][125]Fernando Llorente andÓscar de Marcos both scored in each leg of the tie,[123][124] with the manner of their performances described as "a footballing lesson" in the media.[125]
In the quarter-final, they travelled toSchalke 04 of Germany and won the first leg 4–2, despite being 2–1 down on 72 minutes after aRaúl brace.[126] The sides drew 2–2 in the second leg,[115][127] allowing Athletic to progress to the semi-final against Sporting CP. A few hours after the match in Bilbao, an incident of disorder occurred near the stadium, during which Athletic supporterIñigo Cabacas [eu] was shot in the head with a 'Flash-ball' fired by a member of theErtzaintza police service and later died.[128] Five years later, charges were brought against officers commanding the vehicles that attended the scene,[129][130] with a trial date set for October 2018.[131][132]
Athletic Bilbao fans inBucharest before the Europa League final
Athletic lost the semi-final first leg in Portugal 2–1 after initially taking the lead throughJon Aurtenetxe,[133] but prevailed 3–1 at home with goals fromMarkel Susaeta,Ibai Gómez and the winner by Llorente in the 89th minute in front of a fervent home crowd to edge into the final inBucharest, 4–3 on aggregate;[134][135] Bielsa's adventurous tactics[136] led to 28 goals being scored and 20 conceded across the six group games and eight knockout matches during the run.[137] Llorente scored seven times, while Muniain and Susaeta got five each.[138]
The2012 UEFA Europa League Final at theArena Nationala proved a step too far for Athletic as they lost 3–0 to Spanish rivalsAtlético Madrid[95] (formed a century earlier by fans of Athletic as an offshoot of the original Bilbao club),[139][140] The two clubs had shared league wins during the season,[141] but on the day Atlético were inspired by the forward play ofRadamel Falcao and won comfortably.[142][143][144] A group of supporters had a double disappointment as they charted a flight to the wrong destination, mistaking Budapest for Bucharest.[145] In an unwelcome echo of 1977,[4] Athletic followed up their European final defeat with a loss in the2012 Copa del Rey Final, again by a 3–0 scoreline.[95][146]
The team did not break up entirely following the 2012 campaign. The three most prominent players who did depart all won European medals in the subsequent years:Javi Martínez (Champions League withBayern Munich in2013),[147] Fernando Llorente (Europa League withSevilla in2016,[148] having lost a Champions League final with Juventustwelve months earlier)[149] andAnder Herrera (Europa League with Manchester United in2017).[150]
As runners-up to Champions League qualifiers Barcelona, Athletic made an immediate return to the Europa League in2012–13.[94] The qualifying rounds saw the team achieve both their biggest ever home win (6–0) against Finland'sHJK,[151] and their highest aggregate margin of victory – the second leg finished 3–3 for a six-goal difference.[152] Thegroup stage was reached, but disappointing results, including two defeats toLyon[29] and failure to beat debutantsHapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona of Israel at home,[153] led to an early exit. The final continental fixture at the originalSan Mamés stadium prior to its demolition was a 0–0 draw against Sparta Prague in December 2012.[154] The club had a strong home record at the century-old venue, losing only six times in 76[a] European matches there.[155]
After one season in a half-built stadium and with no European football, Athletic – now coached by Valverde for a second time – finished in 4th place in the2013–14 La Liga, allowing rare access to the Champions League qualification process. In the first match at the newSan Mamés in its completed state, they defeatedNapoli to reach the2014–15 UEFA Champions League group stage.[88][95][156] However they could only finish third behindShakhtar Donetsk and Porto[157] after losing toBATE Borisov[95][158] (who were defeated heavily by the other teams),[159][160] meaning they dropped into the Europa League, the only occasion in which the club has been involved in two European competitions in one season. Athletic were then knocked out of the lesser tournament at the Round of 32 byTorino,[95][161] their first home loss to an Italian club after eight matches undefeated.[162]
In 2015, for the third time in seven years, Athletic lost thedomestic cup final to Barcelona (who also won the league title);[95][163] UEFA's rules had recently changed, so they no longer qualified as runners-up.[164] However they also finished seventh inthe league, and with absence of any qualifier from the Copa del Rey, this was sufficient to enter the2015–16 UEFA Europa League. The first qualifying round involved a trip toBaku, Azerbaijan (the furthest distance they have travelled for a European fixture at 4,309 km)[165] where a goalless draw withInter Baku was good enough to progress.[95] In thegroup stage they topped the section, only dropping points toAZ Alkmaar,[166][167] although it took two late goals fromAritz Aduriz to turn the away fixture withAugsburg on its head.[168] Aduriz also scored in the away legs of subsequent rounds againstMarseille (a volley from 35 yards)[169][170] andValencia (his former club, against whom he had already netted twice that season during league wins),[171][172][173] and in both legs against the holders Sevilla,[174] but there the run ended as the hosts won a penalty shootout 5–4 at theRamón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium to go through,[175] eventually winning the trophy forthe third consecutive year.[148]
Markel Susaeta broke the Athletic European appearance record in 2016.
Aduriz finished as thecompetition's top scorer with 10 goals,[176] and was named in the'squad of the season'.[177] Due to the early qualifying rounds played, the total of 16 matches in the campaign equalled the previous record set during 2011–12's run to the final.[137][178]
After finishing thedomestic season in 5th place, Athletic qualified directly for the2016–17 UEFA Europa League group stage. They started poorly with a loss to debutantsSassuolo[179] in a fixture that had significance for Susaeta making a record 56th continental appearance, overtaking Iribar.[9][180] The campaign was recovered thanks to three home wins, including a 5–3 victory overGenk in which Aduriz scored all five goals (including three penalties), becoming the first player to accomplish this feat since the competition was rebranded as the Europa League[181][182] and also setting a new club record for most goals by one player in a continental fixture. Having previously been level with Llorente on 16, those goals also took him clear as the club's top scorer in European matches.[183] Weaker away performances were exemplified by the defeat toAPOEL in the first knockout round, with a lead from the home leg overturned in Cyprus.[80]
Under new head coachJosé Ángel Ziganda, Athletic scraped into a Europa League place for the2017–18 season due tocup winners Barcelona entering the Champions League as usual, leaving a spot for the 7th-placedLions.[184] Preliminary rounds against strong opposition for that stage (Dinamo Bucharest andPanathinaikos)[185][186] were overcome, but a poor start in thegroup stage – including a home defeat toZorya Luhansk in which Muniain sustained a serious injury[187] and a tough match in Sweden (the first tie in that country) against newcomersÖstersunds FK featuring an equaliser byIñaki Williams in the closing minutes[188] – left Athletic with two points from three games and looking unlikely to progress. However, three victories were then achieved with more late goals by Williams, Aduriz andRaúl García,[189][190][191] yielding 11 points in total and qualification as group winners.[191]
The knockout draw provided a long trip toMoscow to face a fifth new opponent of that campaign,Spartak Moscow; a 3–1 first leg victory for Athletic in wintery Russia[192] proved too much for Spartak to overturn despite their 2–1 win in Bilbao, but the second leg of the tie was overshadowed by violent clashes between home supporters and travelling Russianhooligans before kick-off; a police officer collapsed and died from a heart attack in the efforts to control the scene.[193][194] Both clubs were later sanctioned and fined by UEFA.[195]
In the Round of 16, Marseille took a 3–1 lead at theStade Vélodrome in the first leg of the second meeting between the sides in three years.[196] The return at San Mamés was the 100th European match held at the two incarnations of Athletic's home stadium,[a][197] but the outcome did not match the occasion for the home club, asOM won 2–1 for a 5–2 aggregate victory, a margin which reflected fairly their dominance over the two matches.[200] Aduriz, who scored in the first leg, was sent off late in the second, and again there were scenes of violence involving visiting supporters outside the stadium.[200][201] It was also the first time in 50 years (Ferencváros, 1968) that Athletic had lost both legs of a knockout tie, although they had been beaten home and away in group stages three times between 2009 and 2014.[202][203][204]
Marseille went on to finishrunners-up two months later.[205] Aduriz (now 37 years old) finished astop scorer – along withCiro Immobile – with eight goals in the tournament proper.[206] A poordomestic campaign meant there would be no return to Europe the following season.[207]
The COVID situation also led to the two successive Copa del Rey finals for which Athletic qualified (with a Europa League place if won) being played within the space of two weeks in April 2021 in that same empty stadium; both of those matches ended in defeat,[210][211] but in the case of the 2020 final against local rivalsReal Sociedad the European opportunity had already been forfeited due to both clubs voluntarily delaying the event in the hope that their supporters would be able to attend once rescheduled, which was ultimately futile.
The barren run was ended when Athletic won the Copa del Rey in2024 to qualify for the next Europa League.[212] They finished theleague campaign in 5th that year, which would also have been sufficient to qualify via that route. They were automatically entered into the2024–25 UEFA Europa League league phase, in its first edition using a new format with a single 36-team pool and each team playing eight fixtures against as many different opponents; Athletic were one of the lower-ranked teams in the draws due to their lack of recent coefficient points. There was an extra incentive to attempt to reach a third final in the competition, as this time it was to be held at San Mamés.[213] From the 2012 run, captain Óscar de Marcos (at the club throughout) andAnder Herrera (back after eight years elsewhere) were in the squad, while Iker Muniain had moved on in the summer of 2024. Athletic performed strongly in the league phase, winning first-ever meetings withSlavia Prague,Ludogorets Razgrad,Elfsborg,Fenerbahçe andViktoria Plzeň (plus a further victory overAZ Alkmaar, an opponent nine years earlier), taking a point away toRoma and losing just once, toBeşiktaş in Turkey. They finished second in the table behindLazio on goal difference, and progressed directly to the Round of 16.[214]
Penalties and sendings-off via theVideo Assistant Referee featured prominently in the knockout stages. A red card was shown to the away side in each leg of the Round of 16 tie, a rematch with Roma; the Italians scored late after the dismissal ofYeray Álvarez to take a lead to Bilbao,[215] howeverMats Hummels was sent off early in proceedings at San Mamés affording Athletic – andNico Williams in particular – the space to dominate the game and score three times.[216] In the quarter-final againstRangers, Athletic again benefitted from a man advantage after only 10 minutes but this time were stifled by the Scottish opposition in a goalless first leg atIbrox,Liam Kelly saving a spot kick fromÁlex Berenguer awarded after a goal by the same player was disallowed for offside, with an earlier handball offence then 'activated' by VAR.[217] In the second leg, another penalty was awarded and this time scored byOihan Sancet, either side of which Rangers had two claims disregarded;[218][219] a late Nico Williams header sealed a 2–0 result and a pairing withManchester United in a repeat of the memorable 2012 tie.[220] In the semi-final first leg at a raucous San Mamés, a lively start by Athletic was nullified by three goals in ten minutes for the visitors at the end of the first half, the second from a penalty againstDani Vivian for a tug on the shoulder ofRasmus Højlund awarded after a long VAR review. Vivian had escaped punishment for a similar incident against Rangers, but this time was shown a red card amid vehement protests, and whenBruno Fernandes converted the penalty then soon added another goal it seemed almost certain the English club (who like Athletic had also faced 10 men in the two previous rounds) would progress to the final,[221][222] the Basques taking slight hope from previous dramatic comebacks, including one from United themselves to overcomeOlympique Lyonnais in their quarter-final.[223] Despite missing several key players through injury or suspension, Athletic took the lead atOld Trafford throughMikel Jauregizar and held it until the 72nd minute prior to a late collapse[224] with the final scoreline of 4–1 (7–1 on aggregate) not fully reflecting what had been an even contest for large parts of the tie, but was nevertheless a decisive end to the home final dream. United would instead take on compatriotsTottenham Hotspur for the trophy and a lucrative place in the Champions League,[225] albeit Athletic also qualified for that competition a week after their European disappointment via thedomestic league.[226]
Eleven years after their last experience in the elite competition, the club qualified directly for the2025–26 UEFA Champions League league phase where they were drawn to playArsenal,Borussia Dortmund,Qarabağ andAtalanta for the first time, along with a reverse of the previous season's meeting with Slavia Prague, an away trip toNewcastle United recalling the events of 1994, and home fixtures against two rivals from the 2011–12 run,Sporting CP andParis Saint-Germain, the latter of whom were now reigning European champions.[227] In an injury-hit campaign, their results were largely predictable,[228] with a win and draw both home and away and four defeats, none by an embarrassing margin. A stalemate with PSG and an away victory over Atalanta (a rarity on Italian soil)[229] provided a chance of progression in the last match with Sporting, but pushing forward in the final minutes with the score level left a vulnerability to counter-attack which the Lisbon team took advantage of to win 3–2 and end Athletic's hopes (they finished on 8 points, 29th of 36 teams) – the three points also propelled Sporting into the top 8 of the league along with first-placed Arsenal,[230] while five of the other six opponents also finished in the top 24, indicating the high overall level strength the Basques had come up against.
^abThis includes one playoff match played atSan Mamés, therefore one more match played at home than listed in the table below although not technically a home leg.[22][23][197][198][199]
Ernesto Valverde holds the club record for most European games as manager with 64 over three spells, more than twice as many as any other. He also holds the records for most wins (30) and most defeats (22), and is the only man to take charge of the team in European matches in more than one managerial spell.
^abThis includes one playoff match played atSan Mamés, therefore one more match played at home although not technically a home leg.[22][23][155][197][198][199]
^abcdeKarel Stokkermans; Osvaldo José Gorgazzi (10 August 2015)."Latin Cup overview". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved23 November 2017.
^Alfredo Relaño (25 September 2016)."La curiosa aventura de la Copa Latina" [The curious adventure of the Latin Cup].El País (in Spanish). Retrieved2 October 2018.
^Giuseppe Ottomano (29 August 2016)."Iribar Josè: il gemello di Zoff" [Iribar Josè: Zoff's twin] (in Italian). Storie di Calcio. Retrieved15 January 2018.
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Czechoslovakia (only 1 tie, Czech-based team)
West Germany and
East Germany
Soviet Union (only 1 tie, Russian-based team)
Yugoslavia (all were based in Serbia)
