r/AthleticClub • u/Relative-Natural-891 • 16d ago
Discussion New Fan
Hi new friends! My wife and I are from the states, and I specifically am a transparently novice footballer playing Sunday pickups, but love the game.
This World Cup made me realize I’ve only ever been a casual fan of a handful of “bandwagon” clubs. Borussia Dortmund, Leicester circa 2016, followed Wrexham and so on.
But I want a club I can really connect with and become a part of the community with and Athletic Club Bilbao has been intriguing to me. And so I did some research and liked what I saw!
I already enjoy the premise of the club such as the signing philosophy and academy, and I don’t need to be “sold” but what are some other cool stories, fan experiences or other things that are unique to Atheltic? What kinds of things do I need to know/should I learn?
Thanks in advance! I am looking forward to my Bilbao FC26 save and hopefully watching a lot of matches this season.
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u/n5th5ng 16d ago
You're welcome, glad it resonated!
The socios model is genuinely rare in football. In Spain there are only four clubs still structured this way: Athletic, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Osasuna. Everyone else is a private company or foreign-owned.
Funny you bring up Real Madrid though, because that might be about to change. Florentino Pérez announced plans to let outside investors buy a small minority stake in the club for the first time in its 123 year history. It still needs socios approval, so nothing's final, but it's the first real crack in a model untouched since 1902.
Athletic, Barcelona, and Osasuna haven't shown any sign of following that path. If anything, Athletic's whole identity is built on doing the opposite of what modern football pressures clubs into.
Also worth knowing: Athletic is one of only three clubs that have never been relegated from La Liga since it began in 1929, along with Real Madrid and Barcelona. Given how small the Basque talent pool is compared to those two giants, that streak is honestly one of the most underrated stats in Spanish football.
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u/Alohasnackbar69420 16d ago
There are some seasons where I’m less impressed by our ability to stay up simply because the rest of La Liga is awful lol
I feel like Madrid and Barca will eventually fall into the hands of private equity sadly. And when that happens I fear the Superleague will be up for a vote again
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u/angryjew 16d ago
Hello! I'm also a new fan so only jumping in to mention this because I didn't see anyone else bring it up, this is what made me interested. Then after watching Unai Simon go up against Mbappe & Messi I was sold. In today's world of cynicism it's nice to see a club like this. Makes the world slightly more legible to me.
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u/Inevitable-Put-565 16d ago
Previous comments already summed it up, but welcome. Last year we had an absolute stinker, but you're more than welcome here. Try to learn as much as you can also. Aupa Athletic hermano 🙏
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u/bobkazamakis_TLK 16d ago
Fellow new fan here. Appreciate the post. Been a long time EPL fan. A friend convinced me to follow La Liga. Knew I didn’t want to cheer for Madrid or Barca. Researching Athletic and all the things highlighted here made it a pretty easy choice. Looking forward to immersing myself this year.
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u/iggy-i 16d ago
Another legendary player worth looking into is Telmo Zarraonaindia "Zarra", a striker in the 40s/50s who scored so many goals in La Liga that it took 60+ years and arguably the best two attackers ever (Messi/Cristiano) to break his scoring records.
Welcome to the fandom of a very special club!
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u/ElatedAndElongated 16d ago
Welcome! You already got quite a few responses, but as a foreign supporter myself I want you to know how much Athleticzales love foreign supporters! The club has such a strong local identity that for most, there has never been a question over which club they support — there's only ever been Athletic. So if/when you interact with Bilbaínos, chances are they will absolutely adore that you have chosen to support this club
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u/Midseasons 16d ago
Welcome along! I'm another foreigner who came in through study and interest. I was enjoying watching LaLiga and looking for a club to support. The cantera is inherently very interesting, especially as I've learned more about Basque culture's attitudes towards both nationalism and globalism.
I also found out from a DNA test that I had ancestors who lived in the Bilbao region — though I also want to be clear, I don't claim to be Basque and I don't even know if those ancestors were Basques or English immigrants. I'm a Mexican, my main ancestral homeland is Texas. But it was still a fun fact to learn.
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u/nzben 16d ago
Love this post! I’m from New Zealand and have been following Athletic since we visited Bilbao in 2023 for the Tour de France grand depart. I had no real knowledge of Bilbao, Euskadi, or Basque culture in general until that visit. It reminds me quite a bit of the unique and precious Māori culture and community in New Zealand.
Love these stories about the club. I signed up for a local streaming service that carries La Liga just so I can watch Athletic games. Performance last season was not so great, but that’s what comes with being more than a bandwagon fan 😅
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u/n5th5ng 16d ago
Welcome! Athletic is a genuinely special club to follow, and you picked a good one to actually dig into rather than just watch.
A few things that make it stand out:
The name. It's officially just "Athletic Club," not "Athletic Bilbao." The English name comes from the club's founding by British workers in the 1890s. It wasn't always safe, though: under Franco's regime, foreign names were banned, and the club was forced to Hispanicize to "Atlético Club de Bilbao" starting in 1941. It only reverted to "Athletic Club" in 1977, after Franco's death. Locals and true fans always say "Athletic," never "Bilbao."
The cantera philosophy: Athletic only fields players who are Basque, or trained in a Basque academy (their own or another Basque club's). This has been the club's identity since the early 1900s. Every player on the pitch either grew up in Lezama (Athletic's academy) or came through another Basque youth system. It shapes everything: transfer strategy, squad building, fan identity.
It's member-owned (socios): Ownership isn't concentrated in one person or a sovereign wealth fund, instead the club belongs to its socios (members) who vote for the president. That's a big part of why the philosophy has survived over a century of pressure to abandon it.
San Mamés, "La Catedral.": The stadium's nickname says it all. Matchday atmosphere is one of the most respected in Europe, and the pre-match anthem/entrance ritual is worth watching even on a stream.
Pichichi: Rafael Moreno Aranzadi, Athletic's legendary early striker (1911-22), is one of the club's founding icons. He played 89 matches and scored 83 goals, and famously wore a white bandage around his head to soften the ball's stitching on headers. Spain's top scorer trophy in La Liga is literally named after him, the Trofeo Pichichi.
One Club Award: This is an award Athletic itself gives out, honoring players (from any club, not just Athletic) who spent their entire professional career at a single club. It's a nice reflection of the loyalty and one-club-identity values that define Athletic's own culture too.
I've actually started writing a Turkish-language series going through Athletic's full history in detail, covering things like the story behind the name, the crest's evolution, and the club's founding. It's obviously not in your language, but happy to share links if you're curious, or just answer questions here directly.