Athletic Bilbao B

Bilbao Athletic

Full name	Athletic Club
Nickname(s)	Los Leones / Lehoiak (The Lions) Los Cachorros / Katxorroak (The Puppies)
Founded	1964 (1964)
Ground	Lezama
Capacity	2,250
Chairman	Josu Urrutia
Manager	Gaizka Garitano
League	2ª B – Group 2
2017–18	2ª B – Group 2, 4th
Home colours Away colours

Bilbao Athletic, officially named Athletic Club "B", is the reserve team of Athletic Bilbao, a football club based in Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. The team will play in the Segunda División B in the 2018–19 season. Founded in 1964, the team holds home matches at the small stadium attached to the club's training facility at Lezama, or occasionally at San 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 to La Liga. Reserve teams are also no longer permitted to enter the Copa 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 the club's youth setup ('cantera') via the farm team, Basconia.

History

The Bilbao Athletic name was first used in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War, when both La Liga and the Copa del Rey were suspended; several of top Athletic players subsequently joined the Euskadi XI. This team was put together at the suggestion of José Antonio Aguirre, the president of the Basque Country, himself a former Athletic Bilbao footballer.

The team went on tour to raise funds for the Basque cause, and also played in Europe and Mexico. However, the Campeonato de Vizcaya continued to be played. With their best players on tour with the Basque team, Athletic could only field weakened sides and, as a result, chose to enter under the name Bilbao Athletic; the club's name was derived from the two clubs that merged in 1903 to become Athletic Bilbao – Bilbao Football Club and Athletic Club.^[1] Despite this, they still won the championship and entered the 1939 Copa del Generalísimo.

The name was revived in 1964, when Athletic Bilbao decided to establish a reserve team with Agustín Gaínza as coach. The new Bilbao Athletic initially played in local regional leagues before winning promotion to Tercera División in 1966, under Rafa Iriondo; in 1969 they first reached Segunda División.

In 1983–84, with José Ángel Iribar as coach, and an emerging Julio Salinas as striker, the reserves finished in second place, only trailing Castilla CF; both teams were ineligible for promotion, and Salinas won the Pichichi.

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.

Bilbao Athletic played home games at San Mamés during the 2015–16 season due to the league requirements, but attracted crowds of only a few thousand for most games.

After 19 seasons in the Segunda División B, Bilbao Athletic returned to the second tier after defeating Cádiz CF, 3–1 on aggregate, in the promotion playoffs.^[2] 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.^[3] Somewhat ironically, the promoted teams that season were CD 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 rivals Alavés and Osasuna.

Season to season

• As farm team

• As reserve team

• 14 seasons in Segunda División
• 27 seasons in Segunda División B
• 10 seasons in Tercera División
• 2 seasons in Categorías Regionales

Current squad

As of 30 August 2018^[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Unai Etxeberria GK Hodei Oleaga DF Jesús Areso DF Odei Arrieta DF Iñigo Baqué DF Julen Bernaola DF Javier Murua DF Aitor Paredes DF Jon Rojo DF Jon Sillero DF Daniel Vivian MF Gaizka Larrazabal MF Oier Luengo MF Iñigo Muñoz MF Peru Nolaskoain

No. Position Player MF Gorka Pérez MF Antonio Salado MF Víctor San Bartolomé MF Oihan Sancet MF Aitor Seguín MF Unai Vencedor MF Oier Zarraga FW Asier Benito FW Asier Córdoba FW Jon Morcillo FW Jurgi Oteo FW Andoni Tascón FW Iñigo Vicente FW Asier Villalibre

Honours

• Segunda División B:^{[lower-alpha 1]} 1982–83,^{[lower-alpha 2]} 1988–89^{[lower-alpha 3]}
• Tercera División:^{[lower-alpha 4]} 1966–67,^{[lower-alpha 5]} 1968–69^{[lower-alpha 6]}
• Biscay Championship: 1938–39

Stadium

For playing big matches, they use San Mamés, the first team stadium.

Bilbao Athletic in training

Selected managers

• Javier Clemente
• Agustín Gaínza
• José Ángel Iribar
• Rafa Iriondo
• Ignacio Izagirre (284 matches)
• Iñaki Sáez (290 matches, record)^[6]
• José Ángel Ziganda (242 matches)

Famous players

Note: this list contains players who have appeared in at least 100 games for the first team.

See also

• CD Basconia (Athletic Bilbao's feeder club)

References

External links

• Team history at Athletic Bilbao's official website
• Futbolme team profile (in Spanish)
• La Cantera De Lezama - Unofficial website focusing on Athletic’s youth teams (in Spanish)