CD Basconia

Basconia

Full name	Club Deportivo Basconia
Founded	1913 (1913)
Ground	Polideportivo de Artunduaga, Basauri, Basque Country, Spain
Capacity	8,500
Chairman	Juan Ignacio Azurmendi
Manager	Ander Alaña
League	3ª – Group 4
2017–18	15th
Home colours

Club Deportivo Basconia is a Spanish football club based in Basauri, Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1913 it currently plays in Tercera División – Group 4, holding home games at Estadio de López Cortázar, with an 8,500-seat capacity.

History

Founded in 1913, Basconia reached the national third level (Tercera División) thirty years later. The club played in the second tier for six seasons (1957–63), but this was before the creation of the regionalised new third division in the 1970s.

In 1997 Basconia became Basque neighbours Athletic Bilbao's feeder club, not being eligible for promotion if the reserves, Bilbao Athletic, playing in the above level, did not attain the same goal. Several first-team players made the gradual transition before eventually playing in La Liga and European competition.

Basconia’s place in Athletic's club structure means that the squad changes greatly each season. About half of the players move up to play for Bilbao Athletic, or go out on loan to other local clubs playing at Segunda División B level. They are replaced by graduates, usually 17 or 18 years old, from the previous year's Juvenil A team. The squad is normally expanded further with new signings from the regions’s youth clubs, most notably Danok Bat and Antiguoko.

Although the players and coaching staff of the main squad are controlled by Athletic Bilbao, Basconia retains its own club committee and staff and operates several youth teams as well an amateur side (Basconia B) who compete in the Preferente de Vizcaya league, two levels below the first team. These other teams play in a separate small stadium in the town, Soloarte. Occasionally the main squad has been supplemented by some of Basconia's 'own' players in emergencies - Mikel Rico was with Basconia B when he appeared in one Tercera División fixture in 2001.^[1] He left Biscay for a long career across Spain which eventually brought him back to the senior team of Athletic in 2013.

In January 2018, with the team struggling to remain in the division, Basconia took the unusual step of recruiting some older, more experienced players – Thaylor Lubanzadio,^[2] Adrián Celador^[3] and Iker Amorrortu^[4] – to help them maintain their 23-year league status,^[5] which was eventually accomplished.

Season to season

• As a separate club

• As a farm team

• 6 seasons in Segunda División
• 8 seasons in Segunda División B
• 51 seasons in Tercera División

Current squad

As of 1 September 2018^[6]

• = player was also playing for Basconia in 2017-18

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

No. Position Player GK Aritz de Miguel * GK Ander Iru GK Sergio García DF Xabier Arberas * DF Julen Bernaola DF Imanol García de Albéniz * DF Matías Lizarazu DF Álvaro Núñez * DF Deiby Ochoa DF Aitor Paredes DF Iker Salvador

No. Position Player MF Gorka Agirre * MF Youssouf Diarra MF Gorka Estrada * MF Oier Zarraga FW Juan Artola FW Rubén Azcona FW Jon Cabo * FW Javier Rudi * FW Thaylor Lubanzadio FW Ewan Roy Urain

Out on loan

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 Andoni Llorente (on loan at Santutxu until 30 June 2019) DF Aitor Aguado (on loan at Sodupe until 30 June 2019) DF Asier Arana (on loan at Zamudio until 30 June 2019) DF Mikel Kortazar (on loan at Santutxu until 30 June 2019) DF Ibai Rodríguez (on loan at Sodupe until 30 June 2019) MF Ander Dulce (on loan at Zamudio until 30 June 2019) MF Ander Egiluz[7] (on loan at Leioa until 30 June 2019) MF Aitor Gandiaga (on loan at Gernika until 30 June 2019) MF Xabier Garai (on loan at Gernika until 30 June 2019) MF Xabier Naveira (on loan at Balmaseda until 30 June 2019) FW Ander Quintana (on loan at Sodupe until 30 June 2019)

Honours

• Tercera División

Winners:^{[lower-alpha 1]} 1956–57^{[lower-alpha 2]}

Winners (3):^{[lower-alpha 3]} 1984–85,^{[lower-alpha 4]} 1997–98,^{[lower-alpha 5]} 2002–03^{[lower-alpha 6]}

Selected coaches

• Javier Clemente
• Joseba Etxeberria
• José Luis Mendilibar

Famous players

Note: this list contains players who have appeared in at least 50 league games for the first team or have reached international status.

See also

• Athletic Bilbao (first team)
• Bilbao Athletic (B team)

References

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)
• Team history at Athletic Bilbao's official website
• La Cantera De Lezama Unofficial website focusing on Athletic’s cantera teams

Coordinates: 43°13′58″N 2°52′52″W / 43.232904°N 2.881116°W / 43.232904; -2.881116