ATHLETIC BILBAO V REAL SOCIEDAD
ON BOTH SIDES
CLASSIC ENCOUNTERS
1909
Apr 4
In the first-ever meeting, and
playing as Club Ciclista before changing their
name nine months later, La Real beat Athletic
4-2 en route to winning the Copa del Rey.19 8 2
Apr 25
Real Sociedad beat Athletic
Bilbao 2-1 on the last day of the season to
finish two points ahead of Barcelona and
retain the league title19 9 5
May 28
La Real win 5-0 with a
hat-trick from Meho Kodro – whose son,
Kenan, currently plays for Athletic.2020
Feb 8
Athletic’s Iker Muniain
is sent off as Sociedad triumph 2-1 with
an 83rd-minute winner from Swedish
striker Alexander Isak.RAFAEL IRIONDO
O19 4 0 - 5 3 ;
(coach) 1968-69, 1974-76
O1953-55; (coach) 1972-74JAVIER CLEMENTE
O1968-1973; (coach) 1981-86,
1990-91, 2005-06
O(coach) 1999-2000JAVIER IRURETA
O1975-80; (coach) 1994-95
O(coach) 1995-97BITTOR ALKIZA
O1991-94, 2003-05
O19 9 4 - 2 0 0 3INIGO MARTINEZ
O2011-18
O2018-presentT
he meeting between the two
biggest clubs in the autonomous
Basque Country in northern
Spain is one of the world’s
friendliest derbies, with fans of both sides
coming together to celebrate a shared
sense of identity.
To this day Athletic maintain a policy
of only fielding players from the region –
and it has proved remarkably successful,
with the club winning eight La
Liga titles and being one of
only three clubs, with Real
Madrid and Barcelona, never
to have been relegated.
For many years Sociedad,
who have been league
champions twice, followed
the same practice, before
abandoning the policy in
1989 with the signing ofRepublic of Ireland international John
Aldridge from Liverpool.
Perhaps the most dramatic display
of the clubs’ heritage came in December
1976, just over a year on from the death
of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.
Leading their teams out at La Real’s
Anoeta Stadium, Inaxio Kortabarria of
Sociedad and Athletic’s Jose Angel Iribar
carried both the banned Basque flag in
an act of defiance. A month
later the flag was legalised and
could be flown for the first
time since Franco’s forces won
the Spanish Civil War in 1939.
These days derby matches
usually see supporters from
both sides mixing freely and
they have even staged singing
and poetry competitions that
embrace local traditions.RI V^ ALS
Regional rivals with a common goal
NEXT ISSUE ON SALE MARCH 20
Race...Real’s Adnan
Januzaj takes on the
Athletic defenceFriendly...fans of Sociedad (in blue)
and Athletic sit side-by-side at
Bilbao’s San Mames stadium