Athletic Club (Bilbao) Thread

They play Schalke in the next round of the Europa League, should be a good match, Schalke beat Twente 4-1.

 

should be tight game against schalke but i can see athletic battering schalke if they play like they did vs man ure

 

Very disappointing match..thought I was going to have a something to cheer me up a little after the disaster at Hampden and Athletic just werent up for it. San Jose was a bombscare.

Pretty tough draw as well with Schalke.

 

Llorente was not in the squad due to injury. Toquero was suspended so they played without a striker.

 

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEdaD68QODo"]Eusko Gudariak - YouTube[/ame]

 

now...i like bilbao...but my bro brought up this point earlier, Celtic have always been a club open to all....no matter what colour or creed, right? but bilbao go against that, they ONLY play Basque players, now i know thats tradition and to me its admirable that they are so successful with a limited player selection, but its it right? is it any better than Rangers years and years of not playing catholics?

im not trying to be controversial, just bringing my bro's debating point to the table

personally i really like bilbao, like their players, their fans, and im a huge Bielsa fan

 

It's the same Nate rangets not signing catholics and athletico not signing any player that isn't basque

 

i definitely agree with that....they just need to find a consistancy though, do that...and theyll be a good bet for 3rd next year i think

 

personally a don't think it is similar to rangers because you can play for bilbao no matter your colour or creed they ask that you have some basque in your family line but they don't discriminate based on colour, religion or nationality or at least that is my limited knowledge of the subject maybe someone who is more informed on the matter can provide a better answer

 

but....technically, they do discrimate on nationality, if youre not basque, then youre not allowed in the team, thats discrimination to me, no?

 

not really am sure you can come from anywhere but they ask that in some part of your family line there is basque heritage

 

yeah, but i couldnt play for them...you couldnt(presuming youre not basque) the majority of footballers in the world cant play for this club, so itsnot open to all people, its like a national team at club level

 

I a suppose it could be looked at that way but on the other hand you could be scottish, american, Brazilian, or you could be from any religion and still play for them as long as there is basque heritage so it isn't like they are actively saying your scottish you can't play for us or your black you can't play for us

 

i know that, its certainly a debating point though

 

I its definitely a very good question and a might actually be wrong because am not that clued up on bilbao. I think it all comes down to how you want to see it and if you felt it was openly discriminating against a certain type of person and if it truly offended you

 

tbh, i couldnt care less, it was just a point my bro brought up and i thought it was worth sharing

 

no a didn't mean you a meant of you were debating it with someone who had a certain view or felt offended by it

 

I have always had a soft spot for Athletic Club. Almost like a Basque national side with their Basque only policy. Amazing record they have in LaLiga too. Considering all they have to deal with 8 Championships and 23 Cup titles is a brilliant haul.
The current team is quite young and a joy to watch when they are on form. Similar to our own young team in that way. Watching them outplay and beat Manchester United and knock them out over 2 legs the last couple of weeks was brilliant. Tough draw though in the Quarter-Finals. But hopefully they can go all the way in the UEFA Cup. Then of course they have the Cup Final against Barcelona as well. Great to see the 2 almost national teams facing off in that one. Should be a cracking game.

 

My year in school are going on a trip to Barcelona for 4 days and we get to see a barca - Athletic match. Can't wait. Gonna be wearing my celtic top all the way they will be like *. :icon_mrgreen: