WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:04.679 Hello and welcome to HYBR1D Powered by chinkseyMEDIA. 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:08.519 Media. As part of the 1K subscriber special, 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:11.000 I'm going to give you everything you need to 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:17.079 know about Athletic Club Bilbao. Found out more 00:00:17.079 --> 00:00:19.000 about the Basque Club's history, traditions, 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:22.480 the stadium we'll be playing in and their current 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:26.600 stars, the history. Athletic Club have a rich 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:29.539 history with the beautiful game having been founded 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:33.500 in 1898. The Lions are widely known for their 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:37.359 cantera policy and since 1911 they have only 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:41.539 signed players native to or trained in the greater 00:00:41.539 --> 00:00:44.539 Basque country. A founding member of La Liga 00:00:44.539 --> 00:00:49.200 in 1928, they had enjoyed plenty of success in 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:52.479 the Copa del Rey beforehand, triumphing on nine 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:56.789 occasions before that point. They would dominate 00:00:56.789 --> 00:00:59.009 the early years of league football, winning four 00:00:59.009 --> 00:01:01.609 of eight titles before the Spanish Civil War 00:01:01.609 --> 00:01:04.689 under the management of Englishman Fred Pentland. 00:01:05.209 --> 00:01:08.650 Further league and cup success came in the 1940s, 00:01:08.670 --> 00:01:11.930 spearheaded by the goals of legendary striker 00:01:11.930 --> 00:01:16.930 Telmo Zara, who netted 335 times for the club. 00:01:17.250 --> 00:01:20.450 Only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have 00:01:20.450 --> 00:01:23.590 scored more La Liga goals. The trophies dried 00:01:23.590 --> 00:01:27.730 up after the 1950s, albeit except for a brief 00:01:27.730 --> 00:01:31.170 golden period when Javier Clemente achieved successive 00:01:31.170 --> 00:01:36.670 league titles with the 1983 -84 triumph their 00:01:36.670 --> 00:01:39.769 last. They are one of three clubs to never have 00:01:39.769 --> 00:01:41.909 been relegated from the top flight alongside 00:01:41.909 --> 00:01:45.250 Barcelona and Real Madrid, although that was 00:01:45.250 --> 00:01:48.049 put in jeopardy at times during the 21st century. 00:01:48.620 --> 00:01:51.319 Marcelo Bielsa took them to the Europa League 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:55.060 final in 2012 when they were beaten by Atletico 00:01:55.060 --> 00:01:57.920 Madrid, the closest they'd come to European success 00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:03.180 after losing to Juventus in the 1976 -77 final. 00:02:03.540 --> 00:02:09.080 The stadium. Athletic Club play at San Mame Stadium, 00:02:09.580 --> 00:02:12.520 which has stood on the site of their old home 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:19.419 since 2013. That had just been used since. 1913 00:02:19.419 --> 00:02:23.080 and was a venue in the 1982 World Cup where England 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:27.280 beat France, Czechoslovakia and Kuwait. With 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:33.080 a capacity of 53 ,331, the new venue is the seventh 00:02:33.080 --> 00:02:36.199 largest stadium in Spain and the largest in the 00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:39.300 Basque Country. Similar to Bayern Munich's Allianz 00:02:39.300 --> 00:02:43.539 Arena, it has an illuminated exterior, has won 00:02:43.539 --> 00:02:46.539 numerous architectural awards and overlooks the 00:02:46.539 --> 00:02:50.479 Nervion River. which runs through Bilbao. The 00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:54.199 stadium hosted the 2025 Europa League final when 00:02:54.199 --> 00:02:57.319 Tottenham beat Manchester United as well as the 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:01.060 2024 Women's Champions League final. It was also 00:03:01.060 --> 00:03:04.699 the venue for the 2018 finals of the European 00:03:04.699 --> 00:03:08.240 Rugby Champions Cup when the match between Leinster 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:12.159 and Racing 92 set the stadium's single game attendance 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:19.990 record at 52 ,282. The 2026 final will also be 00:03:19.990 --> 00:03:24.430 held at the San Mame. The manager, head coach 00:03:24.430 --> 00:03:27.550 Ernesto Valverde is an athletic club legend. 00:03:27.849 --> 00:03:30.650 The 61 -year -old played for the club for six 00:03:30.650 --> 00:03:34.229 years having spent time at Alaves, Espanyol and 00:03:34.229 --> 00:03:39.030 Barcelona. Following retirement in 1997, he returned 00:03:39.030 --> 00:03:41.469 to the club as an assistant coach before taking 00:03:41.469 --> 00:03:45.509 charge of the reserve team in 2002. After one 00:03:45.509 --> 00:03:48.370 season, he was promoted. for his first spell 00:03:48.370 --> 00:03:52.610 as Athletic Club's head coach. He departed in 00:03:52.610 --> 00:03:56.729 2005, but returned to manage the Lions in 2013. 00:03:57.370 --> 00:04:00.590 During his four -year spell, he helped the club 00:04:00.590 --> 00:04:03.110 qualify for the Champions League before winning 00:04:03.110 --> 00:04:07.389 the side's first trophy in 31 years, the Supercopa 00:04:07.389 --> 00:04:11.930 de España. He left in 2017 after becoming the 00:04:11.930 --> 00:04:14.030 longest -serving manager in the club's history, 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:21.459 his first two spells. Valverde then spent three 00:04:21.459 --> 00:04:24.699 years at Barcelona but returned for his third 00:04:24.699 --> 00:04:30.699 spell at Athletic in 2022, where he had been 00:04:30.699 --> 00:04:33.800 ever since. He lifted the club's last trophy 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:37.860 in 2023 -24 when Athletic won the Copa del Rey, 00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:41.180 defeating Mallorca on penalties. This was the 00:04:41.180 --> 00:04:45.139 club's 24th Copa del Rey crown, the second most 00:04:45.139 --> 00:04:50.939 of any side, behind Barcelona. After that cup 00:04:50.939 --> 00:04:53.939 success, Athletic improved by ending in fourth 00:04:53.939 --> 00:04:57.720 in La Liga, their best finish since 2013 -14, 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:00.540 clinching a return to the Champions League for 00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:03.899 the first time since then. The Lions lost just 00:05:03.899 --> 00:05:06.839 six league matches all season as Valverde's side 00:05:06.839 --> 00:05:10.079 finished on 70 points, the foundation of which 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:12.420 was based on their home form where they lost 00:05:12.420 --> 00:05:16.410 just once, a 2 -0 defeat to Real Madrid. In addition, 00:05:16.589 --> 00:05:20.430 the Lions netted 42 goals at San Mame, one of 00:05:20.430 --> 00:05:23.750 the best across the entire league. Their Copa 00:05:23.750 --> 00:05:26.810 del Rey success in 2024 secured a spot in the 00:05:26.810 --> 00:05:29.970 Europa League, giving them extra motivation with 00:05:29.970 --> 00:05:34.509 the final being held at San Mame. Athletic finished 00:05:34.509 --> 00:05:37.189 the league phase in second place, losing just 00:05:37.189 --> 00:05:40.449 one game and then knocked out Roma and Rangers 00:05:40.449 --> 00:05:43.189 before being crushed by Manchester United in 00:05:43.189 --> 00:05:46.410 the semi -finals. by a 7 -1 aggregate scoreline 00:05:46.410 --> 00:05:49.610 to deny them a home matchup against tottenham 00:05:49.610 --> 00:05:53.810 hotspur the squad as explained the athletic club 00:05:53.810 --> 00:05:56.810 squad is made up entirely of players born in 00:05:56.810 --> 00:06:00.230 a bass country and their star man is nico williams 00:06:00.230 --> 00:06:03.629 who scored in a euro 2024 final against england 00:06:03.629 --> 00:06:07.329 last year one of six goals in 30 caps for spain 00:06:07.329 --> 00:06:13.329 in yakis older brother nico captains the club 00:06:14.189 --> 00:06:16.910 You mean the other way around. Nico's older brother 00:06:16.910 --> 00:06:20.050 Enyaki captains the club and finished with 18 00:06:20.050 --> 00:06:24.029 goals and assists across all competitions in 00:06:24.029 --> 00:06:30.009 2024 -25. Goalkeeper Unai Simon won Euro 2024 00:06:30.009 --> 00:06:33.569 with Spain and was named La Liga's best shortstopper 00:06:33.569 --> 00:06:36.550 last term, while his international teammate... 00:06:36.829 --> 00:06:39.350 Aymeric Laporte recently returned to the club 00:06:39.350 --> 00:06:41.569 where he started his career before moving to 00:06:41.569 --> 00:06:45.490 Manchester City and then Al Nasser. There's plenty 00:06:45.490 --> 00:06:47.850 more experience in the backline in the form of 00:06:47.850 --> 00:06:52.550 vice -captains Yuri Bershise and Inigo Lekue. 00:06:54.250 --> 00:06:57.589 Attacking midfielder Oihan Sansei finished as 00:06:57.589 --> 00:07:00.790 the club's top scorer last season with 17 goals 00:07:00.790 --> 00:07:04.209 across all competitions, the highest of his career 00:07:04.209 --> 00:07:08.360 to date. Their summer transfer dealings were 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:11.959 fairly quiet with right -back Jesus Arezzo arriving 00:07:11.959 --> 00:07:15.399 from Osasuna for £10m while right -winger Robert 00:07:15.399 --> 00:07:18.600 Navarro signed on a free following his departure 00:07:18.600 --> 00:07:22.920 from Mallorca. Season so far. After four games, 00:07:23.160 --> 00:07:26.319 Athletic Club sit third in La Liga with their 00:07:26.319 --> 00:07:29.199 promising start to the campaign ended on Saturday 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:32.680 when they lost 1 -0 to Alaves at home when they 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:35.519 were without the services of Nico Williams who 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:38.040 missed out with a hip injury. They started the 00:07:38.040 --> 00:07:40.439 campaign with a 3 -2 victory against Sevilla 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:43.360 where Nico Williams scored one and assisted two 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:46.240 others including a late winner for Navarro on 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:49.759 his debut. Sanse then netted a penalty to beat 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:53.540 Rayo Vallecano 1 -0 before their only away game 00:07:53.540 --> 00:07:56.759 this term came at Real Betis who were beaten 00:07:56.759 --> 00:08:00.240 2 -1. The Champions League draw handed them home 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:04.009 games against ourselves carabao holders paris 00:08:04.009 --> 00:08:07.730 saint -germain and sport in lisbon while they'll 00:08:07.730 --> 00:08:10.629 also travel to borussia dortmund newcastle united 00:08:10.629 --> 00:08:15.350 slavia prague and atalanta the previous meetings 00:08:15.350 --> 00:08:21.129 arsenal free athletic club nil this game will 00:08:21.129 --> 00:08:24.730 make history as we face athletic club competitively 00:08:24.730 --> 00:08:27.949 for the first time ever however it was only last 00:08:27.949 --> 00:08:30.170 month that we took on each other in friendly 00:08:30.170 --> 00:08:33.580 action as we competed for the Emirates Cup in 00:08:33.580 --> 00:08:36.080 North London. The afternoon will be remembered 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:39.080 for Victor Yocarez heading in his first Gunners 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:42.860 goal from a Martin Zubimendi cross, before Bukayo 00:08:42.860 --> 00:08:45.679 Saka doubled our lead just two minutes later 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:48.500 to hand us a healthy advantage at the break. 00:08:48.899 --> 00:08:52.100 Nine minutes from time, Kai Havertz burst through 00:08:52.100 --> 00:08:55.320 on goal and Cooley took his chance to wrap up 00:08:55.320 --> 00:08:58.139 a convincing 3 -0 win as both teams continued 00:08:58.139 --> 00:09:00.379 their preparations for the new campaign.