Today San Mames Stadium has transformed into a real showplace of the city. The building amazes with its curves, functionality and lighting system. But besides the beauty it has, it’s necessary to mention the historical background of the place. Here we will oversee the basic aspects as for the evolution of San Mames’ host – Athletic Bilbao Football Club.
Athletic Bilbao FC as the home team of San Mames – crucial aspects
Above all, mind that this is a Bilbao football club, established in 1898 and performing in the First Division (San Mames was the residence of the team from the beginning, actually). By the way, it has never been eliminated from there.
The main particularity is that only native football athletes can stand for the team.
Also here they are compounded only from the youth section, which is not likely to be met nowadays. The roots of the ideology go back to the beginning of the 20th century, a time of growing Basque nationalism. But even now the Bilbao squad remains marked as a good source for new talents.
From the beginning Athletic Bilbao almost always won the Biscayan title. At that time, such famous legends as Rafael Aranzadi and Pichichi stood for the team. The last, by the way, scored two hundred goals for the team in one hundred and seventy matches and for now he is considered to be the best scorer of Spain.
In 1981, the real rebirth of the team took place, with J. Clemente at the helm. Lots of achievements were obtained during the period.
In the mid-1990s, Athletic Bilbao was able to win football titles and even finished the season in second place. But this period didn’t last long, and Athletic Bilbao was again in the midfield. Since 2005, the club has been leveled down to the Second Division three times, but miraculously managed to stay afloat.
In 2012, Athletic Bilbao reached the finals of the Europe League and the Cup of Spain, but lost both times to stronger rivals.
In subsequent seasons, it kept on performing unstably, changing positions in the middle of the classification with the achievement of the final of the Cup of Spain in seasons 19/20 and 20/21. In addition, in 2021 football team won the Spanish Super Cup, having become the best one in the country.
Why is this essential to puzzle out before getting acquainted with San Mames Stadium?
It’s always good just to walk and enjoy nice views, but doing this without knowing the background doesn’t make sense. Of course, you will surely be fascinated with the beauty of San Mames, but it’s much more useful to be able to analyze what you have seen.
We are an unofficial fan San Mames website, so it’s crucial for us to provide you with interesting information and get closer with you.