Athletic Bilbao in European football: Difference between revisions

| club = [[Athletic Bilbao|Athletic Club]]

| caption = [[San Mamés Stadium (2013)|San Mamés]] prior to a [[UEFA Champions League]] fixture, 2014

| most capped player = [[Markel Susaeta]] (75)

| top scorer = [[Aritz Aduriz]] (34)

| inter-cities fairs cup = 0 (Best: Quarter-final three times)

| first entry = [[1956–57 European Cup]]

}}

[[Athletic Bilbao]], a professional [[association football|football]] club based in [[Bilbao]], [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]], Spain, has competed in international tournaments as [[Spanish football clubs in international competitions|representatives]] of [[La Liga]] since 1956. The club's first entry into an [[UEFA competitions|official competition]] organised by the [[UEFA|Union of European Football Associations]] (UEFA) was the [[UEFA Champions League#1955–1967: Beginnings|European Cup]] in [[1956–57 European Cup|1956–57]] (its second edition) as national champions; they reached the quarter-finals.

 

==History==

From 1941<ref name=worlds>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CRkIAcCB_0EC&q=franco+atletico+name+1975&pg=PA103|title=The World's Game: A History of Soccer|author=William J. Murray|isbn=9780252067181|year=1998|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2WA1DwAAQBAJ&q=franco+athletic+bilbao+name&pg=PT78|title=Sport and National Identities: Globalization and Conflict|last1=Dolan|first1=Paddy|last2=Connolly|first2=John|isbn=9781315519111|year=2017|publisher=[[Routledge]]}}</ref> until 1975,<ref name=worlds/> the club was known as ''Atlético de Bilbao'' following a decree from the [[Francoist Spain|ruling regime of the period]] that foreign words should not be used – the ''Athletic'' name, adopted at the turn of the 20th century, reflected English connections to football in the area.<ref name=history9836>{{cite web|url=http://inbedwithmaradona.com/retro/2012/7/4/the-history-of-athletic-bilbao-1898-1936.html|title=The history of Athletic Bilbao 1898–1936|author=Keir Radnedge |work=[[World Soccer (magazine)|World Soccer]]|via=In Bed With Maradona)|date=1 August 1977|access-date=20 January 2018}}</ref><ref name=stronghold>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/european/welcome-to-spains-old-english-outpost-7569163.html|title=Welcome to Spain's old English outpost|author=Will Unwin|work=The Independent|date=15 March 2012|access-date=20 January 2018}}</ref> Therefore, any references to ''Atlético Bilbao'' in matches during the period correctly reflect the official title at the time.