Athletic Club "B", commonly known as Bilbao Athletic, is the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

of Athletic Club, a football club based in

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

, in the autonomous community of Basque Country in Spain. The team are playing in the

Primera Federación The Primera Federación, formerly known as Primera División RFEF, is the third tier of the Spanish football league system beginning with the 2021–22 season. It is administered by the Royal Spanish Football Federation. It is below the top t ...

– Group 2. Founded in 1964, the team holds home matches at the small stadium attached to the club's training facility at

Lezama Lezama is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. It is home to the training headquarters of the football team Athletic Bilbao, and is accessible by bus - Bizkai ...

, holding 3,250 spectators or occasionally at San Mamés Stadium, with its 53,500-seat capacity, for important fixtures. Reserve teams in Spain play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However, reserves cannot play in the same division as their senior team. Therefore, Bilbao Athletic are ineligible for promotion to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

. Reserve teams are also no longer permitted to enter the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

. In addition, only under-23 players, or under-25 with a professional contract, can switch between senior and reserve teams. In recent years, most of Bilbao Athletic's players have been graduates from the club's youth setup ('

cantera Cantera, literally meaning "quarry" in Spanish, is a term used in Spain to refer to youth academies and farm teams organized by sports clubs. It is also used to refer to the geographical area that clubs recruit players from. The term is widely u ...

') via the feeder team,

Basconia Club Deportivo Basconia is a Spanish football club based in Basauri, Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded on 14 March 1913, it currently plays in Tercera División RFEF – Group 4, holding home games at ''Estadio de ...

. As a result of Athletic's signing policy, only Basque players feature also for the reserve team.

History

The ''Bilbao Athletic'' name was first used in 1938 during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

, when both

and the

were suspended; most of the top Athletic players had joined the ''Euzkadi XI'', a team put together at the suggestion of José Antonio Aguirre, the president of the Basque Country (and himself a former Athletic Bilbao footballer). Euzkadi went on tour to raise funds for the Basque cause, and also played in the Mexican domestic league. However, at home the '' Campeonato de Vizcaya'' had resumed in 1938. With their best players abroad with Euzkadi, Athletic could only field weakened sides and, to avoid possible shameful results damaging the club's reputation, chose to enter under the name ''Bilbao Athletic'' (the name was derived from the two clubs that merged in 1903 to become Athletic Bilbao – ''

Bilbao Football Club Bilbao Football Club was a football team based in Bilbao, Spain, which existed during the years 1900 and 1903. In 1902 they combined with city rivals Athletic Club to form ''Club Vizcaya'', a team which won the 1902 Copa de la Coronación. The f ...

'' and ''Athletic Club''). Despite the low expectations, they still won the championship and entered the 1939 Copa del Generalísimo. Lezamakirol2 (zelaia 2)

The name was revived in 1964, when Athletic Bilbao decided to establish a reserve team with Agustín Gaínza as coach. The new ''Bilbao Athletic'' initially played in local regional leagues before winning promotion to

Tercera División Tercera División ( en, Third Division) was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the '' Segunda División'', and the semi-professional '' Segunda ...

in 1966, under Rafa Iriondo; in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

they first reached Segunda División. In 1983–84, with

José Ángel Iribar José Ángel Iribar Kortajarena (born 1 March 1943), nicknamed ''El Chopo'' ("the Populus, Poplar"), is a Spanish retired Association football, football Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and Manager (association football), manager. ...

as coach, and an emerging Julio Salinas as striker, the reserves finished in second place, only trailing Castilla CF; both teams were ineligible for promotion, and Salinas won the ''Pichichi''. Bilbao Athletic dropped back down to the third level in 1996, but the main squad continued to be nurtured with several players who had spells with the reserves. BilbaoAth-Lega2016

After 19 seasons in the Segunda División B, Bilbao Athletic returned to the second tier after defeating Cádiz CF, 3–1 on aggregate, in the

promotion playoffs Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or ...

. However, in their campaign in the Segunda they were reliant on the same group, a core squad of 20-year-olds who had never played at such a high level before, and despite battling performances in most of their games, a pattern of narrow defeats led to the team finishing bottom and being relegated back down at the first attempt. Somewhat ironically, the promoted teams that season were CD Leganés whose squad included three players on loan from Athletic who would have been eligible to play for Bilbao Athletic that season, as well as the parent club's local rivals Alavés and

Osasuna Club Atlético Osasuna (, ''Osasuna Athletic Club''), or simply Osasuna, is a Spanish professional football club in Pamplona, Navarre. Founded on 24 October 1920, the club currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at the 23,576-capacity El ...

. The team came close to another promotion in 2020–21, losing to

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...

after extra time in the final round of the

promotion play-offs Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

RESUMEN , Saúl Berjón recoge el testigo de Dani Pendín como héroe del conjunto burgalés (1-0)
Saúl Berjón picks up the witness of Dani Pendín as the hero of the Burgos team (1-0) RFEF (in Spanish), 23 May 2021 (they had lost in the opening round in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Premier League International Cup

Athletic have competed in the

Premier League International Cup The Premier League International Cup is an English football competition for U23 players from across Europe. It was designed to provide players in English Category One academies with the opportunity to match themselves against other elite European ...

(an Under-23 tournament, all matches played in England), with most of the players selected for their squad drawn from Bilbao Athletic plus some younger additions from

and the Juvenil squads (the rules permit the use of a limited number of overage players, but Athletic do not use them). In 2014–15, 2015–16 and 2016–17 the club qualified from their group but were eliminated in the quarter-finals, while in the 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–20 editions, they bowed out at the group stage.

Background

*As

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

: **''Club Atlético de Bilbao Amateur'' (1964–66) **''Bilbao Atlético Club'' (1966–72) **''Bilbao Athletic Club'' (1972–91) *As

: **''Athletic Club B'' (1991–2006) **''Bilbao Athletic'' (2006–)

Season to season

*As a

---- *14 seasons in Segunda División *2 seasons in

*31 seasons in Segunda División B *10 seasons in

*2 seasons in Categorías Regionales

Current squad

Reserve team

Out on loan

Honours

* Segunda División B: 1982–83, 1988–89 *

: 1966–67, 1968–69 * Biscay Championship: 1938–39

Notes

Stadium

For big matches, they use San Mamés, the first team stadium.

Selected coaches

Javier Clemente Javier Clemente Lázaro (; born 12 March 1950) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Forced to retire from playing in his early 20s through injury, he embarked on a coaching career with his first managerial ...

* Agustín Gaínza *

* Rafa Iriondo * Ignacio Izagirre (284 matches) *

Iñaki Sáez José Ignacio "Iñaki" Sáez Ruiz (born 23 April 1943) is a Spanish former football player and manager. A defender, he spent the vast majority of his professional career with Athletic Bilbao, which he later also coached in various levels, a ...

(290 matches, record) *

José Ángel Ziganda José Ángel 'Cuco' Ziganda Lakunza (born 1 October 1966) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a centre-forward. He is the current manager of SD Huesca. He played 381 La Liga matches over the course of 12 seasons (111 g ...

(242 matches)

Notable players

Note: This list includes players that have appeared in at least 100 top league games and/or have reached international status. * Justo Ruiz *

Jonás Ramalho Jonás Ramalho Chimeno (born 10 June 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Málaga CF and the Angola national team. In 2011, he was the first mixed-race player to appear for Athletic Bilbao – who only field ...

Iñaki Williams Iñaki Williams Arthuer (born 15 June 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Ghana national team. Developed at Athletic Bilbao's academy, he has made over 350 first-team appearances ...

Aritz Aduriz Aritz Aduriz Zubeldia (; ; born 11 February 1981) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent most of his career with Athletic Bilbao, scoring 172 goals across all competitions for the team over three spel ...

* Borja Agirretxu * Ustaritz Aldekoaotalora * Edu Alonso * Joseba Aguirre *

José Ramón Alexanko José Ramón Alexanko Ventosa (; born 19 May 1956) is a Spanish retired footballer and manager, who later served as director of football of Valencia CF. During his career the central defender played with success for both Athletic Bilbao and Ba ...

* Rafael Alkorta *

Yeray Álvarez Yeray Álvarez López (; born 24 January 1995), known simply as Yeray, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Athletic Bilbao. Club career Born in Barakaldo, Biscay, Basque Country, Yeray joined Athletic B ...

Genar Andrinúa Genar Andrinúa Cortabarría (born 9 May 1964) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Andrinúa was born in Bilbao, Biscay. During his career, he played solely for Athletic Bilbao safe for a loa ...

Anaitz Arbilla Anaitz Arbilla Zabala (born 15 May 1987) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for SD Eibar as a full-back or a central defender. Club career Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Arbilla began his senior career in 2004 with CD Basconia, Athletic ...

Kepa Arrizabalaga Kepa Arrizabalaga Revuelta (born 3 October 1994) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Chelsea. He is sometimes referred to simply as Kepa. A Basque native, Arrizabalaga began his senior club career with A ...

* Daniel Astrain *

Dani Aranzubia Daniel Aranzubia Aguado (born 18 September 1979) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and the goalkeeper coach of Athletic Bilbao B. He appeared in 303 La Liga matches during 13 seasons, with Athletic Bilbao ...

Estanislao Argote Estanislao Argote Salaberría (born 21 October 1956) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a left winger. Club career Born in Zarautz, Gipuzkoa, Argote began playing football with local Zarautz KE, joining Basque neighbours Athletic ...

* Andoni Ayarza * Enrique Ayúcar *

Mikel Balenziaga Mikel Balenziaga Oruesagasti (; ; born 29 February 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Athletic Bilbao. Club career Born in Zumarraga, Gipuzkoa, Balenziaga started his football grooming at Real Sociedad, pla ...

* Ibon Begoña * Javier Bellido * Mario Bermejo * Rubén Bilbao * Jon Pérez Bolo * Unai Bustinza *

Andoni Cedrún Andoni Cedrún Ibarra (born 5 June 1960) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He appeared in 351 La Liga matches over 17 seasons, representing mostly Zaragoza with which he won three major titles, including the 1995 Cup W ...

* Sergio Corino * Miguel de Andrés *

Óscar de Marcos Óscar de Marcos Arana (; ; born 14 April 1989) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao usually as a midfielder but also as a full-back. De Marcos began his career at Alavés, but went on to spend most of it at Ath ...

Asier del Horno Asier del Horno Cosgaya (born 19 January 1981) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a left back. After solid displays with Athletic Bilbao, for which he appeared in 126 official games in five years scoring 17 goals, he moved to Chelse ...

* Juan Antonio Deusto * Juan José Elgezabal * Xabier Eskurza *

Imanol Etxeberria Imanol Etxeberria Egaña (born 27 March 1973) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He appeared in 175 La Liga matches during seven seasons, with Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano. Playing career Early yea ...

Beñat Etxebarria Beñat Etxebarria Urkiaga (, ; born 19 February 1987), known mononymously as Beñat, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He spent the better part of his professional career with Athletic Bilbao, appe ...

* Xabier Etxeita * Patxi Ferreira * Luis Fernando * Luis de la Fuente * José Manuel Galdames * José Ramón Gallego * Carlos García * Ander Garitano * Andoni Goikoetxea * Ibai Gómez * Pizo Gómez * Fernando Javier Gómez * Javi González *

Javi Gracia Javier "Javi" Gracia Carlos (; born 1 May 1970) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He played 430 matches both major levels of Spanish football combined, in a 15-year professional career. Afte ...

Endika Guarrotxena Endika Guarrotxena Arzubiaga (born 26 October 1961), usually known mononymously as Endika, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a forward. His career was associated primarily with Athletic Bilbao, winning the national champ ...

Julen Guerrero Julen Guerrero López (born 7 January 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played solely for Athletic Bilbao as an attacking midfielder. He is the current manager of the Spain national under-17 team. He appeared in 430 offici ...

Felipe Guréndez Felipe Guréndez Aldanondo (born 18 November 1975), sometimes known as just Felipe, is a Spanish retired professional footballer. Mainly a defensive midfielder, he could also play as a defensive-minded right back. He appeared in 146 La Liga gam ...

* Carlos Gurpegui *

Gorka Iraizoz Gorka Iraizoz Moreno (born 6 March 1981) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent most of his professional career with Athletic Bilbao, appearing in 392 official games. In La Liga he also represented Espanyol and Gir ...

Andoni Iraola Andoni Iraola Sagarna (, ; born 22 June 1982) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a right-back, currently manager of Rayo Vallecano. Combative and with good passing skills, he spent the vast majority of his professional c ...

Ander Iturraspe Ander Iturraspe Derteano (; ; born 8 March 1989) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He spent all but the final season of his career at Athletic Bilbao, appearing in 320 matches across all competiti ...

Aitor Karanka Aitor Karanka de la Hoz (Basque and ; born 18 September 1973) is a Spanish football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Segunda División club Granada. Save for a brief spell in the United States at age 32, Karanka ...

Iñaki Lafuente Iñaki Lafuente Sancha (born 24 January 1976) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He appeared in 146 La Liga games over ten seasons, mainly with Athletic Bilbao. He also represented Espanyol and Sporting de ...

Andoni Lakabeg Andoni Lakabeg Fraile (born 14 February 1969) is a Spanish retired association football, footballer who played as a right back. Football career Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Lakabeg was only 19 when he was promoted to Athletic Bilbao's first team, as ...

* Aymeric Laporte * Aitor Larrazábal *

Iñigo Lekue Iñigo Lekue Martínez (; ; born 4 May 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a right or left-back for Athletic Bilbao. Formed at Athletic Bilbao, he has made over 200 appearances, winning the Supercopa de España twice. Clu ...

* Ángel Lekumberri * Iñigo Liceranzu * Iñigo Lizarralde *

Fernando Llorente Fernando Javier Llorente Torres (; born 26 February 1985), nicknamed ''El Rey León'' ("The Lion King" in Spanish), is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker. He started his career with Athletic Bilbao, working his way throu ...

* Unai López * Alberto Martín * Ricardo Mendiguren * Jesús Merino *

Iker Muniain Iker Muniain Goñi (, ; born 19 December 1992) is a Spanish footballer who plays for Athletic Bilbao, where he is captain, mainly as a left winger. Due to his style of play and stature, he was dubbed "the Spanish Messi" by the media. He has spe ...

Ander Murillo Ander Murillo García (born 22 July 1983) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a defender. He spent most of his professional career with Athletic Bilbao and AEK Larnaca, appearing in 157 competitive matches with the former over nine sea ...

* Andoni Murúa * Miguel Navarro * Txema Noriega * Unai Núñez * José María Núñez * José Ignacio Oñaederra * Luis Prieto * Carlos Purroy *

Álex Remiro Alejandro "Álex" Remiro Gargallo (born 24 March 1995) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Real Sociedad. Formed at Athletic Bilbao, he played as a senior with Basconia, Bilbao Athletic, Levante, Huesca and Real ...

* José Ángel Rojo * Txetxu Rojo * Dani Ruiz-Bazán * Carlos Ruiz * Julio Salinas * Patxi Salinas * Manuel Sarabia * Félix Sarriugarte * Miguel Sola * Markel Susaeta * Unai Simón * Óscar Tabuenka * Santiago Urquiaga *

Josu Urrutia Josu Urrutia Tellería (born 10 April 1968) is a Spanish former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. His 17-year senior career was solely connected with Athletic Bilbao for which he appeared in 348 La Liga matches over 16 seasons, sc ...

* Ismael Urtubi * Juanjo Valencia *

Óscar Vales Óscar Vales Varela (born 13 September 1974) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a utility defender, and sometimes as a defensive midfielder. Club career Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Vales appeared in one Segunda División B game for CD ...

* Mikel Vesga * Juan Carlos Vidal *

Nico Williams Nicholas "Nico" Williams Arthuer (born 12 July 2002) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Spain national team. Club career Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Williams joined the youth a ...

* Francisco Yeste * Félix Zubiaga *

Andoni Zubizarreta Andoni Zubizarreta Urreta (, ; born 23 October 1961) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. The all-time most capped player for the Spain national team for several years, he played with individual and team su ...

* Luís María Zugazaga *

Fernando Amorebieta Fernando Gabriel Amorebieta Mardaras (born 29 March 1985) is a professional footballer who plays as a central defender. He spent most of his career with Athletic Bilbao, appearing in 253 competitive matches over eight La Liga seasons and scorin ...

References

External links

Team history
at Athletic Bilbao's official website
Futbolme team profile

La Cantera De Lezama – Unofficial website focusing on Athletic’s youth teams
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletic Bilbao B Athletic Bilbao Football clubs in the Basque Country (autonomous community) Spanish reserve football teams Association football clubs established in 1964 1964 establishments in Spain Premier League International Cup Segunda División clubs Primera Federación clubs