Chapter VIII: From the Centenary till the present

Athletic Club’s Centenary will always be remembered, as well as the commemorative match that was organized against the Brazil National team.

Never before had so many football stars been present on La Catedral’s pitch. The squad led by the historical Mario ‘Lobo’ Zagalo gracefully accepted the invitation to play on 31 May 1998, ten days prior to the France World Cup, in which they were finalists. These were the members of the ‘canarinha’ that started on the rojiblanco ‘green’ (pitch): Taffarel, Cafú (Zé Carlos), Aldair, Junior Baiano, Roberto Carlos, Doriva, Sampaio (Leonardo), Giovanni (Denilson), Rivaldo, Bebeto (Edmundo) and Ronaldo.

Cafú himself, who in 1995 joined Zaragoza although he never set foot in La Catedral with the ‘maños’, once again sported his shorts in a friendly held in Bilbao in August 1998 wearing Roma’s colours (1-0), as the forward Francesco Totti, the soul of the ‘gialloross’. ‘Il capitano’, 37 years old, is still in the rows of the capital club and that football longevity, along with his goal scoring capability, has raised him to second position of historical goal scorers in Series A, just ahead of the Swedish Gunnar Nordahl (225 goals) and behind Silvio Piola (274).

The Brazilian winger was not just any footballer. In the five-time World Cup winning national team nobody has yet reached his 142 internationals, established between 1990-2006, and possesses an incomparable record with 25 titles, that include two World Cups, a European Cup, two Libertadores Cups, two Intercontinental and a Club World Cup. Additionally, in 2002 he became the first player in participating three consecutive times in a World Cup Final. Cafú returned to San Mamés for two more friendly matches, again with Rome in 2002 and with Milan in 2007. The occasion had yet another of its algid moments when the rojiblancos were proclaimed runners-up in La Liga, which provided the French Luis Fernandez’ pupils access to the Champions League. In the Groups Phase, the lions ran into the frightful Juventus, who with Marcelo Lippi (National Manager of the 2006 Italy World Champion team) in the technical staff, could not fold in Bilbao (0-0) nor in Turin (1-1) against Athletic Club with a squad plagued with international players that held all sorts of titles upon ending their sporting careers.

The most distinguished of that fabulous team that competed in the Bilbaoan pitch were the goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi, midfielders Edgar Davids, Angelo Di Livio, Zinedine Zidane and the Basque Didier Deschamps, as well as the forwards Alexander Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi. And another rival of this tournament, Galatasaray, also allowed the return of Claudius Taffarel to San Mamés, the goalie that has donned the Brazilian National jersey most times, and Gica Hagi (previously with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona). In the beginning of the XXI century, as has already cited, the Roma of Capello repeated a visit and in its rows, in addition to Cafú and Josep Guardiola and Antonio Cassano, old regulars of La Liga, appeared the Argentinean Gabriel Batistuta, who neutralized Julen Guerrero’s goal (1-1). With 56 goals, ‘Batigol’ is still the maximum goal scorer in the history of the ‘albiceleste’ with an average of 0.72 goals per match. In May 2006, the Basque National team lost by 0-1 in a friendly match against the Country of Wales in La Catedral.

That combination appeared with an institution in the world of football: Ryan Giggs. The veteran player, who will turn 40 in November, was the author of the winning goal. He currently serves simultaneously as assistant coach and player for Manchester United, with whom he accounts for the most matches played in its history. Giggs, who has never been sent off, holds the impressive world record of 35 official titles. In the Welsh bench at La Catedral, a very young Gareth Bale was warming up for what was to be his official debut with the British national team six days later against Trinidad and Tobago; only 16 years and 315 days old, thus becoming the youngest newcomer of the selection.

We had to wait until October 2007 to see one of the best defenders of all times in action, Paolo Maldini, who two years later hung his boots at almost 41 years of age. In addition, he who was the symbol of Italian football that decade, had the detail of yielding his ‘rojinegra’ jersey to the Athletic Club Museum after the friendly match which ended nil-nil disputed between the rojiblancos and the Milan of Manager Carlo Ancelotti, brilliant European champion. Cafú and Alessandro Nesta were also part of the Milanese starting eleven.

The last stars of teams not belonging to La Liga that have been through the now not-existent field in the final phase of its life, did so in the rojiblanca participation in the UEFA Europa League 2011/12. Ryan Giggs (who also donated his jersey to the Museum) with Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United repeated and with him also aligned were the international defence Rio Ferdinand and mainly, the great star of the ‘red devils’, attacker Wayne Rooney, who scored a goal in Old Trafford as he did in San Mamés. Later, football offered Raul (another player who donated his jersey to our Club) the opportunity to once again set foot on the Bilbaoan pitch with Schalke 04 in the quarterfinals, as well as to the Dutch forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who also has a past with Madrid. The new San Mamés is already awaiting the ‘cracks’ of the future.