Between Manneken-Pis and Mister Pentland

The Athletic Club can boast of having a good number of peñas outside its borders, spread all over the world. But bragging is not just taking the globe and putting tacks in the venues scattered all over the world from Tokyo to Daly City in the south of San Francisco in California, passing through Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Havana, Caracas or Miami. To boast of international peñas is to prove that the passion for Athletic is also active, latent and unstoppable thanks to the involvement of a large number of red-and-white fans who devote themselves to its colours even though they are thousands of kilometres far from Bilbao.

In Brussels, with the echoes of the historic game of Sclessin where Athletic defeated Standard Liege 1-7, an initiative that had already been developing for some time, finally became official in 2009 and now reaches its tenth anniversary. Goyo Arbizu, representing the Athletic Club’s Board of Directors, will take part in an intense calendar of activities that the Peña 1-7 of the Belgian capital has prepared for this weekend to celebrate its special birthday.

Some events, as could not be otherwise in Brussels, will begin this Friday with the official dress ceremony of Manneken-Pis in the zurigorri uniform. Ceremony where there will be a representation of the City Council of Brussels and the Order of Friends of Manneken-Pis. For Saturday, in addition to the consequent meeting to witness the match of San Mamés against Atlético de Madrid, the Euskal Etxea of the Place de Gueux will host a videoconference where they will take part, among others, Leones Italianos, Iparraldeko Peña -in charge of the Congress of Peñas that will take place next month-, Tokiotarrak, Athletic Club California or Mister Pentland.

Curiously, the Londoners of the Peña Mister Pentland will take part in the event from Bilbao, as they are also on their birthdays and have decided to celebrate their seventh anniversary by witnessing the match against Atlético de Madrid live in San Mamés. The Pentland family wanted to transfer the atmosphere of their Thomas More Street headquarters to the Botxo, which, on the banks of the Thames and close to the Tower Bridge, has already become a classic for all the red-and-white who come to the English capital. A concert, the pintxo-pote of rigour and a lunch for 60 diners will serve as a warm up before the match.