The derby is also played before the opening whistle

The appointment with the derby will begin at mid-afternoon. The fact that the match is played at 10 pm and on a working day has made it necessary to turn the traditional official lunch into a snack-dinner. Chef Fernando Canales will be in charge of attending the Athletic Club’s Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of the Real Sociedad in his restaurant in San Mamés.

Subsequently, the former presidents Ignacio Ugartetxe and Ana Urquijo confirmed their presence on the stage. Javier Clemente will also be present, now with duties in his new role as head of the Euskal Selekzioa who has just announced a friendly against Argentina in the next FIFA window in October. He will be able to greet Mikel Etxarri, the veteran coach from Lasarte who will also be on the bench of the Tricolour. And with them an institution of the Real Sociedad as Alberto Górriz, Bixio, the player with more official matches played in the history of club from Donostia.

Among the other guests, the presence of Augusto Consthanzo, the renowned Argentinian illustrator and cartoonist who entered the Athletic planet with his design of the SanjoBuruz, the resounding caricature of Mikel San Jose that became popular in the 2012 finals and even had its place in the celebration of the Supercopa three years later.

There will also be a representation of Bizkaia’s Third Division clubs, with Joseba Mikel Alonso and Juan Andrés Iragorri from Sodupe and Mikel Iratzagorria and Emilio García from the recently promoted Urduliz.

The former Athletic players will be represented by two footballers who curiously wore the shirts of both teams throughout their professional careers, one from Bizkaia and the other from Gipuzkoa: Ritxi Arrien and Andoni Imaz.

In addition, the Peñas that will visit us to the San Mamés Main Box will be those of Bailén, Ceuta, Argoños, Etxebarri’s Arri Arri,  Askazi Taldea, the Peña Andoni Goikoetxea, La Peña El Arco de San Mamés and the Athletic Juvenil (Youth) club.