Historical connection between Athletic Club and CD Tenerife
Historical connection between Athletic Club and CD Tenerife
Up to ten red-and-white players have completed part of their career with the ‘Chicharreros’
Athletic Club and CD Tenerife, today’s rival in the King’s Cup Round of 16, maintain a close connection due to the many red-and-white professionals who had the opportunity to complete part of their careers with the ‘Chicharreros’. Up to ten players have worn both shirts throughout history.
The first to arrive to Tenerife was José María Lasquivar, from Tolosa, in the 1953-54 season, after playing for two seasons with Athletic Club. Sestao’s striker Gonzalo Díaz Beitia stayed for two seasons at Tenerife (1961-63) playing 46 matches and scoring 11 goals after playing for Athletic between 1957 and 1960.
In the 80’s, José Ignacio San Pedro joined CD Tenerife, specifically in the 1982-83 season, when he coincided with goalkeeper Pello Agirreoa. The goalkeeper from Ondarroa played more than 200 matches during his six seasons at the club. He is the Athletic player who has played more matches with CD Tenerife.
Agirreoa coincided during the 1987-88 season with one of the outstanding members of the champion Athletic of the 80s, the striker Txema Noriega, who completed two seasons in Tenerife and enjoyed the promotion of the club to the First Division in the 1988-89 season.
It was not until 2011 that another player trained in Lezama played in Tenerife. It was the defense of Bermeo Francisco Javier Tarantino, who played for two seasons. Unai Albizua, on loan from Athletic in the 2014-2015 season, played 28 matches that season. Jon Aurtenetxe played in the same condition, on loan, during the 2015-16 season, in which he played 24 matches. Two other former red-and-white players, Isma López and Iker Undabarrena, are currently part of the team coached by Rubén Baraja.
In addition to the players, Manolo Delgado Meco worked as physical trainer for CD Tenerife during the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, before moving to Athletic until the end of his professional career. Javier Clemente coached the island team in 12 matches during 2002 and Jupp Heynckes had a successful career in Tenerife (1995-97), leading the team to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. The former and current Bilbao Athletic coach Joseba Etxeberria also coached CD Tenerife in 2018.