Athletic in the Super Cup

There’s a trophy at play for Athletic Club this week. The Rojiblancos take on Real Madrid at La Rosaleda on Thursday in the semi-finals of the Supercopa (Jan 14, 21:00 CET).

It will be the first match between the two sides in this competition. Real Madrid, who are also reigning champions, booked their place in this year’s edition after topping the LaLiga Santander table in 2019-20.

The Lions, being led by new manager Marcelino in his second match in charge, are competing in the new ‘final four’ format for the first time after reaching the 2019-20 Copa del Rey final, which is yet to be played against Basque rivals, Real Sociedad.

They lifted the Supercopa for the first time in 1983-84, without having to compete for it. Athletic had won the Liga and Copa double that same season and back then if a team won both competitions, they would automatically become the Super Cup champions.

The Lions had to fight a bit harder for their second Supercopa win in 2014-15, the most recent addition to their trophy cabinet. Athletic won 5-1 on aggregate against a Barça team that had won the treble (LaLiga, Copa and Champions league) the season before.

In the first leg, Athletic stunned Luis Enrique’s side in Bilbao. Mikel San José got the party started when he spectacular goal from near the half-way line, and striker Aritz Aduriz bagged a hat-trick in a virtuoso performance as the Lions romped to a 4-0 victory.

For Athletic, the return leg in Barcelona was a case of simply maintaining their advantage, which they managed to do. Leo Messi put the home team ahead just before the break, but Athletic held on and in the 75th minute Aduriz put the game beyond doubt, giving the Lions their first trophy in 31 years.