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Athletic’s international goalkeepers

Athletic’s international goalkeepers

Unai Simón is Athletic Club’s only representative at Euro 2020, but before him nine other Athletic keepers played international football for the Spanish national team

Unai Simón is Athletic Club’s only representative at Euro 2020. The Athletic goalkeeper has been a regular in Luis Enrique’s squads since the start of the 2020-21 season, and he can now look forward to being involved in his first major international tournament.

Throughout Athletic Club’s history, we have produced several top-class goalkeepers who have gone on to win international caps. To celebrate the start of Euro 2020, we’re taking a look at all the Athletic shotstoppers who have made an international appearance:

Manuel Vidal Hermosa
He played a single match for the Spanish national team, replacing Ricardo Zamora. In the 1920s, he was capped against France, in a 1-4 victory for Spain.

Gregorio Blasco Sánchez

The Mundaka native won five caps for the Spanish national team before the Civil War began. He made his debut against Portugal on November 30, 1930.

He was also the goalkeeper in Athletic’s first ever LaLiga fixture (in 1929, against Real Sociedad). He has an enviable record in the red-and-white shirt: 4 League titles (1930, 1931, 1933 and 1935), 4 consecutive Copas (1930, 1931, 1932 and 1933) and 8 Regional Championships.

J. M. Echevarria Ayestarán
Also against Portugal, Joseba played a match in goal for the Spanish national team in 1941. The match ended as a 2-2 draw.

Raimundo Pérez Lezama
Lezama was a revolutionary in terms of the way he played in goal (taking up positions outside the area, playing with his feet, etc). He made 263 appearances in 16 seasons with Athletic, and got one cap for the Spanish national team. In that match, they won 1-4 against Portugal.

Carmelo Cedrún
An Athletic legend, who played 402 games in 14 seasons. Carmelo was part of the Spanish national team that travelled to the 1962 World Cup in Chile. He was also a starter in the first two matches of that World Cup. He made his debut in March 1954 against Turkey and went on to play in 12 more matches.

José Ángel Iribar
The Lion with the most appearances in Athletic history – 614 in 18 seasons. He is the only Athletic goalkeeper to have won a major tournament at international level. Txopo won Euro 1964 with the Spanish national team under José Villalonga. He made his debut that same year and competed in 49 matches.

Andoni Zubizarreta
The man between the sticks during our most recent LaLiga titles wins in 1983 and 1984, Zubizarreta was capped 126 times by Spain. He was the first Spanish national team goalkeeper to surpass 100 caps. He made his debut in 1985 against Finland.

Dani Aranzubia
He played a friendly match with the Spanish national team against Andorra in 2004. A Lezama graduate who made 189 appearances in eight seasons, he was also the third goalkeeper at that year’s Euros in Portugal.

Kepa Arrizabalaga
He made his debut with the Spanish national team in 2017, in a friendly match against Costa Rica. He was one of the three goalkeepers called up by Julen Lopetegui to play in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, becoming the fourth goalkeeper in Athletic’s history to play at a World Cup.

Unai Simón
Athletic Club’s current number 1, Simón has already played for the Spanish national team and could make his first appearance at a major international tournament in Euro 2020.