Iribar’s memories at Anfield

This last Sunday, in the friendly match that Athletic Club played against Liverpool FC, José Ángel Iribar once again stepped onto the turf at Anfield (Liverpool), a stadium that he remembers with special affection. On 2 October 1968, the legendary Athletic goalkeeper played the second leg of the 1968/69 Fairs Cup (now the Europa League) 1/32 final at the same stadium. A tie that began in San Mamés with a 2-1 win for the red and white team and ended in a 2-1 defeat in the return leg. And the final outcome left us with an anecdote for history.

In the tie between the Red and Whites and the Reds, Athletic won the first leg at San Mamés. Estéfano and Ormaza gave the Zurich side the lead, but Hunt scored in the second half for the English side to leave the tie open for the return leg in England. Athletic travelled to Liverpool knowing that it was going to be difficult to get through the tie against Bill Shankly’s side: “It was amazing to see the atmosphere, the weather… something we had never experienced before. Back then, Anfield was already a mythical stadium because of the way they cheered and the way they played. We were under a lot of pressure. I’ve never had so much work to do,” confesses Txopo under the goal he defended that day.

On that autumnal day, Argoitia gave Piru Gainza’s side the lead. With the tie seemingly decided, Lawler (’77) and Hughes (’87) turned the game around and levelled the scores on aggregate. The match went to extra time, which ended goalless, and, surprisingly, “there was no penalty shoot-out. As the tie ended in a draw, we thought it was time for penalties, as usual, but they were not taken, a coin was tossed, blue and red. Koldo Aguirre was our captain and was given the chance to choose a colour at the start. He chose red. It was exciting. The coin fell on Athletic’s side and qualified the lions for the 1/16 finals. Athletic would go on to eliminate Panathinaikos and Eintracht Frankfurt, before finally losing in the quarter-finals to Glasgow Rangers.

More than 40,000 people watched the game last Sunday, 8 August, an atmosphere that Iribar considers “positive” for the players who come to the first team from Lezama, the basis of Athletic Club’s philosophy: “It’s a very enriching game and the youngsters also have to feel what it’s like to play in an atmosphere like this. Despite being a friendly, the atmosphere is impressive and you have to know how to manage that too”.