Match Pack: Athletic Club vs FC Barcelona (LaLiga MD2)

This is the moment all Athletic Club fans have longed for. Supporters will finally attend a match at San Mamés again.

Due to the pandemic and the subsequent health restrictions, The Cathedral has been closed to spectators since the LaLiga 2019-20 fixture against Villarreal CF on March 1 2020.

Saturday’s meeting promises to be a special night for all, with the Lions taking on Catalan giants FC Barcelona, who, along with Athletic, are one of three teams to have never been relegated from the Spanish top-flight.

This is a fixture which has brought Athletic fans a lot of joy over the years. Those watching in the stadium, around the city of Bilbao, and all over the world, will be hoping for another memorable night to add to the collection.

Match info

Athletic Club vs FC Barcelona (Matchday 2)

San Mamés

LaLiga Santander 21-22

Saturday August 21, 22:00 CEST

How to watch

To make sure you don’t miss the big match, we’ve compiled a list with all the TV channels and kick-off times around the world.

Team news

Marcelino has named a 21-man squad for the fixture. Goalkeeper Unai Simón is still on leave after his long summer of international football.

Defenders Ander Capa, Yeray, Yuri Berchiche and Alex Petxarroman remain unavailable due to their respective injury issues.

However, forward Raúl García is back from suspension and goes straight back into the matchday squad.

Marcelino’s comments

The Athletic Club head coach said the return of fans to San Mamés would be “an incredible moment”, whilst also insisting the Lions could get something out of the match if they’re at their best.

“We will have to defend well and press high so Barça can’t play out of the back too easily, we’ll have to play at a very high level. There will be 10,500 spectators at San Mamés, it’s a big and welcome motivation for us.”

Catch up with everything the gaffer had to say in his routine pre-match press conference.

Previous meetings

One of the oldest and most iconic clashes in LaLiga football, the two sides have faced each other in a league fixture in Bilbao on 90 occasions. The record stands at 43 wins, 20 draws and 23 losses for Athletic.

Last season, Athletic lost 2-3 when the Catalans came to town – it was also Marcelino’s first match as head coach of the Lions. In 2019-20, the Rojiblancos won 1-0 thanks to Aritz Aduriz’s spectacular late volley in the Matchday 1 clash.

We have to go back to 2013-14 to find Athletic’s previous LaLiga win over Barça at San Mamés, with Iker Muniain‘s 70th-minute strike giving the Bilbao-based team a 1-0 victory.

This fixture tends to be quite tight, with the exception of a 2-5 loss for Athletic in 2014-15, the teams haven’t been separated by more than two goals in Bilbao since the 1999-00 campaign.

Of course, in recent years, the Basques and Catalans have also faced off several times in important fixtures outside of LaLiga Santander. A stoppage-time Iñaki Williams header saw Athletic knock Barça out of the 2019-20 Copa del Rey in the quarter-finals.

The Lions triumphed in the 2021 Super Cup final, Athletic winning 2-3 and taking home the trophy after Williams scored a stunner in extra-time. The Catalans got their revenge in that year’s Copa final, which they won 0-4.

Athletic achieved their biggest ever league victory in history with a 12-1 win against the Culers in 1930-31, striker Bata scored an incredible seven goals that day.

The opponents

League position in 20-21: 3rd

Head coach: Ronald Koeman

The Dutchman, already a Barça legend from his playing days, took his place in the Camp Nou dugout at the beginning of last season.

His post playing career has seen him manage in his homeland (Vitesse, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord), Portugal (Benfica), Spain (Valencia, Barcelona) and England (Southampton, Everton), in addition to a two-year stint as the Netherlands national team coach.

As a player Ronald was equally adept at centre-back or centre-mid, and often used as a sweeper. He won a total of 10 trophies during his time at Barça from 1989-1995, including: four LaLiga titles, one Copa del Rey, three Spanish Super Cups, one European Super Cup and one European Cup.

He scored the only goal in Barça’s 1-0 win against Sampdoria in the 1991-92 European Cup final, the first ever time they won the competition.

Star man:

With the departure of Argentinian icon Leo Messi, Barça fans will be hoping that another player can step up to fill his very large shoes.

The Catalans still have a lot of strength in depth in attacking positions and several players will be looking to make an impact this season.

Young playmaker Pedri is back from his international adventures. The 18-year-old midfielder impressed many in LaLiga last season and won a lot of praise for his performances at Euro 2020.

The Barça squad is full of international stars, such as Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Frenkie De Jong and Antoine Griezmann.

What’s more, the Culers strengthened in the summer, bringing in four new faces: Emerson Royal (Real Betis), Eric García (Man City), Sergio Agüero (Man City) and Memphis Depay (Olympique Lyon).

Barça beat Real Sociedad 4-2 in their Matchday 1 fixture, with Gerard Pique, Martin Braithwaite (2) and Sergi Roberto getting on the scoresheet at the Camp Nou.