Los Leones vs The Three Lions

Forty years ago today, on March 23, 1982, Athletic drew 1-1 with the English national team at the old San Mamés. It was the first time an offical England team had ever faced a foreign club side.

However, it wasn’t the first time an England representative XI had played at The Cathedral. In May 1964, an England Youth side containing the likes of Harry Redknapp, Jimmy Greenhoff and future Athletic Club manager Howard Kendall, who got on the scoresheet that day, took on a Bizkaia Youth XI in Bilbao.

The 1982 fixture served a dual purpose. On the one hand, it acted as a testimonial for Athletic legend Txetxu Rojo I, and on the other, it was a World Cup warm-up match for the Englishmen, whose first three duels of the 1982 version of the international tournament were to be played at The Cathedral.

At his pre-match press conference, England manager Ron Greenwood promised the Three Lions would not hold back as he was keen for his players to get used to The Cathedral. Greenwood certainly stuck to his word, naming a starting XI which included star players like Bryan Robson, Phil Thompson, Cyrille Regis, Trevor Brooking and two-time Balon d’Or winner Kevin Keegan.

The Athletic XI, with Javier Clemente in the dugout, was also impressive: Andoni Zubizarreta, Santiago Urkiaga, Luis De la Fuente, Rocky Liceranzu, Andoni Goikoetxea, José Ramón Gallego, Txema Noriega, Miguel Angel Sola, Manuel Sarabia, Txetxu Rojo I and Estanislao Argote. The bulk of that starting line-up would go on to play major roles in the Lions’ subsequent domination of domestic football, a period in which Los Rojiblancos won two LaLigas and a Copa over the 1982/82 and 1983/84 seasons.

Before kick-off there were some festivities which included a marching band, an aurreskulari – someone who performs a traditional Basque dance known as an aurresku – and a standing ovation for Rojo I.

Once the match got underway, Greenwood’s charges took control of affairs, forcing Zubizarreta into a string of early saves. Keegan found a breakthrough in the 37th minute, firing past the Athletic shotstopper from a free-kick after Brooking was fouled on the edge of the box.

Los Rojiblancos came out of their shells in the second half, taking the game to the English visitors. The equaliser came in the 67th minute, Manolo Sarabia the architect and the scorer. The forward laid off the ball to Tirapu, whose cross was headed on to the crossbar by Txema Noriega before Sarabia, who’d rushed into box, finished from the rebound.

England pressed hard for a winner in the closing stages but a lack of accuracy in the final third and an unbeatable Zubizarreta meant the game finished as a draw.

After the match Ron Greenwood said the result was a fair one: “We played better in the first half and we deserved to score more, but Athletic have a great goalkeeper. The second half was more even and the home side impressed me. It was an enjoyable game. The crowd enjoyed it and we won a lot of friends. I’m happy, even if we didn’t win.”

England won all three of their first-group-stage matches in Bilbao. They kicked off the tournament with a 3-1 win over France, Bryan Robson scoring within the first 27 seconds to set a then World Cup record for fastest ever goal in the tournament. The Three Lions followed that up with victories against Czechoslovakia (2-0) and Kuwait (1-0) before falling in the second group stage after 0-0 draws against Spain and West Germany.

Forty years on, the meeting is still well remembered in Bilbao, it is one of six occasions the Lions have faced an international side. What’s more, Bilbao and Athletic Club are fondly remembered by several England fans, with plenty of Englishmen going on to become Athleticzales thanks to the testimonial and the World Cup matches at San Mamés.