Athletic’s recent foreign pre-season adventures

As the Lions get ready to return to competition, we take a look at all of Athletic’s foreign training camps, tours and friendlies since the turn of the century.

2001/02: England

Jupp Heynckes’ Athletic did a tour of Britain, just as they did the season before. It turned out to be a great camp, with the Lions picking up some impressive results.

Athletic returned to Bilbao with a record of three wins, one draw and one defeat. The highlight was a 0-1 win over Bobby Robson’s Newcastle United thanks to a goal by Julen Guerrero.

Matches:
August 1 / The Hawthorns (West Bromwich): West Bromwich Albion 0 – 2 Athletic Club
August 3 / Reebok Stadium (Bolton): Bolton Wanderers 0 – 1 Athletic Club
August 5 / Riverside Stadium (Middlesbrough): Middlesbrough 3 – 0 Athletic Club
August 7 / Bloomfield Road (Blackpool): Blackpool FC 2 – 2 Athletic Club
August 11 / St James’ Park (Newcastle): Newcastle United 0 – 1 Athletic Club

2002/03: England

Coach Jupp Heynckes took 31 players on this English pre-season tour, which resulted in two wins and three draws. The 0-1 win over David Moyes’ Everton at Goodison Park came courtesy of Ismael Urzaiz. The Lions’ camp also included the inuagural match at Leicester City’s new ground – then called The Walkers Stadium.

Matches:
August 2 / Bloomfield Road (Blackpool): Blackpool FC 0 – 0 Athletic Club
August 4 / The Walkers Stadium (Leicester): Leicester City FC 1 – 1 Athletic Club
August 6 / Alfred McAlpine Stadium (Huddersfield): Huddersfield Town 0 – 0 Athletic Club
August 8 / Reebok Stadium (Bolton): Bolton Wanderers 0 – 1 Athletic Club
August 10 / Goodison Park (Liverpool): Everton FC 0 – 1 Athletic Club

2003/04: The Netherlands

The Dutch town of Papendal hosted Ernesto Valverde’s men, who played three matches. The most demanding of which was a 2-1 defeat against AZ Alkmaar. The other two fixtures resulted in victories, including a 2-7 win over ADO Den Haag.

Matches:
August 2 / Zuiderpark Stadion (The Hague): ADO Den Haag 2 – 7 Athletic Club
August 6 / Hollandia (Hoorn): FC Volendam 1 – 3 Athletic Club
August 8 / BKC (Anna Paulowna): AZ Alkmaar 2 – 1 Athletic Club

2004/05: The Netherlands

Athletic went back to the Netherlands for this season’s training camp, setting up shop in in the town of Dwyngeloo. Valverde’s players only faced two teams, Groningen and Heerenveen. Both side were further ahead in their preparations as they were practically a week away from the start of the league campaign. The Lions came home with a win and a defeat.

Matches:
August 5 / Oosterpark Stadion (Groningen): FC Groningen 3 – 2 Athletic Club
August 7 / Lenstra Stadium (Heerenveen): SC Heerenveen 1 – 2 Athletic Club

2005/06: Germany

After being knocked out of the now extinct Intertoto Cup at the hands of Romanian side Ecomax Cluj, José Luis Mendilibar and his squad headed to the German city of Dresden two weeks later to complete a four-match tour.

Los Rojiblancos started with a 1-0 win over Rot-Weiss Erfurt, a side recently relegated to the Third Division, before going on to thrash Lokomotive Leipzig 0-9 (four goals from Joseba Etxeberria and three from Fernando Llorente). Athletic saw out the tour with a defeat against Dynamo Dresden and a draw against Energie Cottbus. On August 21, Athletic then travelled to Sicily to play Palermo, drawing 1-1.

Matches:
July 23/ Steigerwald (Erfurt): Rot-Weiss Erfurt 0 – 1 Athletic Club
July 27 / Bruno-Plache (Leipzig): Lokomotive Leipzig 0 – 9 Athletic Club
July 29 / Rudolf-Harbig (Dresden): Dynamo Dresden 3 – 2 Athletic Club
July 31 / Der Freundschaft (Cottbus): Energie Cottbus 1 – 1 Athletic Club
August 21 / Renzo Barbera (Palermo): SSD Palermo 1 – 1 Athletic Club

2006/07: The Netherlands

After a short stay in Tignes, France, improving their fitness and adapting to new coach Félix Sarriugarte, Athletic Club returned to Papendal in the Netherlands, from where they travelled to Germany for several matches.

The Lions kicked things off with a mini-tournament in Cologne, beating Middlesborough 1-0 and losing 1-0 to FC Köln in 45-minute matches. Athletic saw out the camp with wins over Rot-Weiss Essen and Dutch minnows Ijsselmeervogels.

On August 12, Los Rojiblancos travelled to Liverpool where they took on Everton in a testimonial dedicated to Howard Kendall. Athletic won 0-1 thanks an Aritz Aduriz strike.

Matches:
August 3 / Rhein Energie Stadion (Cologne): FC Köln 1 – 0 Athletic Club
August 3 / Rhein Energie Stadion (Cologne): Athletic Club 1 – 0 Middlesbrough FC
August 6 / Georg-Melches-Stadion (Essen): Rot-Weiss Essen 0 – 1 Athletic Club
August 8 / De Westmaat (Spakenburg): Ijsselmeervogels 0 – 3 Athletic Club
August 12 / Goodison Park (Liverpool): Everton FC 0 – 1 Athletic Club

2007/08: The Netherlands

Athletic returned to Papendal for an extended stay under Joaquín Caparrós. After facing four lower-league opponents, the Lions final match of the tour was a 1-0 win over Eredivisie side Vitesse which the referee called off 12 minutes from time.

Matches:
August 2 / Sportpark Villekamp (Aalten): AZSV Aalten 0 – 7 Athletic Club
August 4 / Gemeentelijk (Emmen): WKE Emmen 0 – 6 Athletic Club
August 7 / Bultserve (Glanerbrug): Avanti 0 – 10 Athletic Club
August 8 / De Buitenboom (Babberich): SV Babberich 0 – 2 Athletic Club
August 11 / Gelredome (Arnhem): Vitesse 0 – 1 Athletic Club

2008/09: Huelva

The training camp was held in Isla Canela, Huelva. The Lions began with friendlies against lower-leage outfits San Roque de Lepe and Ayamonte CF, before taking part in the Morocco Summer Cup in Casablanca, Morocco and beating Udinese in the final. Afterwards, they made a stopover in London, defeating Charlton Athletic and Colchester United. Athletic then took part in the Colombino and Ramón de Carranza Trophies.

Matches:
July 18 / Municipal (Lepe): San Roque de Lepe 0 – 7 Athletic Club
July 19/ Blas Infante (Ayamonte): Ayamonte CF 1 – 2 Athletic Club
July 22 / Mohammed V (Casablanca): FAR Rabat 1 – 1 Athletic Club
Juy 25 / Mohammed V (Casablanca): Udinese Calcio 0 – 3 Athletic Club
August 2 / The Valley (Londen): Charlton Athletic 0 – 1 Athletic Club
August 4 / Weston Homes (Colchester): Colchester United 1 – 2 Athletic Club
August 6 / Colombino (Huelva): Málaga CF 1 – 3 Athletic Club
August 7 / Colombino (Huelva): RC Recreativo 2 – 1 Athletic Club
August 14 / Ramón de Carranza (Cádiz): Cádiz CF 2 – 0 Athletic Club
August 16 / Ramón de Carranza (Cádiz): Villarreal CF 0 – 1 Athletic Club

2009/10: Huelva

Isla Canela was once again chosen to host the Lions for their pre-season training camp. Caparrós’ team took part in a tournament in the nearby Algarve region, Portugal, with two top opponents in Benfica and Anderlecht. Los Rojiblancos also defeated San Roque de Lepe, with Etxeberria scoring from the penalty spot two minutes before full-time.

Matches:
July 16 / Municipal (Vila Real de S.António): Benfica 2 – 1 Athletic Club
July 18/ Municipal (Vila Real de S.António): Athletic Club 2 – 2 RSC Anderlecht
July 22 / Municipal (Lepe): San Roque de Lepe 0 – 1 Athletic Club

2010/11: Huelva

For the third consecutive year, Caparrós started the season in Isla Canela. The Lions travelled to Portugual to face Olhanense and Sporting Braga, winning both matches 1-3. In addition to this training camp, Athletic played friendlies in France, England and Italy.

Matches:
July 18 / Blas Infante (Ayamonte): SC Olhanense 1 – 3 Athletic Club
July 21 / Axa (Braga): Sporting Braga 1 – 3 Athletic Club
July 31 / Felix Bollaert (Lens): RC Lens 0 – 2 Athletic Club
August 7/ Molineux (Wolverhampton): Wolves 2 – 1 Athletic Club
August 13 / Luigi Ferraris (Génova): Genoa CFC 1 – 0 Athletic Club
August 22 / Angelo Massimino (Catania): Catania 0 – 3 Athletic Club

2011/12: No foreign camp

In Marcelo Bielsa’s era, Athletic did not hold any foreign training camps. However, in the Argentinian coach’s first year in charge, the Lions did take part in a mini tournament in Southampton, beating both German side Werder Bremen and the Saints in 45-minute matches.

Two weeks later, Athletic travelled to London for a friendly at White Hart Lane against a Spurs side featuring the likes of Gareth Bale and Luka Modric.

Matches:
July 23 / St Mary’s Stadium (Southampton): Werder Bremen 1 – 2 Athletic Club
July 23 / St Mary’s Stadium (Southampton): Southampton FC 0 – 2 Athletic Club
August 6 / White Hart Lane (Londen): Tottenham Hotspur FC 2 – 1 Athletic Club

2012/13: Also at Lezama

In Bielsa’s second year, the camp also took place at Lezama, but there was no shortage of friendlies against foreign opponents.

Matches:
July 13 / Des Alpes (Grenoble): Olympique Lyonnais 1 – 2 Athletic Club
July 17 / Mohammed V (Casablanca): Raja Casablanca 3 – 1 Athletic Club
July 21 / Stadion Miejski (Wroclaw): PSV Eindhoven 1 – 0 Athletic Club
July 22 / Stadion Miejski (Wroclaw): Slask Wroclaw 0 – 1 Athletic Club
July 27 / André Darrigade (Dax): Lille OSC 3 – 1 Athletic Club

2013/14: Austria

The majority of this pre-season took place in the idyllic town of Leogang, in the Austrian Alps. All three opponents were German, with Athletic recording one win and two goalless draws.

Matches:
July 20 / Kufstein Arena (Kufstein): Eintracht Braunschweig 0 – 4 Athletic Club
July 23 / Sportplatz Bürgerau (Saalfelden): TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 0 – 0 Athletic Club
July 27 / Mage Solar Stadion (Freiburg): SC Freiburg 0 – 0 Athletic Club

2014/15: Austria

Valverde once again opted for the Austria to prepare for a demanding season that began on August 19 with the first leg of the Champions League play-off against SSC Napoli.

Athletic stayed in the town of Saalfelden until July 27, with three friendlies scheduled. The first of which saw the Lions take on Al-Hilal, the most successful team in Saudi Arabian history.

Once back in Bilbao, three more trips awaited the Lions, two to Germany and one to Athens, with resounding victories over Benfica, Borussia Monchengladbach and a draw at Olympiacos.

Matches:
July 19 / Sportzentrum (Wörgl): Al-Hilal Saudi FC 0 – 3 Athletic Club
July 23 / Sportzentrum (Wörgl): Athletic Club 2 – 1 SC Paderborn 07
July 27 / Sportplatz (Fügen): Athletic Club 2 – 2 Werder Bremen
July 31 / Saint-Léonard (Freiburg): Benfica 0 – 2 Athletic Club
August 9 / Borussia Park (Mönchengladbach): Borussia MG 1 – 3 Athletic Club
August 13 / Georgios Karaiskakis (Athens): Olympiacos 0 – 0 Athletic Club

2015/16: Austria

Leogang was the destination chosen to prepare for a summer full of huge matches, such as the two-leg final of Spanish Super Cup victory and the UEFA Europa League qualifier win against Inter Baku.

The Lions also travelled to the US, where they took on Tijuana in Boise, a town famous for its significant population of Basque descendants. In the last match of pre-season, a second-string Athletic side lost to Internazionale at the Ennio Tardini Stadium in Parma.

Matches:
July 11 / Bischofshofen Sportplaz (Bischofshofen): FC Krasnodar 1 – 1 Athletic Club
July 14 / Steinberg Stadium (Leogang): Athletic Club 2 – 3 Greuther Furth
July 18 / Albertsons Stadium (Boise): Athletic Club 2 – 0 Club Tijuana
August 8 / Ennio Tardini (Parma): FC Internazionale 2 – 0 Athletic Club

2016/17: Switzerland

This was Valverde’s final campaign in his second spell as coach, with the team having reached the UEFA Europa League group stage. On this occasion, the training camp was held in the Swiss town of Sankt Gallen, where the first friendly was played.

The powerful Borussia Dortmund, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ousmane Dembélé among their ranks, were beaten by Athletic thanks to Markel Susaeta goal. Afterwards, the Lions travelled to Germany to play two more matches, registering a draw and a defeat.

Matches:
August 9 / Kybunpark (Sankt Gallen): Borussia Dortmund 0 – 1 Athletic Club
August 12 / Rhein-Neckar-Arena (Sinsheim): TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 1 – 1 Athletic Club
August 14 / Veltins Arena (Gelsenkirchen): Schalke 04 3 – 2 Athletic Club

2017/18: Switzerland

The Swiss town of Crans Montana hosted the Lions’ pre-season training camp under Kuko Ziganda.

The first test was against then Swiss champions FC Basel, ending in a 3-2 defeat. Los Rojiblancos then went on to beat FC Sion and draw with Turkish side Fenerbahce SK.

Before knocking Dinamo Bucharest out of the UEFA Europa League, Athletic beat Club Brugge 0-2 in Belgium thanks to a brace by Raúl García. On August 5, the Lions travelled to Dublin, where they faced Liverpool at the the Aviva Stadium.

Matches:
July 12 / Stade du Christ-Roi (Lens): FC Basel 3 – 2 Athletic Club
July 15 / Stade du Christ-Roi (Lens): FC Sion 0 – 2 Athletic Club
July 17 / Stade Municipal (Yverdon-les-Bains): Athletic Club 0 – 0 Fenerbahce SK
July 21 / Jan Breydel Stadium (Bruges): Club Brugge KV 0 – 2 Athletic Club
August 5 / Aviva Stadium (Dublin): Liverpool FC 3 – 1 Athletic Club

2018/19: The Netherlands

The main pre-season training camp took place in De Lutte under Eduardo Berizzo. However, there was only one match on Dutch soil. The Lions were invited to participate in Duisburg’s Cup of Traditions, where they drew with the home team and lost 3-1 to English side Fulham.

In August, the Argentinian coach’s charges returned to Germany for the Opel Cup with 45-minute matches against Fiorentina and Mainz 05, both of which were goalless draws.

As a means to settle the mini tournament, Athletic beat the Italians in a penalty shoot-out, but not the hosts. The Lions saw out the pre-season with two more friendlies in Germany.

Matches:
July 25 / SV De Lutte (De Lutte): ADO Den Haag 3 – 2 Athletic Club
July 28 / Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena (Duisburg): MSV Duisburg 1 – 1 Athletic Club
July 28 / Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena (Duisburg): Fulham FC 3 – 1 Athletic Club
August 5 / Opel Arena (Mainz): ACF Fiorentina 0 – 0 Athletic Club
August 5 / Opel Arena (Mainz): FSV Mainz 05 0 – 0 Athletic Club
August 11 / HDI Arena (Hannover): Hannover 96 2 – 0 Athletic Club
August 12 / WWK Arena (Augsburg): FC Augsburg 0 – 1 Athletic Club

2019/20: Germany

Gaizka Garitano, who took over as manager at the beginning of December 2018, took his side to the German town of Marienfeld for the 2019/20 pre-season. The tour included two matches, a 3-3 draw with Paderborn and 0-2 win over Borussia Monchengladbach. In August, there were two further tests, against West Ham United and Roma, in England and Italy respectively, with both games finishing 2-2.

Matches:
July 27 / Energieversum Stadion (Gütersloh): SC Paderborn 07 3 – 3 Athletic Club
July 28 / Christopeit Sport Arena (Velbert): Borussia MG 0 – 2 Athletic Club
August 3 / London Stadium (London): West Ham United 2 – 2 Athletic Club
August 7 / Renato Curi (Perugia): AS Roma 2 – 2 Athletic Club

2020/21: No tours, no camps

The post-Covid season. There were no international adventures this year, with Athletic staying at Lezama and taking on local sides.

2021/22: Switzerland

The Lions returned to Switzerland, with nine days of training camp and high level opponents. Marcelino’s side kicked off events with a 2-1 loss against local side St Gallen.

The other two friendlies were entirely positive, winngin 1-0 against Dynamo Kyiv and 2-0 against a Borussia Dortmund side featuring Erling Haaland. What’s more, in the last week of pre-season, Athletic travelled to England, where they defeated Southampton FC and drew with Liverpool at a packed out Anfield.

Matches:
July 17 / Kybunpark (St. Gallen): St. Gallen 2 – 1 Athletic Club
July 20 / Schützenwiese (Winterthur): Athletic Club 1 – 0 Dynamo Kyiv
July 24 / Kybunpark (St. Gallen): Borussia Dortmund 0 – 2 Athletic Club
July 31 / An der Alten Försterei (Berlin): Union Berlin 2 – 1 Athletic Club
August 7 / St. Mary’s Stadium (Southampton): Southampton FC 1 – 3 Athletic Club
August 8 / Anfield (Liverpool): Liverpool FC 1 – 1 Athletic Club