125 years of Athletic Club friendlies now on display at AC Museum

During Athletic Club’s 125 years of existence, we have gathered documentation from nearly 7,000 matches, against more than 700 teams - of which some 2,000 were friendly fixtures.

There was a time when friendlies were the only way fans could watch foreign teams and when friendly tournaments were almost seen as being official. 

Even today, despite not being as highly regarded as in the past, many meaningful anniversaries are still celebrated with friendlies.

The Athletic Club’s new exhibition showcases some of the most important friendly trophies won by the Lions since our foundation in 1898. 

Some are trophies of major significance, such as the Teresa Herrera or the Carranza, won by both the men's and women's teams. Others are of historical value. For example, an Athletic vs Madrid - not Real Madrid at that point - match organised by the Madrid City Council to celebrate the republic's first anniversary. Finally, some had economic value, like the Concepción Arenal Trophy, which was made entirely of gold and worth more than 50,000 pesetas in 1953. 

In total there are 18 trophies on display (just a fraction of those that have been kept and preserved by Athletic) in addition to 12 pennants from the teams we played during those matches.