Ideal spot for Iribar statue

The spot for Jose Angel Iribar's statue has been officially announced, with the sculpture set to stand at the entrance to San Mames where the ground's forecourt meets two of the busiest streets on a matchday: Calle Licenciado Poza and Calle Luis Briñas.

The statue will welcome thousands of Athleticzales as they make their way up Pozas to the stadium on matchdays.

During a presentation ceremony, attended by Club president Jon Uriarte, Bilbao mayor Juan Mari Aburto and Iribar himself, the Athletic president offered more details about the sculpture. Basque company Alfa Arte have been commissioned to carry out the project, using two iconic photos of Iribar as reference.

The statue will be made of patinated bronze and be slightly larger than life-size scale, measurinh two metres and 10 centimetres high, resting on a base a little over a metre in height. The unveiling date has not yet been set, but it will take place next season, before the end of 2023.

Juan Mari Aburto dedicated some emotional words of thanks to Iribar at the beginning of his speech: "Thank you for showing that in Bilbao the love for Athletic is not only a thing of the fans. But rather it is part of a deeper identification with the values of sport, respect, camaraderie, a desire to excel, equality, dignity, commitment and teamwork, which your generation knew how to imprint forever in the character of Bilbao."

In the last speech of the day, an emotional Jose Angel Iribar expressed his gratitude once again for this new tribute, calling the sculpture "an homage to all the players who have worn the Athletic shirt throughout the club's history".

The presentation had two elements which added symbolism to the event. Awooden cube with the Athletic Club 125th anniversary logo was placed in the approximate location of the future sculpture and around 20 goalkeepers from Athletic's Lezama academy were also there for the special occasion.