Euskal Non-League Day: Amurrio Club
Euskal Non-League Day: Amurrio Club
Founded in 1949, the pride of Basarte is a staple of local Basque football
Location: Amurrio
Ground: Campo de Basarte
Division: División de Honor (Sixth tier)
Match: Amurrio Club vs Orduña (Friendly) (Sept 9. 18:00 CEST)
Founded in 1949, Amurrio Club is a classic of Basque football football, first competing in the Federación Vizcaina and, later on, in the Federación Alavesa. With 12 seasons in the former Segunda B, the period between the end of the 90s and the first few years of this century are considered the club's golden era.
For example, in 2001, Amurrio were involved in the play-offs to go up to the second tier, taking on historic sides such as Cádiz CF, Nástic de Tarragona and Zamora CF.
Amurrio have faced Athletic three times. The first ocassion was on 10 October 2001 in Basarte, in the last 32 of the Copa del Rey, with Athletic Club winning 1-3. David Karanka, Santi Ezquerro and Roberto Martínez "Tiko" scored for Jupp Heynckes' side, while Iker Atxabal scored for the home side.
The repeat came on 11 September 2002, also in the last 32 of the Copa. The match has a special place in Athletic history as it saw Aritz Aduriz's debut and the last of the 401 matches played by Josu Urrutia in the red and white jersey. Los Leones won 2-1 thanks to goals from Julen Guerrero and Ismael Urzaiz.
The last clash between the two sides dates back to 29 April 2009, with Athletic running out 3-1 winners in a friendly at San Mames. On that occasion, Caparrós' men came from behind to win with a goal from Jose Etxeberria scoring and Ustaritz grabbing a brace.
The relationship with Athletic Club goes back a long way, with a total of seven footballers having worn the shirts of both entities: Andoni Lakabeg, Edorta Murua, Gorka Bidaurrazaga, Iñigo Lizarralde, Jon Aspiazu, Pablo Paredes and Raúl Otxoa. Ernesto Valverde's current assistant, Aspiazu, also coached Amurrio Club, as did legendary Lion Iñigo Liceranzu.
Grassroots football and community
In order to make the Non League Day match between Amurrio and Orduña as appealing as possible, a series of events have been organised to encourage attendance. There will be a concert by singer Sabin Guaresti and the following prizes, donated by Athletic Club, will be raffled:
• Double VIP tickets for Athletic Club vs Cádiz CF at San Mames the following weekend.
• An Athletic Club men's shirt with Amurrio and the no.10 on the back.
• An Athletic Club wommen's shirt with Amurrio and the no.10 on the back.
Two thirds of the money raised will go to charity and the other third will go to the Amurrio Club.
