Juanjo Elgezabal's memories of Anfield

After coming from behind to beat Lech Poznan, Athletic Club drew Liverpool FC in the 1983/84 European Cup’s round of 16. Four decades later, we remember that tie with Juanjo Elgezabal, part of the starting XI which took on the Reds in the first leg at Anfield.

Born in Bakio on 22 December 1963, Juanjo was one of the rookies in Javier Clemente's squad. He made his debut in January 1983 and, little by little, gained the coach's confidence. In the autumn of that year, he lined up in matches against FC Barcelona, Lech Poznan and Liverpool FC.

The former midfielder recalled the siege Athletic endured at Anfield on 19 October 1983. Los Leones held out thanks to an enormous defensive effort and even had chances to win the game. In the return leg, the English side gave Athletic Club no chance, the Rojiblancos succumbing to the pressure of the atmosphere. Months later, Liverpool FC and their stars such as Graeme Souness, Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush and Sammy Lee became European champions.

Elgezabal's progress was hindered after being called up for compulsory military service. In that same campaign, he ended up alternating between the first team and Bilbao Athletic.He formed part of the group that won the domestic treble in 1984, scoring two goals against Atlético Madrid and Sevilla FC in LaLiga. In total, he made 68 appearances in his seven seasons at Athletic Club. After leaving Bilbao, he continued his career at CD Logroñés, RCD Espanyol and Gernika Club.

Throughout our history, Athletic have faced the Reds on six occasions. The first two matches came in the first round of the 1968/69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Curiously, with the aggregate scores even after 2-1 results in both legs, Athletic advanced to the next round after winning a coin toss. Penalty shootouts had still not been introduced to the sport at that time.

This was followed by the European Cup knockout tie in the autumn of 1983, between what were then considered two of the best teams in Europe. In 2017 and 2021, Athletic Club and Liverpool FC played each other in friendly matches at Dublin's Aviva Stadium and Anfield, respectively.