125th anniversary closing ceremony

*All times CET

Jose Angel Iribar and Athletic Club director Igor San Román accompanied by Josu Urrutia, Julen Guerrero and Eli Ibarra, along with Andoni Goikoetxea and Markel Susaeta, announced the 125th anniversary closing programme this morning at San Mames.

The celebration, officially called "Athletic Club 125 Eguna", will be held on 16 December, coinciding with the match against Atlético Madrid. Athletic Club gained LaLiga's permission to organise this event on a Saturday in order to dedicate it to our Members.

After a whole year of celebrations, with monthly commemorative initiatives, the finale to this 125th anniversary brings an exciting programme to the Athleticzale family. 

As Igor San Román pointed out during his speech: "We believe the best way to end the anniversary celebration is to do it in a similar way to how we officially started it: with a community event."

Iribar statue unveiling

The start of the event is one of the most eagerly awaited moments of this 125th anniversary: the unveiling of Jose Angel Iribar's statue, a gift that the Club and Bilbao City Council promised El Txopo for his 80th birthday.

It will take place at 12:30 noon, right in front of San Mamés, at the point where the stadium's concourse meets Calle Licenciado Poza and adjacent to Calle Luis Briñas. A privileged space as it is the most frequented route when Athletic fans make their way to to The Cathedral.

Iribar, as he did in his thank you video, reiterated that for him this statue is "a tribute to all of us who wear the shirt of this great club".

And so, in the coming days, all Athletic's former players (including ex-presidents and ex-managers) will be invited to join the unveiling and participate in a subsequent procession at San Mames, at the conclusion of our LaLiga match against Atletico.

Randomly selected Club Member to be December ambassador

After the unveiling of the statue, another of the highlights of the day will take place in the lead-up to Athletic vs Atlético Madrid. Igor San Román revealed the Club has decided that the last ambassador of the year will be a Member chosen at random and in representation of the entire fanbase.

He said: "On Thursday 30 November, in 6 days, we will draw lots among each and every one of our Members to choose the person who will represent us in December. We will provide more information in the coming days, our first ambassador, Jon Rahm, will present the 125th anniversary badge to the chosen Member in the centre circle."

Jon Rahm ceremonial kick-off and Green Jacket presentation

After awarding the badge to the December ambassador, Jon Rahm who will take a ceremonial kick-off before the match against Atlético Madrid. The Basque golfer will present the fans with the prestigious Green Jacket which he won upon becoming champion at the 2023 Augusta Masters. Following this, just like any other Athleticzale, Rahm will go to his seat in the stadium, in accordance with his own request to the Club.

Procession featuring partner clubs, Lezama teams and former footballers

At the conclusion of the match, we will welcome onto the pitch our partner clubs, the Lezama teams and former Athletic Club players.

"Instead of them going around the pitch, we will do a parade in which, starting from different corners, they will cross each other diagonally in the middle of the pitch," said San Román.

"Athletic Club's past and future receiving the applause of The Cathedral. A fitting acknowledgement that had to be included in 125th anniversary's closing ceremony."

Legends: Athletic Club 125 vs FC Porto Vintage

The other main highlight of the programme, with enormous sentimental value, will be the Legends match between an Athletic Club 125 side and FC Porto Vintage including One-Club Man 2023,  João Pinto. This encounter will commemorate the first official match between the two teams in European competition, which took place in the Round of 16 at the 1956 European Cup.

Javier Clemente and Jose Angel Iribar will be in charge of our Legends team, the squad of which will be announced in the next few days. For the moment, Athletic Club icon Julen Guerrero, who took part in this presentation, has confirmed he will play.

Seeing "The Pearl of Portugalete" once again taking to the pitch with the no.8 on his back will undoubtedly be one of the most emotional moments for the Athleticzale family. There is only one player in Athletic's history who, having played more games than Julen, has also scored more goals, and that is Piru Gainza.

Guerrero said: "After retiring, it's a joy to know you've been part of the history of your lifelong club. I feel very proud to have lived through that process from the age of seven until I finished at 32, with so many incredible people.

Josu Urrutia, Athletic's captain in the centenary match against Brazil, also attended the presentation of the 125th anniversary closing ceremony.

In his speech, from the perspective of his experience both as a player and as president of Athletic, he highlighted the value of the One-Club Man Award, an accolade established during his term of office.

"Every single day I was at Athletic was a great one. That sense of belonging is irrefutable. We may not be the best, but we have chosen to do it this way," said Urrutia.

With 401 games as a Lion, the former midfielder also had a few words of recognition for Aritz Aduriz (who will attend the closing ceremony of the 125th anniversary), and Unai Simón. "They're people who impress you as footballers because of their very high level, but above all as people," he remarked.

Eli Ibarra, the second most-capped female player in Athletic's history, recalled the beginnings of the women's first team, and the decisive role her generation played in those early years. "I fulfilled a dream and I feel privileged to have worn this shirt so many times, making a journey that is still very much alive today," said the pioneer.

Andoni Goikoetxea and Markel Susaeta, representatives of two historic Zurigorri teams, were also present for the final photo of the presentation. Igor San Román, the director in charge of the 125th anniversary committee, publicly thanked the attendees for their collaboration.

"I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Iribar, Goikoetxea, Urrutia, Guerrero, Susaeta and Eli Ibarra for taking part in this event. We would also have liked to have had Javier Clemente, the Athletic Club 125 coach, but a prior commitment prevented him from being able to attend."