Athletic Club Gabarra, much more than a book
Athletic Club Gabarra, much more than a book
On Tuesday September 9 at San Mames (13:30 CEST), Ernesto Valverde, Iker Muniain, Óscar de Marcos, and Mikel Balenziaga will be at the launch of this exclusive limited edition book
The landmark achievement of winning a 25th Copa after a 40-year-wait – and five lost finals (plus one in the Europa League) in 15 years – deserved a tribute from Athletic Club that would forever serve as a reminder of the feat's significance, both for our fans and for the pride of the club.
Athletic Club Gabarra is an exclusive, limited edition publication that does justice to this achievement. It is a large-format coffee table book with a hard cover, a carefully crafted design and spectacular photographs.
In essence, it's much more than a book. It's an item any Athletic fan would like to own or give to someone as a gift, not only because it commemorates an important occasion and allows us to relive it, but above all because it turns our sense of belonging into something both material and symbolic.
It's a book that you can identify with and feel proud of, and no doubt one that will be passed down every generation.
15 photographers and more than 200 images over 286 pages
Under the artistic direction of Ricky Dávila (Bilbao, 1964) – who has more than 30 years of experience in the world of photo book publishing, in addition to having won the Photoespaña 2003, II World Press Photo 92, as well as the Ortega y Gasset 93, among others – Athletic Club Gabarra brings together all the ingredients needed to create a premium product.
Its imposing presence – measuring 336 x 245 mm and weighing 2.1kg – is complemented by an interior that has been curated down to the smallest detail, from the choice of paper to the final printing, and a layout that includes 17 collages, six triptychs and four quadriptychs.
In collaboration with Athletic Club, Ricky Dávila selected more than 200 images from an archive of over 20,000 photos. He was also responsible for creating the 17 collages distributed throughout the publication.
The photographs in Athletic Club Gabarra were shot by 15 photographers: Juan Flor, Marieli Oviedo, Fernando Gómez, Jagoba del Castillo and Juan Antonio Hernández (AIOL) – regular photographers for Athletic Club – plus those by Aitor Simón, Miguel Angel Acero, Juan Úbeda, Gaizka Ballesteros, José Miguel Llano, Alberto Pujol, Alfredo García, Guillermo Ayuso and Iñaki García – the latter four participated in the Gabarra Eguna photography competition. Furthermore, the black and white photographs were taken by Ernesto Valverde.
Athletic Club would like to thank them and congratulate them for their magnificent work.
Earth, Air, Fire and Water: trilingual edition, with forewords by Jon Uriarte and Jose Angel Iribar
Athletic Club Gabarra is divided into four parts that correspond to the four essential elements of Nature: Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
Earth refers to the five Copa finals lost between 2009 and 2021, and pays tribute to all those players who were part of these silver-medalist teams that were never able to lift that long-awaited 25th Copa. Their legacy was decisive in when we won the trophy.
Air emphasises the importance of the journey and focuses on the knockout rounds that led Athletic to the final hurdle.
Fire is dedicated to the final in Seville, with the spotlight split between the fans and the team.
Water is the La Gabarra celebration.
As befits this type of artistic book, the texts – in a trilingual edition – are brief and literary in style, with musical references in Basque to Ruper Ordorika – to whose brother Jonan, Ernesto Valverde dedicated the victory – in Spanish to Robe Iniesta – who, in turn, dedicated his last concert in Bilbao to Txingurri – and, in English, to John Martyn, The Band, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Lou Reed.
The book includes an introduction with forewords by the president of Athletic Club, Jon Uriarte, and the honorary president, Jose Angel Iribar.
Tickets for the event
Athletic Club has set aside a total of 200 free tickets for the Athleticzale family to attend the event. There's a maximum of two tickets per person. To get yours you'll need to fill in the following form as there will be capacity limits at the venue.
Upon entering San Mamés' North Hall, you'll need to show your registration confirmation (the ticket), which will be emailed to the address you provided during the booking process.
The event is expected to last around an hour in total, and copies will be available for purchase on site.
In addition, the book is now available to purchase online.