Athletic Club return to the Champions League in style
Athletic Club return to the Champions League in style
Athletic will travel to Germany, Italy, Czech Republic and England to face Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta BC, Slavia Prague and Newcastle United, respectively
We now know Athletic Club's eight League Phase opponents in this year's Champions League, with the Lions returning to Europe's top competition after an 11-year absence.
With the order of matches and kick-off times yet to be confirmed, the Lions will welcome champions PSG, Arsenal, Sporting CP and Qarabag to San Mamés. On the road, there are attractive fixtures for the fans against Borussia Dortmund and Newcastle United, and tough ones against the attacking Atalanta and Slavia Prague.
Athletic Club centre-back Dani Vivian admitted it is "a tough draw" but one that has him excited about Athletic's return to the tournament.
He added: "We have some exciting home games against big opponents. The goal is to be ourselves in every match and show lots of ambition. We'll take take it match by match and see how far we can go.
"'I'm especially excited about all the home matches, being able to experience those nights with our fans. They're going to help us."
The full schedule will be announced on Saturday. The first match will take place between September Tuesday 16 and Thursday 18.
The draw, held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and attended by vice-president Nerea Ortiz as the club's highest representative, has produced some tough clashes, as is to be expected in this competition. Athletic will test their mettle at San Mamés against three giants: Luis Enrique's PSG, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal and Portuguese champions Sporting CP. Azerbaijani champions Qarabag FK are the other opponents.
Away from home, the visit to Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park is an eye-catcher, as as the trip to Newcastle, whose fans forged a great friendship with our during a UEFA Cup tie in the 90s. Atalanta, Europa League winners two seasons ago, and Slavia Prague, who proved a tough nut to crack at San Mamés last year, will be our other hosts.
The eight league phase fixtures will be played on the following dates:
- Matchday 1: September 16, 17 and 18
- Matchday 2: September 30 and October 1
- Matchday 3: October 21 and 22
- Matchday 4: November 4 and 5
- Matchday 5: November 25 and 26
- Matchday 6: December 9 and 10
- Matchday 7: January 20 and 21
- Matchday 8: January 28