The Italian Job: Athletic’s European matches in Italy

As Athletic Club prepare to face Atalanta BC in Bergamo for our crucial Champions League Matchday 7 fixture, we look back at the Lions’ previous clashes with Italian sides.

Between the Latin Cup, Champions League/European Cup and Europa League/UEFA Cup, the Lions have played a total of 23 official matches against eight different Italian opponents.

What's more, with the exception of Torino FC, no Italian club has ever won a competitive fixture at San Mames.

In chronological order from the date of the first match against each team:
 

AC Milan 

AC Milan were Athletic’s first Italian opponent in an official match and we’ve faced the giants in Europe on three occasions. 

Our first meeting took place in the 1956 Latin Cup final (a predecessor to the European Cup played between the champions of Spain, Italy, France and Portugal). Athletic lost the match 3-1 at the Arena Civica in Milan.

The Zurigorri next took on ‘I Rossoneri’ in the 1976/77 UEFA Cup round of 16. Athletic won the first leg 4-1 at San Mames. Fabio Capello netted an early away goal, but Dani Ruiz-Bazán and Carlos Herrero bagged braces to give the Lions a healthy lead.

The away leg at the San Siro was a nailbiter. The hosts were 3-0 ahead and looked to be heading to the quarter-finals until Txetxu Rojo was fouled in the box in the 87th minute. 

José Ignacio Madariaga tucked home the subsequent penalty to book the Rojiblancos’ spot in the last eight.

 

Juventus FC

The Lions have played the Old Lady six times in European competitions, more matches than against any other Italian team.

The two sides first clashed in the 1976/77 UEFA Cup final, the Lions’ first ever European final. Athletic, led by head coach Koldo Aguirre, showed a lot of pride across the two legs, but unfortunately it ended in heartbreak.

Juventus took a 1-0 aggregate lead thanks to a Marco Tardelli strike at the Stadio Comunale. 

Roberto Bettega made a comeback at San Mames more difficult when he scored a crucial away goal in the sixth minute. Javi Irureta pulled one back just five minutes later as Los Leones fought hard to turn the scores around.

Knowing they’d need at least two more goals, and backed by a packed-out Cathedral, Athletic laid siege to Dino Zoff’s goal. Carlos Herrero levelled the aggregate scores in the 77th minute with a header from a corner. The Lions kept pushing forward but it wasn’t to be as they lost the final on away goals.

The next meeting came in the 1988/98 UEFA Cup round of 32 and, although it ended in more heartbreak for Los Leones, it’s remembered as one of the most exhilarating European ties in our club’s history.

Howard Kendall’s Athletic faced a quality Juventus side led by Michael Laudrup. The Danish star and his colleagues thrashed Athletic 5-1 in Turin.

Athletic needed a miracle to turn the tie around in Bilbao and for a brief moment it seemed in reach.

Laudrup put the visitors ahead with a 36th-minute goal, but the Zurigorri responded with a monumental second-half performance. Peio Uralde equalised shortly after the break and Athletic went for broke. 

Genar Andrinua connected with a Jose Gallego cross to make it 2-1 in the 57th minute. Kendall’s charges kept attacking and Andrinua added a third in the 70th minute. 

The players, San Mames and Kendall began to “think of the impossible”. But the bubble soon burst when Roberto Galia scored Juventus’ second of the evening.

Athletic received plenty of praise for their spirited performance. Even Juventus’ head coach, the legendary Dino Zoff, admitted to feeling “uneasy” when the Lions made it 3-1.

In the 1998/99 Champions League we faced I Bianconeri twice in the group stages. These matches were much calmer compared to our previous meetings. 

We played out a 0-0 stalemate in Bilbao and followed that up with a 1-1 draw at the Delle Alpi, where Julen Guerrero gave us the lead before Mikel Lasa scored an unfortunate own goal in the second half.

 

Parma FC

Athletic have faced Parma three times, all in the UEFA Cup. The first clash was a round-of-16 tie in the 1994/95 season.

The Zurigorri won the first leg 1-0 at San Mames, with Kuko Ziganda getting on the scoresheet. 

At the Stadio Ennio Tardini, Gianfranco Zola and Dino Baggio, the latter with a brace, had a strong Parma side 3-0 up by the 50th minute.  Athletic dug deep, with Oscar Vales (56’) and Guerrero (73’) scoring away goals either side of a Fernando Couto strike (63’). 

With the aggregate scores at 4-3, another away goal would’ve seen Athletic through to the next round. Both sides threw caution to the win to find a killer blow but neither found a breakthrough. 

The Italians went on to win the tournament, beating Juventus in a two-legged final.

We met again in the group stages of the 2004/05 UEFA Cup. Los Leones won 2-0 thanks to goals from Carlos Gurpegui and Asier del Horno.

 

UC Sampdoria

The Zurigorri have played I Blucerchiati twice, eliminating the Italians from the 1997/98 UEFA Cup in the first round proper.

Los Leones emerged 1-2 winners in the first leg at the Luigi Ferraris thanks to goals from Roberto Ríos and Iñigo Larrainzar.

Athletic backed that up with a dominant performance in Bilbao with Aitor Larrazabal and Kuko Ziganda guiding us into the next round.

 

SSC Napoli

A couple of nights that will live long in the memories of all Athleticzales. Athletic took on Napoli in the play-offs for the 2014/15 Champions League.

Backed by 600 Athleticzales, Ernesto Valverde’s side drew 1-1 at the San Paolo in the first leg. Iker Muniain netted a vital away goal towards the end of the first half, and although Gonzalo Higuain equalised around the hour mark, it was enough to give the Lions an upper hand.

The return leg at San Mames, the first European match at the new stadium, was glorious. Marek Hamsik netted just after half-time to cancel out our away goal and give Rafa Benitez’s side a slight advantage.

But The Cathedral and its Lions responded brilliantly. Aritz Aduriz levelled the scores on the hour-mark after being left unmarked at the back post in a corner. Aduriz then put Athletic ahead eight minutes later. The striker chased a long ball and took advantage of a defensive mishap to slot the ball into an empty net.

Ibai Gomez sealed the deal in 73rd minute. San Mames erupted into celebration at full-time as the Zurigorri reached the Champions League group stages for the first time since 1998/99.

 

Torino FC

Athletic encountered Il Toro in the 2014/15 Europa League round of 32. The Lions secured a postive 2-2 draw in Turn with Iñaki Williams, his first senior strike, and Carlos Gurpegui getting two important away goals to cancel out a Maxi López double.

Los Rojiblancos were knocked out of the competition after a back-and-forth clash at San Mames. The two sides exchanged goals and swapped the aggregate lead several times.

Fabio Quagliarella (16’, pen) and Maxi López (45’) scored for the visitors, whilst Andoni Iraola (44’) and Oscar de Marcos (61’) kept Athletic in the tie.

However, it was Torino’ Matteo Darmian that delivered the killer blow. The Italians’ third away goal meant Athletic need to more without a response to guarantee a place in the next round. 

The players kept pushing forward, but Torino defended well and looked to hit Athletic on the counter.

 

US Sassuolo

We took on Sassuolo twice in the 2016/17 Europa League group stage. The Lions lost the away leg 3-0 at the Mapei Stadium, our first match of the campaign.

However, Ernesto Valverde’s players made amends in Bilbao, registering a vital 3-2 win at San Mames. Raúl García, Aduriz and Iñigo Lekue were our goalscorers on the night.

 

AS Roma

I Lupi became a regular opponent for Los Leones as we returned to continental competition last season. We played the Italian side three times in the 2024/25 Europa League: once in the League phase and a double-leg tie in the round of 16.

Athletic started the European campaign with a 1-1 draw in the Italian capital. Artem Dovbyk put Roma ahead in the first half, but Aitor Paredes headed home an important equaliser five minutes before full-time.

There was late drama again when we travelled to the Stadio Olimpico for the first leg of our last-16 clash. Iñaki Williams opened the scoring in the 50th minute, but the Romans responded via Angeliño and an Eldor Shomurodov winner in the dying minutes.

San Mames propelled Athletic to a famous win in the return leg. The Lions overwhelmed the opposition and received a further advantage when Mats Hummels was sent off for fouling Maroan Sannadi in the tenth minute.

The Zurigorri slowly broke down the Italian resistance and the key moment came when Nico Williams netted before half-time. Yuri Berchiche doubled Athletic’s lead with a header in the 67th minute and Nico struck again in the closing stages.

Leandro Paredes converted a stoppage-time penalty after a foul on Stephan El Shaarawy, but it was no more than a consolation goal. Los Leones were through to the quarter-finals.

 

*All photos and videos belong to AC Museoa.