The Athletic Bilbao Courier
Squad23 Aug 2027
75 days out for Yuri after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Athletic Bilbao will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match21 Aug 2027
No mercy from Athletic Bilbao
Girona will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Athletic Bilbao were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Both of them Nico Williams's — 8.39
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.39, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Oihan Sancet in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Athletic Bilbao this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Real improvement from Gustavo Albarracín at Athletic Bilbao
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Gustavo Albarracín is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Late improvement for Jesús Areso
At 28 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Boardroom23 Aug 2027
Graduation day at Athletic Bilbao
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
The terraces23 Aug 2027
Athletic Bilbao supporters have found a favourite in Mikel Jauregizar
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Mikel Jauregizar has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Market23 Aug 2027
One of our own: Àlex Vázquez joins the Athletic Bilbao first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Àlex Vázquez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
- Market Athletic Bilbao promote Alejandro Suárez from within
- Market Athletic Bilbao promote Tomás Montero from within
- Market Athletic Bilbao promote Roberto Parra from within