Basque Derby – History & H2H Athletic Club vs Real Sociedad

Although there are a number of different Basque clubs in the top two tiers of the Spanish football pyramid, Athletic Club and Real Sociedad are the largest of these clubs. For more than a century, they faced each other in the Basque derby, known as the Vasco Derby in Spanish and the Euskal Derbia in Basque.

This is not just a rivalry between two clubs, but two cities – Bilbao and Donostia (AKA San Sebastian), and two provinces – Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.

Some 100 km separate San Mames from the Reale Arena, but the two clubs have a history that is closely intertwined, given the unique story of the Basque Country and Basque football that largely shaped the early years of the beautiful game in Spain.

History of Athletic Club vs Real Sociedad

The Athletic Club vs Real Sociedad rivalry began in 1909, when Club Ciclista (which later became Real Sociedad) won 4-2 over Athletic in a Copa del Rey match in Madrid, the first meeting between the clubs.

Perhaps ironically, considering what the match symbolized and represented, an English player named George McGuinness was the hat-trick hero that day, while the other scorers were named Simmons and Mortimer, as well as Madrileño. call Luis Saura.

It didn’t take long, however, before the Basque Country began to produce its own footballing talent and by the time of the inaugural Primera Division campaign in 1929, the two clubs were established as two of the greatest forces in Spanish football.

Although Bilbao won more of their titles than Donostia, and Athletic also triumphed more frequently in their meetings, Real Sociedad eventually turned the tables on their neighbors in the 1970s, winning 13 of their 20 league meetings that decade. .

But over the years, this rivalry has taken on a deeper meaning and goes beyond football. Athletic and Real Sociedad were essentially part of the same struggle, trying to maintain their Basque identity during Franco’s oppressive regime in Spain even when the Ikurriña (Basque flag) was banned.

In the most iconic image in the history of the game, captains Inaxio Kortabarria and Jose Angel Iribar came out holding the still-illegal Ikurriña before the club derby in December 1976. It was a highly symbolic and powerful moment in the region’s push for greater freedom after Franco’s death the previous year.

As the Basque Country was heading into a tumultuous period of violence and instability off the pitch amid a growing push for independence, the Athletic-Real Sociedad rivalry experienced its golden age in the early 1980s. La Real won back-to-back league titles in 1981 and 1982, only for Athletic to repeat the feat in 1983 and 1984, when the club secured the LaLiga trophy spending four consecutive years in the Basque Country.

What makes the Basque derby special?

Today, the match remains one of the biggest derbies of any LaLiga season and in some ways, the match between Real Sociedad and Athletic Club is almost completely unique in a world where many of football’s biggest rivalries have lost their local feel, at least in this regard. throw.

This is not the case here, with Athletic still brazenly sticking to a “Basque only” policy that ensures that all their players must be born in the Basque Country, or at least come through the academy at a Basque club.

Although Real Sociedad recruited foreign players, having changed their policy since the arrival of John Aldridge in 1989, they also had a very strong commitment to developing their own players. According to the CIES Observatory Football study, they fielded more academy products than any other club in Europe’s big leagues in the 2021/22 season with 17 players.

Athletic are third on the list with 15, and simply put, these are two of the best academies in the business and two clubs with excellent records when it comes to developing young talent. As a result, when the day of the Basque derby arrives, the match is very local, featuring some of the best Basque football players the region has to offer.

Another important thing that differentiates this derby from other derbies is that the two groups of supporters actually have a very good relationship. La Real and Athletic fans mingle before and after matches in the streets and bars of their respective cities, and they also often sit together inside the stadiums with many Athletic supporters who have friends and family members who support Real Sociedad, and vice versa.

That doesn’t mean the competition isn’t heating up. The atmosphere of the Basque derby is still intense and the action on the field is as competitive and fierce as other big rivalries in Europe.

Athletic Club vs Real Sociedad H2H

	Athletic Club	Royal Society
Stadium	San Mames (53,289)	Royal Arena (40,000)
Seasons in Primera	94	78
LaLiga title	8	2
Copa del Rey title	24	3
League derby win	62	53
Derby wins (all competitions)	79	62
The best LaLiga achievements of the 21st century	4th (2013/14)	2nd (2002/03)
Final trophy	King’s Cup (2023/24)	King’s Cup (2019/20)

Although Athletic is generally the bigger of the two clubs, Real Sociedad has been extremely competitive throughout the 21st century and this is, to all intents and purposes, a very even rivalry.

In recent years, both clubs have struggled to qualify for European competition in LaLiga, with Real Sociedad tending to perform slightly better than Athletic.

Complementing local talents such as Mikel Oyarzabal and Martin Zubimendi, with bright young players from abroad such as Martin Odegaard and Alexander Isak has allowed La Real to build a very strong team under the tutelage of their old boss, Imanol. It was a triumphant encounter over Athletic Club in the 2020 Copa del Rey final, the most significant encounter in recent times, although sadly it was played a year later behind closed doors due to the pandemic.

Athletic have narrowed the gap over the last year or so, with Ernesto Valverde back at the helm and the Williams brothers shining on the wings. They finished top of the two biggest Basque clubs in the 2023/24 LaLiga for the first time in five years and capped it off by winning the Copa del Rey, to end a 40-year wait for a major trophy.

Get tickets for the Basque derby

The Basque derby ticket is no surprise at the moment, with both teams having both gone through better periods in their recent history, although it is true that Real Sociedad are in a bit of a transition after several big-name departures following the 2023/24 season that saw them. they reached the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.

The best way to buy tickets for LaLiga matches is usually through the home team’s official website and that still applies here.

Although most Basque derbies will be held in the near future, if they are not sold out, there are usually some tickets available to the general public, although they may not be cheap. At the time of writing, six days before Athletic’s LaLiga home derby against Real Sociedad in November 2024, tickets are available via the Athletic Club’s ticket page, starting from €90.

For the opposite match at the Reale Arena in May 2025, visit the Real Sociedad ticket page closer to the time.