1997–98 Athletic Bilbao season

The 1997–98 season was the 97th season in Athletic Bilbao's history and their 67th consecutive season in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football.

Athletic Bilbao
1997–98 season
Squad photograph, August 1997
PresidentJosé María Arrate
Head coachLuis Fernández
StadiumSan Mamés
La Liga2nd
Copa del ReyQuarterfinals
UEFA Cup2nd round
Top goalscorerLeague: Joseba Etxeberria, 11[1]
All: Joseba Etxeberria, 13

Season summary

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The previous season, Luis Fernández's first as head coach, was a successful one for Athletic, as their 6th-place finish in La Liga gained them a place in the 1997–98 UEFA Cup first round after a two-year exile from European competition.[2] The Frenchman's second La Liga campaign yielded even greater success: Bilbao finished as runners-up, behind only Barcelona, and qualified for the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League.[3] This was their highest league finish, and first qualification for Europe's premier competition, since their last La Liga triumph in 1984.

They also had a good run in the Copa del Rey, reaching the quarterfinals for the first time since 1994–95. They were eliminated on away goals by eventual runners-up Mallorca.[4]

Athletic's UEFA Cup first round opponents were Sampdoria of Italy. The Spaniards took a valuable 2–1 win in the first leg in Genoa,[5] and secured passage to the second round with a 2–0 victory at San Mamés.[6] Their reward was a second round tie against Aston Villa of England, with the first leg in Bilbao finishing goalless.[7] The Birmingham side took a 2–0 lead just after half time at Villa Park, and a late goal from Javi González was not enough to prevent Athletic's elimination.[8]

Squad statistics

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Appearances and goals

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[1][9][10][11][12]

No. Pos Nat Player Total La Liga Copa del Rey UEFA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK   ESP Juan José Valencia 4 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
4 DF   ESP Rafael Alkorta 34 1 29 1 3 0 2 0
5 DF   ESP Óscar Tabuenka[1] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 MF   ESP Josu Urrutia 38 0 29+1 0 3+1 0 4 0
7 MF   ESP Andoni Goikoetxea 2 0 0 0 0 0 0+2 0
8 MF   ESP Julen Guerrero 33 8 25+4 8 3 0 0+1 0
9 FW   ESP Cuco Ziganda 41 5 19+16 3 2+1 1 3 1
10 DF   ESP Aitor Larrazábal 40 8 28+4 7 2+2 0 3+1 1
11 DF   ESP Jesús María Lacruz 19 0 7+10 0 1+1 0 0 0
12 DF   ESP Carlos García 41 2 33+1 2 4 0 3 0
13 GK   ESP Imanol Etxeberria 42 0 38 0 0 0 4 0
14 MF   ESP José Mari 16 0 3+10 0 1+2 0 0 0
15 DF   ESP Patxi Ferreira 19 0 9+7 0 2 0 1 0
16 MF   ESP Txomin Nagore 21 0 11+6 0 1+1 0 2 0
17 FW   ESP Joseba Etxeberria 43 12 35+1 11 3+1 1 3 0
18 MF   ESP Bittor Alkiza 44 2 36+1 1 3 1 4 0
19 DF   ESP Mikel Lasa 35 1 17+11 1 3 0 3+1 0
20 FW   ESP Ismael Urzaiz 38 10 23+9 8 2+1 2 2+1 0
21 DF   ESP Iñigo Larrainzar 41 3 34 2 2+1 0 4 1
22 MF   ESP Javi González 37 6 8+22 5 2+1 0 2+2 1
24 DF   ESP Roberto Ríos 39 3 31+1 2 3 0 4 1
25 FW   ESP Aitor Huegún 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
26 GK   ESP Iñaki Lafuente 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
27 DF   ESP César 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
28 FW   ESP Mario Bermejo 3 0 0+1 0 0 0 0+2 0
31 MF   ESP Gaizka Garitano 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 MF   ESP Jorge Pérez 7 0 3+4 0 0 0 0 0
MF   ESP Raúl Gil 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1.^ Tabuenka was transferred to SD Compostela during the season.[10]

Results

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La Liga

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League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Barcelona (C) 38 23 5 10 78 56 +22 74 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Athletic Bilbao 38 17 14 7 52 42 +10 65 Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
3 Real Sociedad 38 16 15 7 60 37 +23 63[a] Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Real Madrid 38 17 12 9 63 45 +18 63[a] Qualification for the Champions League group stage[b]
5 Mallorca 38 16 12 10 55 39 +16 60[c] Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[d]
Source: LFP
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head goals scored; 5) goal difference; 6) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ a b RMA 2–0 RSO; RSO 4–2 RMA
  2. ^ Real Madrid was qualified directly for the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League as holders.
  3. ^ MLL: 9 pts; CEL: 5 pts; ATM: 2 pts
  4. ^ Since Barcelona, winners of 1997–98 Copa del Rey, was qualified for the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League, losing cup finalists RCD Mallorca earned a spot in the first round of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

UEFA Cup

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First round

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16 September 1997 Sampdoria   1–2   Athletic Bilbao Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa
20:30 Boghossian   74' Report Ríos   19'
Larrainzar   62'
Attendance: 36,000
Referee: Ahmet Çakar (Turkey)
30 September 1997 Athletic Bilbao   2–0   Sampdoria San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao
20:30 Larrazábal   40' (pen.)
Ziganda   47'
Report Attendance: 42,000
Referee: Marc Batta (France)

Athletic Bilbao won 4–1 on aggregate

Second round

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21 October 1997 Athletic Bilbao   0–0   Aston Villa San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao
21:30 Report Attendance: 42,500
Referee: Hartmut Strampe (Germany)
4 November 1997 Aston Villa   2–1   Athletic Bilbao Villa Park, Birmingham
20:30 Taylor   27'
Yorke   50'
Report González   70' Attendance: 35,915
Referee: S. Piller (Hungary)

Aston Villa won 2–1 on aggregate

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Athletic Bilbao » Appearances Primera División 1997/1998". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  2. ^ "LaLiga 1996/1997 Table, Results, Fixtures – (Football/Spain)". flashscore.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  3. ^ "LaLiga 1997/1998 Table, Results, Fixtures – (Football/Spain)". flashscore.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Fiesta en Palma" (PDF). Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Sampdoria-Athletic Club 1997 History". UEFA Europa League. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Athletic Club-Sampdoria 1997 History". UEFA Europa League. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  7. ^ "Athletic Club-Aston Villa 1997 History". UEFA Europa League. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Aston Villa-Athletic Club 1997 History". UEFA Europa League. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  9. ^ "Athletic Bilbao » Squad 1997/1998". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Athletic Bilbao - 1997/98". FootballSquads. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Athletic Bilbao » Appearances Copa del Rey 1997/1998". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Athletic Bilbao » Appearances Europa League 1997/1998". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 November 2020.