Kiss the Badge

[Guided Missile]

Saints connection with Athletic (note the anglicized spelling) Bilbao has always fascinated me and our connection with Spain is something anyone from Southampton should be proud of:

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In the late 1890s, the Spanish city of Bilbao was a powerful industrial area that attracted many migrant workers — among them, shipyard workers from Southampton. The coastal locations of the two cities meant that they had shared trade links over the course of the 19th century, and so the migration of Southampton workers to Bilbao was a natural next step.

Having been founded a decade earlier in 1885, Southampton FC (or St. Mary’s Y.M.A. as they were known then) had already built up a sizeable local following on their way to winning three Southern League championships on the trot between 1897 and 1899. It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that supporters of Southampton would introduce football to their new communities on the north coast of Spain.

These workers founded a football club that would eventually become known as Athletic Club after merging with another local club called Bizcaya in 1903. After starting out in white kits, then blue-and-white halves, in 1909 it was decided that Athletic needed a new kit. In order to source this new strip, the story goes that Basque student Juan Elorduy, who was in Southampton at the time, picked up 50 shirts of the local team before returning home on the ship to Bilbao. The new red and white kit was officially adopted by the club in 1910 and it would prove to be a lucky charm; they won their third Copa del Rey that very year.

Athletic would soon enter what still remains one of the most successful periods of their history, with Englishmen Fred Pentland and William Garbutt the standout managers as they led the club to 5 Copa del Reys and 3 La Liga titles between 1922–1936. Yet just two months after their La Liga success in 1936, football was abruptly halted in the country after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.

The Basque region was badly affected by the war, and in April 1937 the bombing of the small town of Guernica was to prove a watershed moment. Thousands of civilians were killed by the bombs and the reprehensible actions of General Franco’s forces inspired a famous anti-war painting by the artist Pablo Picasso, a replica of which resides in the small picturesque town today. It also triggered a dramatic response from the Basque government: they made an immediate appeal to foreign nations to give temporary asylum to the Basque children of the region.

Although the British government decided to adhere to its questionable non-intervention policy, a colossal grassroots effort from the British people meant that arrangements were made for 4,000 Basque children to take refuge in the UK. They left for Britain on the Habana steamship on 21st May 1937. Their destination? Southampton.

Thousands of people were said to have lined the quayside to welcome the children to the city, who arrived on a cramped boat in awful conditions — officially, the capacity was 800, yet 4,000 had been crammed on. They were first moved to a temporary camp in nearby Stoneham, Eastleigh before being gradually dispersed to colonies throughout the UK.

It was Southampton who continued to provide the greatest offer of asylum to their displaced Basque friends, providing more campsites for the children than any other UK city. Yet their support of the Basque country during the civil war years did not end there.

Terrified at the prospect of fascism taking hold of another one of their European neighbours, a total of 2,500 men and women from Britain and Ireland volunteered as part of the International Brigades to fight in the Spanish Civil War from 1936–1939. They travelled over to Spain to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with the Spanish Republicans, giving them vital support against the Nationalist forces of Franco.

Part of that band of volunteers were at least 4 men from Southampton: Raymond Arthur Cox, Harold Laws, David Haden Guest and Ivor Rae Hickman. They all died in separate battles across Spain between 1936 and 1938 as they fought to defend democracy and freedom of speech. 

Although ‘The Southampton Four’ did not fight in the battles in and around Bilbao, their presence is notable because the Basque country was a key target for Franco’s forces and was one of the last outposts to fall before the Nationalist victory and onset of fascism in 1939. And it was the bombing of Guernica which was a key trigger to persuade more people to sign up for the International Brigades to fight in the bloody conflict.

This bond between the two cities has, in recent years, begun to be recognised by both Southampton FC and Athletic Bilbao. Firstly, in 2011 the two clubs both took part in the Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup at St. Mary’s Stadium in Southampton, with the Spanish club winning 2–0. Then, 4 years later, Athletic honoured Saints legend Matt Le Tissier with their inaugural ‘One Man Club Award’, in light of Le Tissier famously playing for the South Coast club throughout all of his career. At the time, the club said:

For us, what we value most are your [Le Tissier’s] values and principles, your loyalty to the same club during your entire career.

We see ourselves very much reflected in this value and in these principles. For this reason, it is a true honour for us to give you our first One-Club Man Award. This way you will always be part of our history.

The two clubs played a further friendly match in 2016, with Southampton coming out on top on this occasion by a single goal (1–0).

There can be few bonds such as this in football, which stretches back over 100 years yet has only really been celebrated by both clubs in the last decade. Whilst the English influence upon several clubs all over the world has waned or disappeared completely over time, this is one which has stood the test of time and only grows stronger by the year.

Watching Spain last night reminded me of this story, particularly a young Athletic Bilbao player, Nico Williams. His parents were on their way to the UK, but were arrested in Spain, where he was born. If only...

[Guided Missile]

With respect to Fitzhugh Fella!

[Weston Super Saint]

I was in Bilbao in April when they celebrated winning the Copa del Rey.

Streets started filling up at about 10am with the procession along the river not scheduled until around 5pm.

Almost everyone was wearing "colours"

[spyinthesky]

I spoke to a travel guide in Bilbao once about the teams colours and he confirmed the Southampton connection but also mentioned that there were stories about Sunderland also being linked as quite a few of the shipyard workers in Bilbao at the time were from Wearside.
It is quite interesting to see the British historical connection with Bilbao particularly amongst some of the big houses along one of the waterfront areas which were owned, at the time, by British industrialists.

[manji]

The connection to Athletico Bilbao is definite

https://medium.com/@nickharland11/the-unlikely-bond-between-bilbao-and-southampton-aaa550567dce

 

First bunch of kids were housed at Stoneham

https://www.basquechildren.org/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 1 by manji

[manji]

 

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Edited July 1 by manji

[Kenilworthy]

Was this relationship marked in any way when the two clubs met in the UEFA Cup in 71?

[Guided Missile]

41 minutes ago, Kenilworthy said:

Was this relationship marked in any way when the two clubs met in the UEFA Cup in 71?

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/southampton-fc_athletic-bilbao/index/spielbericht/2197315#google_vignette

All I could find

[JRM]

Would be nice to have another friendly with them, this time at their ground, definitely a ground I'd like to visit.