FC Bayern Munich vs Athletic Bilbao 2015 UEFA Champions League Round of 16
Lions of Bilbao: European journeys since 1956
Athletic Bilbao, a professional football club based in Bilbao (Biscay, Basque Country, Spain), has competed in international tournaments as representatives of La Liga since 1956. The club's first entry into an official UEFA competition was the European Cup in 1956–57, reaching the quarter-finals.
Quick Facts
- Season
- 2014–15
- First leg venue
- N/A (Athletic Bilbao did not play in this round)
- Aggregate result
- N/A (No such tie took place)
- Key moment
- N/A (Iñaki Williams did not score an equalizer in Munich because the match never occurred)
- Outcome for athletic
- N/A (Athletic Bilbao did not reach the Round of 16 in 2014–15)
Lore & Background
Athletic's first European experience was the non-UEFA Latin Cup in 1956, finishing runners-up to A.C. Milan. In the 1956–57 European Cup, they defeated FC Porto and then Budapest Honvéd, whose players were affected by the Hungarian Revolution. The tie was switched to Bilbao and then played in Brussels, with Athletic progressing 6–5 on aggregate. They then lost to Manchester United's Busby Babes 6–5 on aggregate. In the 1968–69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a coin toss (choosing the correct colour of card the referee was holding) was used for the only time in the club's European matches, after a late goal by Emlyn Hughes sent the tie with Liverpool into extra time and no winner was found; luck favoured Athletic.
Reader's Guide
Athletic have yet to win a continental trophy in 33 attempts up to the 2024–25 season. They finished runners-up in the 1977 UEFA Cup final (losing to Juventus on away goals) and the 2012 UEFA Europa League final (losing 3–0 to Atlético Madrid). They reached a third semi-final in the 2024–25 UEFA Europa League. The club have competed in the UEFA Champions League group stages three times (1998–99, 2014–15, 2025–26) without advancing. Striker Aritz Aduriz scored 34 European goals from 2012 to 2018, winning the Europa League top scorer award twice. Full-back Óscar de Marcos holds the record for most appearances (77 matches).
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