El Clásico Historic Rivalry

Lore & Background

Their first meeting occurred in the final of the first edition of the Copa del Rey, played on 8 April 1903; Athletic won 3–2. That match has been identified as a catalyst for the establishment a few weeks later of what would eventually become Club Atlético de Madrid, after some Madrid-based Basque students among the spectators were inspired by the comeback victory by Athletic Bilbao and decided to form a local branch of the club. Their first match at the original San Mamés took place in that competition in 1920.

The Basques and Castilians met in nine Cup finals between 1903 and 1958; Athletic won six of these matches. On 21 April 1929, Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid met for the first time in La Liga; Real Madrid won the match at Chamartín 5–1. The 1929 Copa del Rey semi-final second leg in Bilbao became known as the 'frog match', after a local company distributed toys which made frog-like noises to increase the noise level in the stadium to distract the visitors, who were 3–1 up from the first leg.

The ploy failed resoundingly, with Real Madrid recording a 4–1 win to progress 7–2; however they would lose the final. The two clubs would share ten of the first 25 championships (Athletic six, Madrid four) either side of the Spanish Civil War up to 1956, but from that point Los Blancos became the dominant club in the country, winning 16 titles from 26 available (plus six European Cups). In that era, the caudillo General Franco used the success of Real Madrid as a vehicle to promote the Spanish State to foreigners, whereas Athletic Bilbao won no titles in the same period, only even finishing runners-up once.

On the field, a competitive edge was briefly restored in the early 1980s when Athletic built a strong combative team that won the league twice, finishing ahead of Real Madrid by one point in 1983 with the top spot changing hands on the last day; the season was nothing short of a disaster for the Meringues, who also lost in the finals of the Supercopa, the Copa del Rey (to a last-minute goal), the European Cup Winners' Cup (in extra time), and the Copa de la Liga.

Reader's Guide

Head-to-head ranking in La Liga (1929–2026): Total: Athletic Bilbao with 20 higher finishes, Real Madrid with 75 higher finishes (as of the end of the 2025–26 season). Notable results: Highest scoring games: 9 goals: Real Madrid 3–6 Athletic Bilbao, January 1947, La Liga; Real Madrid 8–1 Athletic Bilbao, June 1960, Copa del Generalísimo semi-final. 8 goals: Athletic Bilbao 6–2 Real Madrid, March 1950, La Liga; Real Madrid 7–1 Athletic Bilbao, September 1980, La Liga. 7 goals: Real Madrid 5–2 Athletic Bilbao, March 1935, La Liga; Athletic Bilbao 2–5 Real Madrid, November 1950, La Liga; Athletic Bilbao 2–5 Real Madrid, March 2009, La Liga.

Biggest wins: 7 goal margin: Real Madrid 8–1 Athletic Bilbao, June 1960, Copa del Generalísimo semi-final. 6 goal margin: Real Madrid 0–6 Athletic Bilbao, January 1931, La Liga; Real Madrid 6–0 Athletic Bilbao, November 1957, La Liga; Real Madrid 7–1 Athletic Bilbao, September 1980, La Liga. 5 goal margin: Athletic Bilbao 5–0 Real Madrid, April 1923, Copa del Rey; Athletic Bilbao 5–0 Real Madrid, February 1970, La Liga; Real Madrid 5–0 Athletic Bilbao, March 1.