History of Athletic Bilbao
Meanwhile, sons of the Basque educated classes had made the opposite journey and went to Britain to complete their studies in civil engineering and commerce. While in the United Kingdom, these students developed an interest in football and on their return to Bilbao they began to arrange games with British workers. In 1898, students belonging to the Gymnasium Zamacois founded the "Athletic Club", using the English spelling. In 1901, a meeting was held in the Café García, which established more formal rules and regulations. In 1902, the two Bilbao clubs formed a combined team, known as "Bizcaya", in the first Copa del Rey. They returned with the trophy after defeating Barcelona in the final. This would lead to the eventual merger of the two clubs as "Athletic Club" in 1903. In the same year, Basque students also formed "Athletic Club Madrid"; this club later evolved into Atlético Madrid. The club's foundation date is a subject of debate among football historians. The club itself declares 1898, but others claim 1901 or 1903 as the true founding year.
El Viejo Clásico
Entering the 21st century, other clubs offered significant challenges to Real Madrid, such as Atlético Madrid (their city rivals who were originally formed as an offshoot of Athletic Bilbao and thus have a similar name, crest and kit), Valencia and Barcelona. Athletic Bilbao were not among this group, now hampered by their self-imposed restrictive Basque-only player policy in an age of worldwide recruitment, exemplified by Madrid's "Galácticos" who won seven further Champions Leagues between 1998 and 2018.