Athletic Bilbao B
Bilbao Athletic, officially named Athletic Club "B", is the reserve team of Athletic Bilbao, a football club based in Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. The team will play in the Segunda División B in the 2018–19 season. Founded in 1964, the team holds home matches at the small stadium attached to the club's training facility at Lezama, or occasionally at San Mamés Stadium, with its 53,500-seat capacity, for important fixtures.
History of Athletic Bilbao
In 1981, the club appointed Javier Clemente as manager. He soon set about putting together one of the most successful Athletic Bilbao teams in the club's history. Young players from the cantera such as Santiago Urquiaga, Miguel de Andrés, Ismael Urtubi, Estanislao Argote and Andoni Zubizarreta joined veterans Dani and Andoni Goikoetxea. In his first season in charge, Clemente led the team to fourth place in La Liga. In 1983, the club won La Liga and in 1984 they won a La Liga/Copa del Rey double. In 1985 and 1986, Athletic finished third and fourth respectively. Clemente's Athletic acquired notoriety for its aggressive style of play, personified by hard-man Goikoetxea. He favoured two defensive midfielders playing in front of twin centre backs and a sweeper, and as a result, critics regarded his teams as dour but effective. Athletic has failed to win a major trophy since the success of the Clemente era. A succession of coaches that included José Ángel Iribar, Howard Kendall, Jupp Heynckes and Javier Irureta and even a returning Clemente failed to reproduce his success.