The Great Basque Team of Athletic Bilbao 1929-36

The arrival at the head of the Spanish club of a new coach will change the dynamic of the club which is already one of the great clubs in the country, but which will sublimate it, the man behind all this is none other than Fred Pentland. The former England international and great BlackBurn Rovers striker will take Athletic Bilbao to the top of Spain. Arriving from Atlético Madrid, he will set up a 2-5-3 composition. 

His playing philosophy was geared towards possession. In an era where the 2-3-5 is almost systematic, he created a small revolution by increasing the number of players in midfield from his first visit to Athletic Bilbao, but with this second visit, he will impose his philosophy at a high level.

Pentland wanted a strict work ethic, in fact, he gave many hours of training to his players, anecdotally, he even went so far as to explain how to perfectly tie shoe laces to his players.

Among the defensive players found in this 1929-30 squad, there is notably Gregorio Blasco, the goalkeeper, who will play in particular in the Basque team and with the Spanish national team. Juan Urkizu, who has just arrived from Real Madrid. Angel María Rousse, the club's child, who was a player for the Spanish national team several times, just like Juanín.

In midfield, we find Roberto Echevarría, Spanish international, Juan Garizurieta and José Muguerza. With them, we can sometimes find the attacker Ignacio Agirrezabala, in a midfield role.

In attack, Guillermo Gorostiza is the star of the team but also that of the national team. At his side, we can find Ramón de la Fuente Leal, José Iraragorri and Agustín Sauto Arana, nicknamed Bata.

In parallel with the national championship, Athletic Bilbao played the northern regional championship also called Vizcaya and won it in 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934. They also won the Basque Cup in 1935.

In the national championship, the Athletico Bilbao team establishes itself as a very good team which tends to dominate its opponents in the technical aspect of the game. In the championship, Atlético Madrid collapses without its tactician, Conversely, Athletic is the best team in the country: 12 wins, 6 draws, 0 defeats, Athletic Bilbao wins the Spanish championship with 30 points, 7 more than its runner-up. 63 goals scored for 28 conceded, Athletic Pentland already dominates the country.

Guillermo Gorostiza finishes pichichi (top scorer in the Spanish championship) with 19 goals, Víctor Unamuno finishes 4th with 15 goals. But Athletic Bilbao is not going to stop there, since in the Copa Del Rey, the Spanish national cup, the club reached the final and won the cup 3-2 against Real Madrid (goal from Iraragorri, Unamuno and Lafuente. Athletic Bilbao had notably eliminated FC Barcelona in the previous round 5-5 on aggregate in the first 2 matches then a 4-0 victory for Athletic during the support match.

With a similar squad, Athletic Bilbao continued its momentum during the 1930-31 season. With a slightly more offensive-oriented game, Athletic Bilbao once again finished first in the championship with 22 points, tied on points with Racing Santander and Real Sociedad. It is the goal difference which will offer the title to Athletic: 11 victories, 0 draws, 7 defeats but 73 goals scored for 33 conceded. This season will have offered some very good matches: 12-1 victory against FC Barcelona, ​​7-1 against Alaves, 5-2 against Arenas Club de Getxo, 5-1 against CE Europa, 7-1 against Racing Santander or even 6 -1 against Real Sociedad at home. Away, the results are more mixed, but Athletic Bilbao will win 6-0 against Real Madrid.

With its possession game and its very offensive game, Athletic Bilbao is undoubtedly the most beautiful team to watch in the country. Bata had a crazy season and won the pichichi, 27 goals scored in the league, 10 more than the second which is Guillermo Gorostiza. We also find José Iraragorri in the top, who finishes 7th top scorer in the championship with 11 goals. In the Spanish Cup, the club won the trophy again by winning the final 3-1 against Real Betis Balompié.

The 1931-32 season saw the rise of Real Madrid, which took over La Liga and finished 1st with 28 points. Athletic Bilbao finished second with 25 points (11 wins, 3 draws, 4 defeats, 47 goals scored, 23 conceded). However, the club will have had some very good home matches: 3-0 against FC Barcelona, ​​5-1 against Real Sociedad, 4-0 against Espanyol Barcelona or even 7-2 against Valencia FC. They will also win 3-1 in Barcelona against FC Barcelona.

In the Spanish Cup, the club continued to dominate the competition, in the semi-final the club exploded CD Espanol 12-1 on aggregate. The final was dull and pitted Athletic Bilbao against FC Barcelona, ​​final score 1-0 in favor of the Basque club on a goal from Bata in the 57th minute. Bata once again finishes top scorer in the championship, Gorostiza is also among the top scorers in La Liga.

The 1932-33 season was also very good even though Real Madrid won the championship again with 28 points. Athletico is second with 26 points, 13 wins, 5 losses, 63 goals scored and 30 conceded. Athletic Bilbao will have scored 2 huge scores at home: 9-1 against Real Betis and 9-5 against Racing Santander. Where the club is impressive is away, the club only loses one away match. Bata finishes second best scorer in the championship with 15 goals and Gorostiza 3rd with 14 goals tied with José Iraragorri. Victorio Unamuno finishes 9th with 11 goals.

In the Spanish Cup, the team successively eliminated Sevilla FC (7-2 in aggregate), Deportivo la Coruna (12-3 in aggregate), CD Espanol (3-1 in aggregate) and finally 2-1 on Real Madrid in the final (goal from Lafuente and Gorostiza).

The 1933-34 season saw a return to the top of the championship, the club finished 1st in La Liga with 24 points (11 wins, 2 draws, 5 defeats, 61 goals scored, 27 conceded). But the talent of his attackers is eclipsed by that of a player who is showing his full potential, a certain Isidro Lángara who finishes as the sole top scorer in the championship with 26 goals and who establishes himself as the best Spanish striker of his generation, At that time he played for Oviedo, which played the soft underbelly of the championship. José Iraragorri still finished 3rd top scorer in the championship with 17 goals, Bata and Guillermo Gorostiza finished 4th with 14 goals.

In the Spanish Cup, the club was eliminated in the quarter-final against Real Madrid (3-0 in a support match after a cumulative score of who will win this edition

The 1934-35 season saw the departure of many players: Lafuente Leal, José Maria Castellanos, Luis María De Uribe and Uribe Echevarria. In the opposite direction, Martín Calvo, Doro, Urbano and Zubieta Redondo join the club, the latter is only 16 years old and will spend a season in the shoes of an indisputable holder as inside-right while the club plays now in WM has been under the orders of Patricio Caicedo since 1933. In the league, the club finished 4th and disappointed. In the round of 16, the club was already eliminated from the Spanish Cup.

The last season of Bilbao's Golden Age was 1935-36, with a new coach: William Thomas Garbutt, the club returned to a very good level. And even if the club was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Spanish Cup by Real Madrid, the club had a very good season in the league, finishing as champion again. Bata finished second top scorer in the championship with 21 goals, still behind Isidro Lángara and his 28 goals for Real Oviedo which he led to 3rd place.

Athletic Bilbao finished this season with 31 points, 14 goals, 3 draws and 5 defeats in a championship going from 10 to 12 teams. 59 goals were scored and 33 conceded. Subsequently, Athletic Bilbao will remain a very good club in the country, but will gradually sink into the shadow of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid who will share La Liga.