Athletic and Real Sociedad will close this strange 2020 playing on New Year's Eve in San Mamés. A match that this Thursday will begin at 2:00 p.m. Although it will not be the first time that both teams meet on the last day of the year. They already did it to dismiss the month of December 1983, on that occasion starting at 4.30 pm. And with victory (0-1) of the lions of Javi clemente with a goal from Estanis Argote. Chimes towards the double. In that 1983-84 campaign, the red-and-white squad ended up winning both the League and the Cup titles. The last were achieved in these two tournaments, with the automatic Super Cup auction.
That December 31, 1983, Atotxa was practically full, with the color that has always characterized these duels, with red and white and blue and white flags in the stands. A cold afternoon and the playing field somewhat heavy. Núñez and ZamoraThe captains jumped into the green carrying an ikurriña.
The ‘Rubio de Barakaldo’ ranked an eleven made up of Zubizarreta in goal. A defense formed with Urkiaga, Liceranzu, Goikoetxea and Núñez (relieved by From the source at minute 73). In the medullary he placed From Andrés, Gallego and Urtubi. And in attack they jumped to the starting pitch Endika (replaced by Julio Salinas at minute 73), Sarabia and Argote. In front they had a Real with Gorriz, Zamora, Bakero, Uralde and López Ufarte, among others.
The Bilbao squad put the score in their favor very early. Without reaching the quarter of an hour of play. The realist Sagarzazu he made his hand a few meters outside the area. The person in charge of launching the free kick with his silky left foot, who gave so many goal passes, was Argote. He shot well, crossing the barrier and the local goalkeeper Elduayen could not prevent the ball from entering his goal, raising the score 0-1.
The truth is that a great game was not seen that day and the atmosphere, despite the decoration, neither had the degrees nor the decibels of the great occasions. The rojiblancos midfielders took the cat into the water, within the little football deployed. The goalkeepers solved well the little work they had. The result, given the superiority of the lions, could be considered as fair.
After the match, Gracious He explained that “we have come to win and we have won. There has been a lot of equality, rivalry, many marks, but we have been superior in terms of goals, opportunities and approach ”. Although, in any case, the rojiblanco coach described the victory as “one more anecdote”, arguing that “Athletic can play better, we had planned the game to score more goals, but we could not do them.”
Athletic closed that league day, the seventeenth, in second position with 24 points, one behind the leader Real Madrid. They finished the season tied at 49 points, but with a better Bilbao golaverage. Title.
In the eighties, rojiblancos and royalistas crossed paths on the grass on a few more occasions on Christmas grounds, apart from the 1983 New Year's Eve clash.
In one of those meetings, played on December 19, 1982, in Atotxa, the final score reflected a tie at one. For locals, led by Alberto Ormaechea, I note Uralde at game time making it 1-0. In 86, Dani established 1-1 in a game in which the referee Garcia de Loza expelled From Andres.
In the previous season, the clash took place in San Mamés, on December 27, 1981. The visitor Kortabarria he scored the 0-1 from the penalty spot in minute 49. The rojiblanco defender equalized afterwards Urkiaga, in 65.
The last edition of this particular “Christmas story” between Bilbao and San Sebastian arrived on January 4, 1987, a couple of days before Reyes. With the Atotxa stage, Toshack and Iribar on the benches, and the points staying at home (2-1). Patxi Salinas scored the Athletic goal in the first minute of play, but then they turned it around Bakero, at minute 40, and Mujika, in 70.