On February 3, the day before the visit to Villamarín, the traditional San Blas cord was worn around the neck. The legend goes to say that with this habit one is protected from throat conditions and diseases, such as colds or tonsillitis, for the whole year. The cord, yes, must be burned nine days after its location on the neck for the blessing to take effect.
If this Cup semifinal had been held with an audience in San Mamés, a good part of the Athletic fans who comply with this tradition would surely have chosen to burn their San Blas cordon before approaching the Bilbao stadium. A good way, without a doubt, to protect your throat on a night prone to singing and cheering loudly for the lions.
The fulfillment of the tradition, unfortunately, could not be complete during this cool night of February 11, 2021 because of the damn coronavirus pandemic. Football without people in the stands is not football, not even if Athletic plays a semifinal in San Mamés.
The current situation, this normal abnormality caused by the coronavirus, is something else. It is true that the club took some measures to try to boost the atmosphere in the rojiblanco stadium itself, but without an audience in the stands, nothing is the same. All attempts, however witty, are reduced to mere fireworks.
The development of the game itself, especially in what refers to the first half, did not enter into the forecasts of what a Cup semifinal in San Mamés is supposed to be. The Levant passed over the lions. Not, perhaps, in terms of creating danger, but in surpassing him in practically all areas of the field. Paco López, from the board, and his footballers, at grass level, knew how to control an unknown rojiblanco team.
One of the good things about Marcelino is that it doesn't take long to make drastic decisions. Yesterday, without going any further, three changes in the break. Just enough and necessary for Athletic to wake up, improve and even suggest that another new comeback was possible. It could not be this time, but the second leg remains. There is semifinal