An oft-repeated criticism of the Spanish game is that it’s too easily dominated by the colossal duo of Real Madrid and Barcelona, but in the early 1980s it was the Basque Country which reigned supreme in La Liga.
Real Sociedad, the pride of San Sebastian (Donostia, as it is known as in Basque), won back-to-back League titles in 1981 and 1982, before fierce regional rivals Athletic Bilbao repeated the feat in the following two seasons. This Euskadi ascendancy appeared to be the beginning of a stranglehold of a region, whose passion for football is second to none.
In retrospect, such a prediction would have been remarkably flawed. La Real's back-to-back crowns remain their only La Liga crowns, while Athletic's 1984 triumph – clinched with a home victory at the original San Mames over Real Sociedad – was the last of their eight titles.
These glories were at the zenith of the clubs’ collective powers, heady heights which have shown little sign of being repeated since. There was a brief revival 14 years after Athletic's last title, when they finished runners-up to eventual champions Barcelona, with La Real coming in third place, before Los Txuriurdin took Madrid the distance in 2002-03.
This derby embodies the rivalry between the Basque regions of Gipuzkoa (the capital San Sebastian) and Bizkaia (the capital Bilbao). The first encounter took place in 1909 with La Real, then known as Club Ciclista de San Sebastian – officially becoming Real Sociedad later that year, emerging 4-2 victors. There’s been a grand total of 153 matches between the clubs, with Athletic winning 63 times to Txuriurdin's 51.
The Basque Country is a region which is closely associated with regional identity, seeing itself as separate from Spain, and this is reflected in the language, politics and culture of the area. Athletic have maintained their policy of Basque-only players throughout their 117-year history and are one of three clubs (Real Madrid and Barcelona are the others) never to have lost their top-flight status. Limiting their player selection to an area of a mere 2.16m, it’s remarkable that they have continued such competitive longevity, including their 2014 qualification for the Champions League and 2015 Supercopa demolition of Barcelona.
Real, on the other hand, are viewed as the more pragmatic of the two clubs, ending their Basque-only policy in 1990 with the signing of John Aldridge and acquiring their first non-Basque Spaniard, Boris Gonzalez, in 2002 as the club argued they needed to broaden their player recruitment due to the greater political and financial muscle flexed by their rivals in Bilbao. That being said, La Real are well-renowned for their productive youth system, which produced the incredible talent of Joseba Etxeberria – one of 16 players to play for both clubs.
The rivalry is not the fiercest in La Liga, despite the fervent loyalty of both sets of fans and demand that they claim bragging rights. Their mutual disdain of Spanish rivals, notably from Madrid, eclipses their own disputes. There’s an old saying in the Basque Country – why would fans of La Real and Athletic argue if they can resolve their differences with a footballing fight?
Both Ernesto Valverde and David Moyes badly need the points in Sunday's encounter as their sides continue to struggle in the bottom half of La Liga with one win apiece in their opening five matches. Regardless, these two proud clubs are both desperate to ensure that their traditions and region can fire them to yet more glory.
