CD Basconia

Club Deportivo Basconia is a Spanish football club based in Basauri, Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1 January 1913 it currently plays in Tercera División – Group 4, holding home games at Estadio de López Cortázar, with an 8,500-seat capacity.[2] In 1997, they entered into a partnership with Athletic Bilbao to serve as a feeder club for Bilbao and essentially operate as the club's C team.[3]

For the basketball team, see Saski Baskonia.

Basconia

Full name	Club Deportivo Basconia
Founded	1 January 1913 (1913-01-01)
Ground	Polideportivo de Artunduaga, Basauri, Basque Country, Spain
Capacity	8,500[1]
President	Juan Ignacio Azurmendi
Head coach	Patxi Salinas
League	3ª – Group 4
2018–19	3ª – Group 4,6th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

History

Founded in 1913, Basconia reached the national third level (Tercera División) thirty years later. The club played in the second tier for six seasons (1957–63), but this was before the creation of the regionalised new third division in the 1970s.

In 1997, Basconia became Basque neighbours Athletic Bilbao's feeder club, not being eligible for promotion if the reserves, Bilbao Athletic, playing in the level above, did not attain the same goal. The primary function of the agreement is to aid the development of young players in a challenging environment while remaining in the same group under the close guidance of the parent club; a number of teenagers who spent a season at Basconia became professionals at Athletic Bilbao, eventually playing in La Liga and UEFA competitions. In January 2020 it was confirmed that the partnership, due to expire that summer, had been renewed for another three years to 2023.[4]

Basconia's place in Athletic's club structure means that the squad changes greatly each season. About half of the players move up to play for Bilbao Athletic, or go out on loan to other local clubs playing at Segunda División B level. They are replaced by graduates, usually 17 or 18 years old, from the previous year's Juvenil A team. The squad is normally expanded further with new signings from the regions’s youth clubs, most notably Danok Bat and Antiguoko.

Basconia B playing at Soloarte

Although Athletic Bilbao control the main squad's players and coaching personnel, Basconia retains its own club committee and staff and operates several youth teams as well as amateur side Basconia B who compete in the Preferente de Vizcaya league, two levels below the first team. These other teams play in a separate small stadium in the town, Soloarte. Occasionally the main squad has been supplemented by some of Basconia's 'own' players in emergencies - Mikel Rico was with Basconia B when he appeared in one Tercera División fixture in 2001;[5] he left Biscay for a long career across Spain which eventually brought him back to sign for Athletic in 2013.

In January 2018, with the team struggling to remain in the league, Basconia took the unusual step of recruiting some older, more experienced players including Thaylor Lubanzadio[6][7][8] to help them maintain their 23-year divisional status,[9] which was eventually accomplished - they finished 15th, 5 points above the relegation zone.[10]

Season to season

• As a separate club

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1945–50 4 Regional — 1950/51 3 3ª 13th 1951/52 3 3ª 9th 1952/53 3 3ª 7th 1953/54 3 3ª 13th 1954/55 3 3ª 3rd 1955/56 3 3ª 6th 1956/57 3 3ª 1st 1957/58 2 2ª 8th 1958/59 2 2ª 5th 1959/60 2 2ª 11th 1960/61 2 2ª 8th 1961/62 2 2ª 15th 1962/63 2 2ª 15th 1963/64 3 3ª 7th 1964/65 3 3ª 10th 1965/66 3 3ª 5th 1966/67 3 3ª 7th 1967/68 3 3ª 6th 1968/69 3 3ª 12th

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1969/70 3 3ª 8th 1970/71 3 3ª 6th 1971/72 3 3ª 4th 1972/73 3 3ª 15th 1973/74 3 3ª 12th 1974/75 3 3ª 14th 1975/76 3 3ª 16th 1976/77 3 3ª 10th 1977/78 3 2ªB 20th 1978/79 4 3ª 20th 1979/80 5 Reg.Pref. 4th 1980/81 5 Reg.Pref. 1st 1981/82 4 3ª 3rd 1982/83 4 3ª 4th 1983/84 4 3ª 8th 1984/85 4 3ª 1st 1985/86 4 3ª 4th 1986/87 4 3ª 2nd 1987/88 3 2ªB 6th 1988/89 3 2ªB 14th

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1989/90 3 2ªB 15th 1990/91 3 2ªB 9th 1991/92 3 2ªB 13th 1992/93 3 2ªB 7th

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1993/94 3 2ªB 17th 1994/95 4 3ª 7th 1995/96 4 3ª 14th 1996/97 4 3ª 10th

• As a farm team

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 1997/98 4 3ª 1st 1998/99 4 3ª 7th 1999/00 4 3ª 5th 2000/01 4 3ª 6th 2001/02 4 3ª 7th 2002/03 4 3ª 1st 2003/04 4 3ª 3rd 2004/05 4 3ª 8th 2005/06 4 3ª 4th 2006/07 4 3ª 5th 2007/08 4 3ª 5th 2008/09 4 3ª 7th 2009/10 4 3ª 10th 2010/11 4 3ª 8th 2011/12 4 3ª 10th 2012/13 4 3ª 12th 2013/14 4 3ª 4th 2014/15 4 3ª 16th 2015/16 4 3ª 14th 2016/17 4 3ª 10th

Season Tier Division Place Copa del Rey 2017/18 4 3ª 15th 2018/19 4 3ª 6th 2019/20 4 3ª 4th

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• 6 seasons in Segunda División
• 8 seasons in Segunda División B
• 56 seasons in Tercera División

Current squad

As of 1 September 2018[11]

• = player was also playing for Basconia in 2017-18

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ESP Aritz de Miguel GK  ESP Ander Iru — GK  ESP Sergio García — DF  ESP Xabier Arberas DF  ESP Julen Bernaola — DF  ESP Imanol García de Albéniz DF  ESP Matías Lizarazu — DF  ESP Álvaro Núñez DF  COL Deiby Ochoa — DF  ESP Aitor Paredes — DF  ESP Iker Salvador

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ESP Gorka Agirre MF  MLI Youssouf Diarra — MF  ESP Gorka Estrada MF  ESP Oier Zarraga — FW  ESP Juan Artola — FW  ESP Rubén Azcona — FW  ESP Jon Cabo FW  ESP Javier Rudi FW  ANG Thaylor Lubanzadio — FW  ESP Ewan Roy Urain

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ESP Unai Andoni Llorente (on loan at Santutxu until 30 June 2019) — DF  ESP Aitor Aguado (on loan at Sodupe until 30 June 2019) — DF  ESP Asier Arana (on loan at Zamudio until 30 June 2019) — DF  ESP Mikel Kortazar (on loan at Santutxu until 30 June 2019) — DF  ESP Ibai Rodríguez (on loan at Sodupe until 30 June 2019) — MF  ESP Ander Dulce (on loan at Zamudio until 30 June 2019) — MF  USA Ander Egiluz[12] (on loan at Leioa until 30 June 2019) — MF  ESP Aitor Gandiaga (on loan at Gernika until 30 June 2019) — MF  ESP Xabier Garai (on loan at Gernika until 30 June 2019) — MF  ESP Xabier Naveira (on loan at Balmaseda until 30 June 2019) — FW  ESP Ander Quintana (on loan at Sodupe until 30 June 2019)

Honours

• Tercera División

Winners:[lower-alpha 1] 1956–57[lower-alpha 2]

Winners (3):[lower-alpha 3] 1984–85,[lower-alpha 4] 1997–98,[lower-alpha 5] 2002–03[lower-alpha 6]

Notes

1. Third tier
2. Promoted in play-offs
3. Fourth tier
4. Not promoted in play-offs
5. Won group in play-offs, but ineligible for promotion as Bilbao Athletic did not gain promotion from the level above (they too made the playoffs but finished third)
6. Not promoted in play-offs, and would have been ineligible as Bilbao Athletic did not gain promotion from the level above

Selected coaches

• Javier Clemente
• Joseba Etxeberria
• José Luis Mendilibar

Famous players

Note: this list contains players who have appeared in at least 50 league games for the first team or have reached international status.

Yeray Álvarez Fernando Amorebieta Daniel Aranzubia José Argoitia[13] Joseba Arriaga Kepa Arrizabalaga Beñat Eneko Bóveda

Javier Casas Iñigo Córdoba Koldo Etxeberria[13] Borja Ekiza Unai Expósito Cristian Ganea[14] Carlos Gurpegi Iago Herrerín

Gorka Iraizoz Andoni Iraola José Ángel Iribar[13] Ander Iturraspe Aymeric Laporte Enrique Larrinaga[13] Iñigo Lekue Fernando Llorente Unai López

Sabin Merino Unai Núñez Luis Prieto Mikel Rico Markel Susaeta Ustaritz Óscar Vales Iñaki Williams Francisco Yeste

See also

• Athletic Bilbao (first team)
• Bilbao Athletic (B team)

References

1. "Dimensiones, asistencia de Estadio Pedro López Cortázar en Basauri - Fichajes.com". Fichajes.com : Información sobre los fichajes y actualidad del mundo del fútbol (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 August 2020.
2. "Estadio López Cortázar (Basozelai) :: ceroacero.es". www.ceroacero.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 August 2020.
3. "Athletic Club and CD Basconia Extend PArtnership Agreement Through 2023". Inside Athletic. 17 January 2020.
4. Basconia, subsidiary team of Athletic Club until 2023, Athletic Bilbao, 17 January 2020
5. Basconia 3–0 UPV; Athletic Bilbao, 11 April 2001
6. "Thaylor profile". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
7. "Adrián Celador profile". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
8. "Iker Amorrortu profile". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
9. "El Athletic ficha a un futbolista de 23 años para el Basconia" [Athletic signs a 23-year-old player for Basconia]. El Correo (in Spanish). 3 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
10. "Tercera División Grupo 4 - IV - Euskadi, Temporada 2017/2018". www.resultados-futbol.com. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
11. Basconia squad at Athletic Club official website
12. Athletic Club - Under 19 Call-up (18/03/16)
13. While the club operated independently (pre 1997).
14. Youth teams only.

External links

• Official website (in Spanish)
• Team history at Athletic Bilbao's official website
• La Cantera De Lezama Unofficial website focusing on Athletic’s cantera teams