List of Athletic Bilbao players

Joseba Etxeberria has the most career appearances and goals among active Athletic players.

Athletic Bilbao is an association football club based in Bilbao, in Biscay in the Basque Country of Spain. The club was a founder member of the Spanish league, better known as La Liga, in 1928, and has won the league championship eight times. As of 2012, Athletic has played for 82 years in the Primera División, the top tier of Spanish football, and is one of only three clubs, the others being Real Madrid and Barcelona, never to have been relegated from La Liga.^[1]

The club is known for its policy of recruiting only players from the greater Basque Country, a region which includes Labourd, Soule and Lower Navarre in France as well as the Spanish provinces of Biscay, Guipúzcoa, Álava and Navarre. This policy, which for many years applied both to signings from other clubs and to youngsters admitted to the club's academy, has in recent years become more flexible, so that players whose career developed in the youth system of other clubs in the region are now acceptable, irrespective of their country of birth.^[2][3][4]

Athletic won the Copa del Rey three times between 1914 and 1916. The team of that period included the prolific goalscorer Rafael "Pichichi" Moreno; he scored the first goal in the San Mamés Stadium on 21 August 1913, scored a hat-trick in the 1915 Copa del Rey final, and his 89 games for the club produced a total of 78 goals.^[5][6] Since 1953, the top scorer in La Liga each season has been awarded the Pichichi Trophy, named in his honour.^[7]

On 29 September 1940 Telmo Zarra played his first league match for the club. During his time at Athletic, he won six Pichichi awards, a league record, and helped the club achieve a league championship and five Copa del Rey trophies. He retired in 1955, having played 352 matches and scored 333 goals.^[8][9] Joseba Etxeberria, who joined Athletic from Real Sociedad in 1995 for a record transfer fee of €3 million,^[10] is the current player with the most appearances for the club. He signed a one-year extension to his contract in 2009 in which he agreed to play the 2009–10 season unpaid in the hope of reaching 500 games before he retired;^[11] he finished the season on 514.

Key

Appearance and goal totals include matches in La Liga, Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and regional competitions.^[NB2] Substitute appearances are included. Table is initially sorted in descending order of appearances and includes all Athletic players who have made 200 appearances or more.

Players

José Ángel Iribar is the Athletic player with the most career appearances.

Name	Nationality	Position[NB1]	Athletic Bilbao career	Appearances	Goals	Notes	Refs
Iribar, José ÁngelJosé Ángel Iribar *	Spain	Goalkeeper	1962–1980	614	0	[A][1 Zamora]	[12]
Rojo, TxetxuTxetxu Rojo	Spain	Forward	1965–1982	541	67		[13]
Etxeberria, JosebaJoseba Etxeberria	Spain	Forward	1995–2010	514	104		[14]
Iraola, AndoniAndoni Iraola	Spain	Defender	2003–2015	510	38		[15]
Gaínza, AgustínAgustín Gaínza	Spain	Forward	1940–1959	493	152		[16]
Orúe, José MaríaJosé María Orúe	Spain	Defender	1950–1968	480	0.91		[17]
Larrazábal, AitorAitor Larrazábal	Spain	Defender	1990–2004	445	43		[18]
Sagarduy, Nicanor "Canito"Nicanor "Canito" Sagarduy	Spain	Defender	1948–1963	435	5.96		[19]
Guerrero, JulenJulen Guerrero	Spain	Midfielder	1992–2006	430	116		[20]
Argote, EstanislaoEstanislao Argote	Spain	Forward	1977–1990	427	76		[21]
Urzaiz, IsmaelIsmael Urzaiz	Spain	Forward	1996–2007	419	129		[22]
Panizo, JoséJosé Panizo	Spain	Midfielder	1938–1955	413	169		[23]
Cedrún, CarmeloCarmelo Cedrún	Spain	Goalkeeper	1950–1964	402	0		[24]
Ruiz, DanielDaniel Ruiz	Spain	Forward	1974–1986	402	199		[25]
Urrutia, JosuJosu Urrutia	Spain	Midfielder	1987–2003	401	10.911		[26]
Susaeta, MarkelMarkel Susaeta	Spain	Midfielder	2007–	398	51		[27]
Uriarte, FidelFidel Uriarte	Spain	Forward	1962–1974	394	120		[28]
Gurpegi, CarlosCarlos Gurpegi	Spain	Midfielder	2002–2016	393	22		[29]
Sarabia, ManuelManuel Sarabia	Spain	Forward	1967–1968 1978–1988	382	118		[30]
Goikoetxea, AndoniAndoni Goikoetxea	Spain	Defender	1974–1987	369	44		[31]
Iraizoz, GorkaGorka Iraizoz	Spain	Goalkeeper	2007–	369	0		[32]
Villar, Ángel MaríaÁngel María Villar	Spain	Midfielder	1971–1981	361	10.9911		[33]
Arieta, AntónAntón Arieta	Spain	Forward	1964–1974	358	83		[34]
Andrinúa, GenarGenar Andrinúa	Spain	Defender	1983–1984 1984–1985 1986–1997	356	20.921		[35]
Yeste, FranciscoFrancisco Yeste	Spain	Midfielder	1998–2010	353	58.959		[36]
Zarra, TelmoTelmo Zarra *	Spain	Forward	1940–1955	352	333	[B][6 Pichichi]	[8]
Artetxe, JoséJosé Artetxe	Spain	Forward	1950–1965	345	133		[37]
Urquiaga, SantiagoSantiago Urquiaga	Spain	Defender	1978–1987	345	6.97		[38]
Etxeberria, Luis MaríaLuis María Etxeberria	Spain	Defender	1961–1972	341	2.93		[39]
Sáez, IñakiIñaki Sáez	Spain	Defender	1962–1974	338	8		[40]
Llorente, FernandoFernando Llorente	Spain	Forward	2005–2013	333	118		[41]
Gisasola, AgustínAgustín Gisasola	Spain	Defender	1970–1983	332	19		[42]
Gallego, JoséJosé Gallego	Spain	Midfielder	1979–1980 1981–1992	331	17.918		[43]
Alkiza, BittorBittor Alkiza	Spain	Midfielder	1994–2003	328	9.910		[44]
Iriondo, RafaelRafael Iriondo	Spain	Forward	1940–1953	323	114.9115		[45]
Aranguren, JesúsJesús Aranguren	Spain	Defender	1962–1975	318	3.94		[46]
Orbaiz, PabloPablo Orbaiz	Spain	Midfielder	2000–2011	318	10.99913		[47]
Argoitia, JoséJosé Argoitia	Spain	Forward	1960–1972	308	70		[48]
Arieta, EnekoEneko Arieta	Spain	Forward	1951–1966	302	170		[49]
Agirre, KoldoKoldo Agirre	Spain	Forward	1957–1970	296	63.964		[50]
Alkorta, RafaelRafael Alkorta	Spain	Defender	1987–1993	294	6		[51]
Lauzirika, MauriMauri Lauzirika	Spain	Forward	1953–1964	293	72		[52]
Salinas, PatxiPatxi Salinas	Spain	Defender	1982–1992	293	9.9910		[53]
Garay, JesúsJesús Garay	Spain	Defender	1950–1960	292	9.99910		[54]
Ziganda, JoséJosé Ziganda	Spain	Forward	1991–1998	291	91		[55]
de Marcos, ÓscarÓscar de Marcos	Spain	Midfielder	2009–	291	28		[56]
Larrainzar, IñigoIñigo Larrainzar	Spain	Defender	1993–2003	289	6.997		[57]
Muniain, IkerIker Muniain	Spain	Forward	2009–	282	35		[58]
Urtubi, IsmaelIsmael Urtubi	Spain	Midfielder	1980–1981 1982–1992	278	37		[59]
Aduriz, AritzAritz Aduriz	Spain	Forward	2002–2003 2006–2008 2012–	277	121		[60]
Larrauri, JoséJosé Larrauri	Spain	Defender	1965–1974	277	0		[61]
Ruiz, CarlosCarlos Ruiz	Spain	Forward	1970–1981	275	115	[1 Pichichi]	[62]
Garitano, AnderAnder Garitano	Spain	Midfielder	1987–1996	275	42		[63]
González, NandoNando González	Spain	Defender	1941–1952	272	6.9997		[64]
de Andrés, MiguelMiguel de Andrés	Spain	Midfielder	1979–1988	268	11.912		[65]
San José, MikelMikel San José	Spain	Defender	2009–	266	31		[66]
García, CarlosCarlos García	Spain	Defender	1992–2003	264	25		[67]
Lezama, RaimundoRaimundo Lezama	Spain	Goalkeeper	1941–1957	261	0	[1 Zamora]	[68]
Ezquerro, SantiagoSantiago Ezquerro	Spain	Forward	1998–2005	260	59		[69]
Núñez, JoséJosé Núñez	Spain	Defender	1971–1976 1978–1986	258	2		[70]
Gorostiza, GuillermoGuillermo Gorostiza *	Spain	Forward	1929–1940	256	198	[2 Pichichi*]	[71]
González, JaviJavi González	Spain	Midfielder	1997–2007	254	11.9912		[72]
Amorebieta, FernandoFernando Amorebieta	Venezuela	Defender	2005–2013	254	4		[73]
Lacruz, Jesús MaríaJesús María Lacruz	Spain	Defender	1997–2006	251	12		[74]
Martínez, JaviJavi Martínez	Spain	Midfielder	2006–2012	251	25		[75]
Bertol, RobertoRoberto Bertol	Spain	Midfielder	1939–1950	247	0		[76]
Etura, ManuelManuel Etura	Spain	Defender	1953–1966	247	2.993		[77]
Iturraspe, AnderAnder Iturraspe	Spain	Midfielder	2008–	245	3		[78]
Noriega, JoséJosé Noriega	Spain	Forward	1979–1987	244	56		[79]
Iraragorri, JoséJosé Iraragorri	Spain	Forward	1929–1949	240	179		[80]
Oceja, IsaacIsaac Oceja	Spain	Defender	1933–1948	239	1		[81]
Zubizarreta, AndoniAndoni Zubizarreta	Spain	Goalkeeper	1981–1986	239	0		[82]
Maguregi, JoséJosé Maguregi	Spain	Defender	1952–1961	234	41		[83]
de la Fuente, LuisLuis de la Fuente	Spain	Defender	1980–1987	233	4.95		[84]
Liceranzu, IñigoIñigo Liceranzu	Spain	Defender	1981–1988	232	18		[85]
Muguerza, JoséJosé Muguerza	Spain	Defender	1928–1936	231	2.9993		[86]
Rípodas, Roberto "Tiko"Roberto "Tiko" Rípodas	Spain	Midfielder	1999–2008	230	26		[87]
Mendiguren, RicardoRicardo Mendiguren	Spain	Forward	1986–1997	224	22.923		[88]
Astrain, DanielDaniel Astrain	Spain	Defender	1971–1979	222	3.994		[89]
Lasa, JoséJosé Lasa	Spain	Midfielder	1972–1978	222	23		[90]
Arruti, RobertoRoberto Arruti	Spain	Midfielder	1928–1936	217	21		[91]
Lakabeg, AndoniAndoni Lakabeg	Spain	Defender	1988–1995	212	3		[92]
de la Fuente, RamónRamón de la Fuente	Spain	Forward	1925–1934	211	64		[93]
Uribe, IgnacioIgnacio Uribe	Spain	Forward	1953–1963	211	69		[94]
Arana, Augustín "Bata"Augustín "Bata" Arana	Spain	Forward	1929–1936	208	208	[1 Pichichi]	[95]
Toquero, GaizkaGaizka Toquero	Spain	Forward	2008–2015	207	25		[96]
García, VenancioVenancio García	Spain	Forward	1944–1947 1948–1955	206	89		[97]
Escalza, JavierJavier Escalza	Spain	Defender	1973–1980	206	7		[98]
Tirapu, FernandoFernando Tirapu	Spain	Defender	1977–1983	204	5		[99]
Vales, ÓscarÓscar Vales	Spain	Defender	1993–1997 1999–2005	204	4		[100]
Blasco, GregorioGregorio Blasco *	Spain	Goalkeeper	1926–1936	203	0	[3 Zamora*]	[101]
Karanka, AitorAitor Karanka	Spain	Defender	1993–1998 2002–2006	202	0		[102]

Notes

References

External links

• All data on players at Athletic's official website