A Club Belongs to a City, a Region, and a Country: Athletic Club de Bilbao
Book chapter > Chapter Research Book · 2021
Authors: Mertcan AKAN, Zaloa Zabala Inchaurraga
The City in History in Respect of Human and Space, Chapter Research Book, Istanbul University, Nationally Recognized, National, 2021, pp 1-18, Turkey, İstanbul
Summary
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 6pt 0cm; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 16.8667px;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 12.2667px; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">“Euskal Herria”, which means “Basque country”, refers not only to a geographical region but also to a society, culture, and thought. The “Civil War” that took place in Spain between 1936-1939 and the following Franco period (1939-1975) have played a critical role in shaping the memory of the Basque society and forming the present identity. The city of Bilbao, which is the center of the country’s largest region, Bizkaia (Vizcaya), is also one of the places where the Basque identity and memory are being lived and kept living densely. The post-Franco period and the flood disaster in 1983 triggered, social, cultural, artistic and architectural transformation process in Bilbao city, throughout which the city left its idyllic and industrial identity behind. This experience made Bilbao one of the most specific examples of how a city can be transformed by adhering to its historical origins. The purpose of this article is supposed to emphasize the active role played by Athletic Club, one of the most important clubs in the institutionalization of modern football in Spain, and how a sport club is owned by a city and its society. Carrying out a rare policy in the contemporary industrial football with the mission of being the representative of the Basque country, the club continues its struggle with athletes trained mostly from quarry. In this sense, Athletic Club managed to, brings the very local from its own lands together to struggling global. Thus, as a sport club, the Athletic Club has been so effective in the information of identity and city culture that it has become one of the rare examples in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>