1st Spanish Giant: Athletic Bilbao 1929 - 1936
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1⃣st Spanish Giant 🇪🇸
Athletic Bilbao 1929 - 1936
📝The early years of Spanish football was heavily influenced by the British model, which relied on strength, brute force and getting the ball forward as quickly as possible. It was not until a certain Fred Pentland arrived from England in 1921.
📎Although Barcelona won the first ever La Liga but it was early 30s Athletic Bilbao or Fred Pentland era who set the standards in Spanish club Competition
Tactics 📏📐
- It was usual for Spanish and English teams to line up in a 2-3-5 formation but Pentland kicked this dogma into touch and adopted a 2-5-3 system. He revolutionised the way Athletic played, favouring the short-passing game. This suited his playing style allowing more creativity in midfield as his players outnumbered the opposition.
What was England’s loss was quickly turning into Spain’s gain.
Comeback ♻
In 1927, Pentland left Athletic but returned in 1929 and led the club to La Liga/Copa del Rey doubles in 1930 and 1931.
Honours and Achievments 🏆
-The club won the Copa del Rey four times in a row between 1930 and 1933 and they also won La Liga 4 times(1929–30, 1930–31, 1933–34, 1935–36), were also La Liga runners-up in 1932 and 1933. In 1931, Athletic defeated Barcelona 12–1, the latter's worst-ever defeat.