San Mamés has fond memories of Manchester United’s visits . The cathedral hosts the “Red Devils” for the third time this Thursday, in the first leg of the Europa League semi-finals . The previous two matches were historic victories for Athletic Club in 1957 and 2012.
The first of these was in the memorable “snow match” played at San Mamés on January 16, 1957, in the second edition of the European Cup. The red-and-white team, coached by Fernando Daucik, hosted the English champions in the first leg of the quarter-finals after eliminating Porto and Honved , led by Puskás , Kocsis, and Czibor. On the white blanket that covered the pitch, Athletic overwhelmed United in the first half with two goals from Uribe and one from Markaida . After the break, Taylor and Viollet made it 3-2, while Merodio and Artetxe sparked euphoria with two more home goals before Whelan made it 5-3 five minutes from time.
A match and scoreline that holds one of the most prominent places in the history books of Athletic Club—but ultimately wasn’t enough to reach the semifinals. In the second leg, played at Maine Road and featuring players like Taylor, Whelan, and the young Duncan Edwards—who would tragically lose their lives a year later in the Munich air disaster—Sir Matt Busby’s Manchester United crushed the Basque side’s dreams with an emphatic 3-0 victory.
The Marcelo Bielsa Era
More recently, on March 15, 2012, and still at the old stadium, Marcelo Bielsa’s Athletic left another unforgettable memory, capping off a magical night that had begun a week earlier with a historic win at Old Trafford against the then Premier League leaders. Óscar De Marcos, the only player from that unforgettable round-of-16 tie still in the current squad, was a protagonist in both the Theatre of Dreams and in San Mamés. The veteran midfielder scored in the 2-3 away win and added Athletic’s second goal in the return leg, after Fernando Llorente had opened the scoring.
Perhaps even more memorable than those two goals was the missed opportunity by Andoni Iraola, who is now the manager of Bournemouth. After a dazzling Maradona-style run past three United defenders, he fired wide in front of David de Gea. Wayne Rooney, who scored both goals for United in the first leg, also left his mark in San Mamés with a stunning goal ten minutes from time. His effort earned applause from the home crowd and sealed the final score at 2-1.
The last encounter between Athletic Club and Manchester United was a friendly played on August 6, 2023, at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The match ended 1-1, with Uruguay’s Facundo Pellistri equalizing in stoppage time after Nico Williams had given Athletic the lead in the 30th minute.
Now, the English side, having eliminated Real Sociedad in the round of 16 and Lyon in the quarterfinals, is aiming for the final—also set to be played at San Mamés. Meanwhile, Athletic dreams of reaching the final too, though they will have to do so without Oihan Sancet, their top scorer this season.