Europe beckons for Athletic

By Darío López

You have to go back to the 1998/99 season for the last time Athletic Club Bilbao played in European competition. Then it was the UEFA Champions League that kept the Spanish side busy, but they return to continental competition tonight with a game against Turkish side Trabzonspor in the UEFA Cup.

Tough trip
The Basque side are eager to reach the group stage of the competition but also very aware that a trip to Turkey is not exactly an ideal return to Europe. "Out of all of the Spanish clubs, we have the hardest opponents," goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia told uefa.com. "But I do believe that we are the better side.

Return leg
"Also in our favour is that they have to visit us at San Mamés for the return match. "We have spent a long time out of European competition and both the club and fans are keen to make it a special return. We will be going flat out, giving our all to try and get as far as we can."

Famous night
It was in the UEFA Cup that Athletic enjoyed their best run in Europe in 1976/77 when they reached the final of the competition only to lose on away goals in the two-legged final after a 2-2 aggregate draw with Juventus FC. However, the club have a way to go before they can dream of reaching the final in Lisbon this season.

Mystery opponents
First, they must contend with last season's Turkish league runners-up who have already won their first five games this season. "We don't know a great deal about Trabzonspor but we have heard that they are a difficult side to face," Athletic left-back Asier del Horno told uefa.com.

Young bucks
Coach Ernesto Valverde did brilliantly to lead his side to fifth place in the Primera División last season, but his side will do well to keep their heads in Europe. Del Horno said: "We have a young squad and most of us have never played in European competition and so we are anxious to enjoy the experience."

Enthusiastic approach
However, the 23-year-old remained convinced that the sheer enthusiasm of his side could be a significant factor in realising their European ambitions. "We must take advantage of our youthfulness and ambition to travel with Athletic across Europe," he said.

Dream scenario
The dream for Athletic would be to make good progress in Europe and improve on their showing in Spain this season to steal a place in the Champions League. However, in addition to juggling European and Primera División priorities, Athletic face four huge additional obstacles.

Spanish giants
"In Spain we have Real Madrid [CF], [FC] Barcelona, Valencia [CF] and [RC] Deportivo La Coruña who are head and shoulders above the rest," admitted Aranzubia. "For us, we can only hope that one of those four clubs has an off year while we have a good one."

Plucky outsiders
However Del Horno was more optimistic, saying: "We came very close last season and should we find ourselves in fifth or sixth at the end of this season then we will certainly be attempting to qualify and give as good as we have got right until the end." If that attitude goes with them into the UEFA Cup, Athletic's European adventure could be a prolonged one.