# 1997–98 Athletic Bilbao season

The 1997–98 season was the 97th season in Athletic Bilbao's history and their 67th consecutive season in La Liga, the top division of Spanish football.

## Season summary

The previous season, Luis Fernández's first as head coach, was a successful one for Athletic, as their 6th-place finish in La Liga gained them a place in the 1997–98 UEFA Cup first round after a two-year exile from European competition. The Frenchman's second La Liga campaign yielded even greater success: Bilbao finished as runners-up, behind only Barcelona, and qualified for the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League. This was their highest league finish, and first qualification for Europe's premier competition, since their last La Liga triumph in 1984.
They also had a good run in the Copa del Rey, reaching the quarterfinals for the first time since 1994–95. They were eliminated on away goals by eventual runners-up Mallorca.
Athletic's UEFA Cup first round opponents were Sampdoria of Italy. The Spaniards took a valuable 2–1 win in the first leg in Genoa, and secured passage to the second round with a 2–0 victory at San Mamés. Their reward was a second round tie against Aston Villa of England, with the first leg in Bilbao finishing goalless. The Birmingham side took a 2–0 lead just after half time at Villa Park, and a late goal from Javi González was not enough to prevent Athletic's elimination.

## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | La Liga | La Liga | Copa del Rey | Copa del Rey | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ESP | Juan José Valencia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ESP | Rafael Alkorta | 34 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ESP | Óscar Tabuenka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | ESP | Josu Urrutia | 38 | 0 | 29+1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ESP | Andoni Goikoetxea | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Julen Guerrero | 33 | 8 | 25+4 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ESP | Cuco Ziganda | 41 | 5 | 19+16 | 3 | 2+1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 10 | DF | ESP | Aitor Larrazábal | 40 | 8 | 28+4 | 7 | 2+2 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | ESP | Jesús María Lacruz | 19 | 0 | 7+10 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | ESP | Carlos García | 41 | 2 | 33+1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ESP | Imanol Etxeberria | 42 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ESP | José Mari | 16 | 0 | 3+10 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ESP | Patxi Ferreira | 19 | 0 | 9+7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ESP | Txomin Nagore | 21 | 0 | 11+6 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | ESP | Joseba Etxeberria | 43 | 12 | 35+1 | 11 | 3+1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | ESP | Bittor Alkiza | 44 | 2 | 36+1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | ESP | Mikel Lasa | 35 | 1 | 17+11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | ESP | Ismael Urzaiz | 38 | 10 | 23+9 | 8 | 2+1 | 2 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | ESP | Iñigo Larrainzar | 41 | 3 | 34 | 2 | 2+1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 22 | MF | ESP | Javi González | 37 | 6 | 8+22 | 5 | 2+1 | 0 | 2+2 | 1 |
| 24 | DF | ESP | Roberto Ríos | 39 | 3 | 31+1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 25 | FW | ESP | Aitor Huegún | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | ESP | Iñaki Lafuente | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ESP | César | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | ESP | Mario Bermejo | 3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | ESP | Gaizka Garitano | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | ESP | Jorge Pérez | 7 | 0 | 3+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ESP | Raúl Gil | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
    1.^ Tabuenka was transferred to SD Compostela during the season.

## Results
### La Liga
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Barcelona (C) | 38 | 23 | 5 | 10 | 78 | 56 | +22 | 74 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Athletic Bilbao | 38 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 52 | 42 | +10 | 65 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 3 | Real Sociedad | 38 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 60 | 37 | +23 | 63 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Real Madrid | 38 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 63 | 45 | +18 | 63 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 5 | Mallorca | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 55 | 39 | +16 | 60 | Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round |
* 1 2 RMA 2–0 RSO; RSO 4–2 RMA
* ↑ Real Madrid was qualified directly for the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League as holders.
* ↑ MLL: 9 pts; CEL: 5 pts; ATM: 2 pts
* ↑ Since Barcelona, winners of 1997–98 Copa del Rey, was qualified for the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League, losing cup finalists RCD Mallorca earned a spot in the first round of the 1998–99 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

### UEFA Cup
#### First round

Athletic Bilbao won 4–1 on aggregate

#### Second round

Aston Villa won 2–1 on aggregate