All Teams Wear Black Goalkeeper Kits in Spain
Update: Dozen of teams from Spain, including all the big ones like Barcelona, Real Madridn and Atlético Madrid, have taken part in Athletic Bilbao's initiative to wear black goalkeeper jerseys in honor of the 80th birthday of Athletic's legendary keeper Iribar (known as the El Txopo - "black poplar").
What is particularly great is that Chelsea's keeper Kepa also joined in, wearing a kit with Iribar's name and the number 80 for warm-up.
Update: Many teams from Spain have joined Athletic's initiative to wear black keeper kits in honor of the 80th birthday of their keeper José Ángel Iribar, Espanyol, Elche, Huesca, and reportedly also FC Barcelona.
What is perhaps most remarkable is that Celtic, the Scottish football club, have also joined the initiative. While it may seem surprising that a Scottish club have joined an initiative with Spanish teams, it is a clear indication that the initiative is gaining momentum and attracting support from across Europe.
Iker Casillas also sent a greeting in the right direction to the legendary Bilbao goalkeeper in a short video, wearing the black, white, and orange Madrid goalkeeper Copa del Rey final kit from the 2012-13 season.
Iribar, un 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞. 💫
— LaLiga (@LaLiga) March 3, 2023
🧤 @IkerCasillas#Iribar80 pic.twitter.com/wQELrtR16M
March 1, 2023: Athletic Bilbao Invite All Teams to Wear Black Goalkeeper Kits in Honor of Keeper Iribar
All goalkeepers in the Spanish first and second Football League, La Liga and La Liga 2, could wear black jerseys this weekend to pay tribute to legendary Spanish football player José Ángel Iribar, who celebrates his 80th birthday on March 1st.
The former Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper played professionally from 1961 to 1981, was capped 49 times by the Spanish national team, and is widely known in Spain as "El Txopo." ‘Txopo’ comes from the Spanish word ‘Chopo’ - In the Basque Country ‘ch’ is often swapped for the Basque version ‘tx’. And ‘chopo’ in English means ‘black poplar’, which is a very tall tree.
Athletic Bilbao Starts Initiative For Teams to Wear Black Goalkeeper Jerseys in Tribute of Iribar
Athletic Bilbao, Iribar's former team, proposed that all La Liga clubs allow their goalkeepers to wear black jerseys, which was already accepted by Bilbao's rival, Real Sociedad.
Athletic Club have cooperated with La Liga so that next weekend, the two goalkeepers of any professional team that face each other can wear the same color. Usually, it is forbidden that keepers wear the same colors.
Athletic Bilbao got special permission to allow two keepers to wear black in the same game
Furthermore, if for whatever reason it were not feasible for a goalkeeper to play in black, Athletic Club has proposed that he pose in black in the official photo of the eleven.
Many goalkeepers have already agreed to participate in the initiative
A significant number of professional goalkeepers, from both competitions and even foreigners, had transferred their intention to participate in the initiative in recent weeks of their own accord. For this reason, Athletic Club wanted to extend the invitation to all LaLiga teams for the day on March 3, 4, 5 and 6.
On December 5, 1976, during a highly anticipated derby match between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao, something extraordinary happened. The two team captains, Inaxio Kortebarria and José Ángel Iribar, walked onto the pitch proudly waving the Basque flag, which was banned at the time due to the oppressive Franco regime. This act of defiance and solidarity with the Basque people is still remembered to this day and it elevated Iribar's status as a legend in Spanish football.
Do you like the idea of all goalkeepers wearing black in tribute of Athletic's former goalkeeper? Let us know in the comments below.
