"We signed three midfielders from Real Sociedad and the best one was Gorrohattegi", Bilbao thought after the derby Basque newspaper

Athletic Bilbao fans mourned the defeat and praised the young team of Txuri-Urdin while breathing a sigh of relief for not getting more goals.

"We signed three midfielders from Real Sociedad and the best was Gorotxategi," reflected Bilbao after the derby.

Athletic Bilbao fans regret defeat and praise Zuri-Urdina's youth team, breathing a sigh of relief after not conceding more goals

April 12, 2026, 6:50 p.m

Real Sociedad's 0-1 victory over Athletic Club in the first leg of the Cup semifinals gave rise to a storm of criticism among the red and whites towards their own team.The Biscayan fans were also surprised by the many good games developed by the Txuri-Urdines players who sometimes beat their rivals and were full of criticism of their players who were unable to score goals.

Reactions on social media and at parties in Bilbao give an indication of how the defeat will feel, although the consensus is that Anota has options to play again, and the consensus is one of relief.

The focus of the discussion is on the number of Mikel González, the club's sports director, and his work team.Monje is not difficult when he points out that "the triangle of Víctor Moreno, Mikel González and Eneco Bóveda is from Aurora Borealis."The reporter reads a large list of more than twenty players included under the order, with names like Djaló, Boiro, Navarro or Areso, to conclude that with the exception of Ruiz de Galarreta, the work is not enough despite the million dollar investment.Heaven because it is not in vain.

Signings from Real Sociedad

"You have given a list that I think was a lottery. You have taken 30 boys, none of whom have played well at first," said former Athletic director Juan Elejalde, reinforcing the idea that planning has not given the team real solutions in moments of crisis like the current one.

One of the controversial points of the meeting was the comparison between the players recruited from Real Sociedad and those who "left" Athletic.Monje criticized San Sebastián for signing three midfielders from the reserve team in their Onda Vaska program who have no impact in the first team, while Real release different talents.

"Look at this: three Real Sociedad players, Ader García, Eñaut Lete and Manques Gibalda, but here we are the smartest in Europe... We signed three Real midfielders and developed them, but the guy who played John Gorotextaggi... it was this player who happened to have signed here. And don't worry about the squad that went up. I don't know how much it went up. I don't know what, because the sport is that other managers at the time gave them good sticks andHis regrets about not ‘fishing’ for Zubieta more do not end there: “Another one is John Martin, the defensive center and great coordinator of Real Sociedad... Well, let’s see when we start looking at this.“Because I think Athletic’s sports management is really serious.”

Athletic team performance

Commentators tore apart the official speech praising the depth of the current team.In the morning, the performance of the substitutes, when guys like the Williams brothers, Sunset or Vivian were missing, showed that the team was "confused".It feels like an insurmountable gap between the starters and some of the replacements, which he described as "patches and temporary fixes that contribute nothing."

The meeting ended with a message of hope for the rematch in Anoeta, with the belief that with the recovery of key players we can reverse the tie, which is still "very much alive" despite everything.A reflection that spreads among the fans of the red and white club without remembering that Real Sociedad also suffered important losses such as Take Kubo, Ander Barrenetxa, Luka Sučić or the first goalkeeper of the Cup, Unai Marrero.

Laporte's arm

There was no shortage of controversy when it came to the issue of Laporte's hand in the non-penalty box, and the decision angered some members of the bench.Juan Elejalde has been the most vocal on the matter, stating that "if I get Laporte's penalty, come on, I'll jump over the fence" because, although according to his personal criteria it shouldn't be, "according to the rules and what the referees are saying now ... 99% of the seats would say so."José Manuel Monje, however, described the penalty as "a typical penalty in modern football that I would not want to receive", although he finally acknowledged the reality of the current regulations: "If they do it to me, it will be a penalty. If I do it, it will be a penalty. For me, it is a penalty."Urizar Azpitarte reminded that according to the regulations, if the ball goes towards the goal and "the hand is away from the body, it is ... a penalty, whether it is intentional or not."

Similar concerns were broadcast on Telebilbao in a program dedicated to the match, in front of Eduardo Velasco and Luis Mari Vivanco.During the broadcast, Laporte's hand was described as a "textbook penalty" and "impossible", arguing that the arm was not in a natural position and that the shot was tied in the goalkeeper's hand.

In interviews with the fans of the red and blacks, there was a direct reference to the quality of Zubieta: "They have a good youth team to provide us well (...) they know who the big Euskadi team is and they envy us ... they have provincial complexes, but still, it makes sense, like big brother, like big brother".means suffering on the field" and stressed that everything in Donostia will be decided by the athletic team "touched but not sunk".

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