Athletic Bilbao - again

[pablo casals]

I know this has been mentioned for years on here - and Bilbao´s shirts were meant to come from Southampton when they sent someone over on a boat to buy some, but....

there is undoubtedly links between our clubs. There's a new book on 100 Great players for Athletic Bilbao - a player who scored in their first ever game was called William LLewellyn Dyer and from Sunderland - he ended up there as his dad was selling coal to South Wales, they had a number of foregners in those first teams, and obvious industrial links took them from our area to the North of Spain.

Here's part of the book, in Spanish Im afraid, interesting charcter though, his son went on to head up MI6.

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[Pirate Jet]

Aye Sevilla are our boys

at the turn of the century, the members of the Sevilla Football Club decided to entrust to one of the many steamships that at that time arrived to the Seville Port, red and white shirts to play football. It is thought that they could have wanted to use the same colours as Sunderland AFC, since Sevilla FC’s first captain, Hugh Maccoll, and Gilbert Reid Pollock, another founding member, resided there by that time, where they had established the company Maccoll & Pollock

 

[The Truth]

Was on holiday a few years ago in Lanzarote and i was wearing a Sunderland top when this spanish guy who turned out to be a Bilbao fan came over to talk to me cos i was, and i quote, "his english brother" because i'm a Sunderland fan

 

[vinegar hill]

Was on holiday a few years ago in Lanzarote and i was wearing a Sunderland top when this spanish guy who turned out to be a Bilbao fan came over to talk to me cos i was, and i quote, "his english brother" because i'm a Sunderland fan

That's nailed it!

 

[Coeus]

I knew it was true all along.

 

[pablo casals]

the important bit from the book

William
Llewellyn Dyer era un tipo singular. Como otros compatriotas bri-
tánicos criaron el gusanillo del fútbol en Bilbao partiendo de su con-
cepto atlético del deporte. Como buen inglés, nacido en Sunderland
en 1883, practicaba el criquet, pero además era un amante del tenis,
de las regatas y del boxeo,

 

[Nicky Winterwasp]

the important bit from the book

William
Llewellyn Dyer era un tipo singular. Como otros compatriotas bri-
tánicos criaron el gusanillo del fútbol en Bilbao partiendo de su con-
cepto atlético del deporte. Como buen inglés, nacido en Sunderland
en 1883, practicaba el criquet, pero además era un amante del tenis,
de las regatas y del boxeo,

Agree with most of that

 

[pablo casals]

Agree with most of that

he was a bit of an individual. It was he, along with other British expats, who gave Bilbao the bug for Football through his general love for playng sport. Born in Sunderland in 1883 he also played cricket, tennis, rowing and boxing

 

[wingding]

Agree with most of that