LALIGA EXPERIENCE conquers San Mames in a magical week.

There are weeks when everything seems to go just right, weeks in which you seem to have that magic touch, like with Unai Simon’s heroics in the San Mames goal. There is no need to tell Athletic Club fans this, who will surely remember last week after going through to the cup final and standing tall against FC Barcelona at the Cathedral of Football. Their supporters constantly got behind a team who are dreaming big and hoping to man the barge they use to celebrate their trophy wins, as Ernesto Valverde captains a crew determined to make history.

However, the Athletic players were not the only stars of last week. A group of influencers, prize-draw winners and journalists from LALIGA EA SPORTS’ international broadcasters (SKY SPORTS Mexico, SportsMax Caribbean and NOW Sports Hong Kong) will take home some wonderful memories of a stay in which they fell in love with the Athletic shirt, after the family club with a unique DNA welcomed these special guests into its home.

Visits to the Lezama training ground and Ibaigane Palace (the Athletic Club headquarters), a tour of San Mames and a chance to enjoy its incredible museum, stepping out onto the stadium’s hallowed turf on the matchday, interviewing the Los Leones central defender Aitor Paredes, along with post-match flash interviews with Imanol Garcia and Jon Uriarte (the club president), as well as Xavi and Ilkay Gundogan, were some of the most notable activities our special guests engaged in during the LALIGA EXPERIENCE.

On the training pitches, they also put their ball skills to the test together with the players from the Basque club’s LALIGA GENUINE team, in an incredibly special and heartwarming encounter. To recharge their batteries, the journalists, influencers and LALIGA EXPERIENCE winners also had the honour of meeting the one and only Julen Guerrero, the Athletic Club legend, who invited the travelling party to stop by the restaurant which he runs in Zamudio, a town near to Bilbao.

And on Sunday it was time for the main course, as they attended the LALIGA EA Sports Matchday 27 game at San Mames pitting Athletic Club against FC Barcelona in the fight for a place in Europe next season. Although the rain in Bilbao over the weekend did not translate into a flood of goals, the goalless draw was the least important aspect of an experience in the magical atmosphere of San Mames and surrounded by the charms of Bilbao. The LALIGA experience roared back to life during its stopover at the Cathedral of Football.