Legends of the BASQUE DERBY

Telmo Zarra (Athletic Club, 1940-1955)

Until Lionel Messi came along, surpassing his record in 2014, Telmo Zarra held the record for being the top goalscorer in Spanish football thanks to his 15 wonderful years wearing the red and white stripes of Athletic Club. He saved some of his very best football for the big occasions, including the BASQUE DERBY against Real Sociedad. His tally of 14 goals is the record for this fixture in LALIGA history, even going as far as scoring five goals in a 7-1 victory over La Real in the 1950/51 LALIGA season, the biggest victory ever in this derby’s history no matter the team.

Jesús Satrustegui (Real Sociedad, 1973-1986)

The man who shares the record for overall goals in this fixture is Jesús Satrustegui, who netted 14 times among all competitions – but only 13 in LALIGA, one fewer than Zarra – across the 1970s and 1980s. The striker scored twice in each of Real Sociedad’s derby victories of the 1980/81 season (a 4-1 win at home and 2-0 win away) as the team from San Sebastián won their first ever league championship, one which they retained the following year. 

Nihat Kahveci (Real Sociedad, 2002-2006)

Turkish forward Nihat Kahveci only spent three and a half seasons at Real Sociedad but quickly became a legend at the Reale Arena due to his knack for scoring important BASQUE DERBY goals. Across just seven derbies he conjured up seven goals and lifelong memories.

Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad, 2009-2014)

Before joining Atlético de Madrid, Antoine Griezmann made his name at Real Sociedad and enjoyed a lot of success in the derbies he contested. He didn’t taste defeat in any of his last four derby games against Athletic Club, winning three and drawing one, scoring in each of those three wins. Since then, he’s become a global star, but it all began at La Real. 

Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Club, 2002-2004, 2006-2008 and 2012-2020)

Over three separate stints, Aritz Aduriz became a fixture in this encounter, writing his name into the history books by scoring six goals across more than a decade of derbies. Sadly, his premature retirement in the spring of 2020 came before he had the chance to play in his last derby: the 2020 Copa del Rey final, postponed until 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.