The term Basque derbies refers to the various local derbies between the football teams based in the Basque Country. Sometimes it can also refer to teams only part of the Basque Autonomous Community in Spain, which excludes teams from the French Basque Country and Navarre, most notably Osasuna. It specifically refers to individual matches between the teams, but can also be used to describe the general ongoing rivalry between the clubs and fans.
Background
As of the 2025–26 season, there are four clubs in La Liga that play in the Basque Country area. The major rivalry is between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad, representing their home provinces of Biscay and Gipuzkoa, known as 'the' Basque derby, which has been played over 140 times in the league alone. They also met in the 2020 Copa del Rey Final, won by Real Sociedad after being postponed for a year.
The third club, Deportivo Alavés, has not won any major honours, coming closest by finishing runners-up in the 2000–01 UEFA Cup and the 2016–17 Copa del Rey. The Babazorros, based in the regional capital Vitoria-Gasteiz, have spent 16 seasons in the top division across their history (they formed in 1921). Alavés were the highest-ranked Basque team for the first time in 1999–2000 when they finished 6th, and repeated the feat two years later with 7th place.
A dramatic match between Alavés and Real Sociedad took place in June 2008 at Mendizorrotza, with both clubs involved in battles at either end of the second division table going into the penultimate round. Real looked to have done enough to secure a win until the final minutes when two late goals turned the result (3–2) and gave Alavés all three points, which proved crucial as they escaped relegation by one point; Real Sociedad finished fourth and missed out on promotion. Nine years earlier, with both teams in the top tier, Alavés had again stayed clear of the drop zone with a 2–1 win at home to Real Sociedad on the last day.
The fourth club is Club Atlético Osasuna based in the province of Navarre. The Rojillos have spent 44 seasons in the top flight, with their best La Liga finishes being fourth place in 1990–91 and 2005–06, and have twice finished runners-up in the Copa del Rey, in 2004–05 and 2022–23. Their long-standing rivalry with Athletic Club dates back to 1923, when the two first met at San Mamés; they have since faced each other 199 times in official matches and friendlies.
A fifth club, SD Eibar, was also a fixture in the top division for much of the 2010s. A smaller organisation historically than Álaves reflected in fanbase and stadium, their home town of Eibar has a population of under 30,000 and is located midway between Bilbao and San Sebastián with many of the residents supporting either Athletic or Real Sociedad. The club's first ever campaign in the Primera was in 2014–15 (they clinched their promotion the previous year with a 1–0 win over Alavés which also seemed destined to relegate their opponent, though ultimately Alavés won their final two games and stayed up by one point). Despite finishing the first campaign in a relegation place after a dramatic final day,Eibar left with a bitter taste after suffering relegation from La Liga. Sid Lowe, The Guardian. 25 May 2015 they were reprieved due to another club's administrative demotion. Their stadium is of a modest stature (Ipurua holds just over 7,000 even after improvements since the Armeros remained in the top division). Despite these limitations, Eibar's 9th place in the 2017–18 La Liga campaign made them the highest-ranking Basque club for the first time ever. Their top-division run eventually halted at the end of their seventh season in 2020–21.Soccer-Eibar relegated from La Liga with defeat at Valencia. Reuters. 16 May 2021
Having never previously met in a competitive match during their 70-year coexistence, Eibar (then in the third tier, although they would gain promotion via the play-offs at the end of the season) achieved a shock victory in November 2012 when they eliminated Athletic Bilbao, the previous season's finalists, from the 2012–13 Copa del Rey on away goals; the Eibar scorer was Mikel Arruabarrena, an unsuccessful Athletic youth graduate. The second leg at the original San Mamés was also the last cup tie (of 268 in total) played at the stadium.
The relationship between Alavés and Eibar became more strained in 2017 when CD Vitoria, Eibar's recently incorporated farm team (based in Alavés' home town, previously an affiliate of that club and now competing directly with their reserve team) gained promotion and upgraded to municipally owned facilities in the city. A short time beforehand, Alavés had acquired the services of Eibar's youth academy director. With Alavés having also been relegated a year after Eibar in 2022, the two clubs both finished in the 2023 Segunda División play-offs positions and faced off in the semi-finals: Alavés prevailed over two legs, and then defeated Levante (the only goal scored in the last minute of extra time by Asier Villalibre, a loan player from Athletic) to secure promotion.Alaves' playoff promotion is a barely believable true story, Sid Lowe, ESPN, 18 June 2023
Other minor rivalries While they were minnows in La Liga, Eibar have been very much at the head of the food chain of small-town Basque football since the 1980s and have habitually competed at a higher level than their geographical neighbours from the territory's numerous inland mountain valley communities (Elgoibar, Lagun Onak, Amorebieta, Beasain, Durango, Tolosa, Mondragón, Bergara, Gernika, Anaitasuna and Aretxabaleta). Until their rapid rise to the top tier, Eibar's closest battle at a provincial level was with Real Unión from Irun – albeit the two towns are on opposite sides of Gipuzkoa – with both operating well below local heavyweights Real Sociedad in the regional pecking order and on friendly terms with them due to the clear disparity in their statures. Amorebieta gained promotion to the second tier in 2020–21SD Amorebieta make history with promotion to LaLiga SmartBank, La Liga website, 21 May 2021 – their organisational stature is reflected in the fact that their Urritxe ground had such basic facilities that home fixtures had to be played at Lezama, Athletic's training centre and B-team ground. After being relegated immediately, they went up again in 2022–23 (coincidentally clinching the promotion against Athletic B at Lezama)El Amorebieta consuma otra gesta y asciende a Segunda [Amorebieta consummates another feat and is promoted to Segunda], Juanma Mallo, El Correo, 27 May 2023 (in Spanish) but then suffered consecutive relegations to the fourth level in 2024 and 2025.
Outside rivalries Something of a rivalry developed between Alavés and CD Mirandés during the 2010s due to the teams sharing divisions for much of the decade. However, while this is certainly a matter of local interest (the towns are about 30 km apart), it is not a Basque derby as Miranda de Ebro is just over the Álava border into the Province of Burgos (Castile–León region), therefore regional pride is at stake when the sides meet.
The regional dimension is also present when Athletic Bilbao meet the biggest club in the Cantabria region, Racing de Santander, but that historic and unpredictable rivalry, which has been referred to in the past as 'the duel of the North' is dormant as Racing have not played in the top tier since 2012; a cup tie in 2016 resulted in a straightforward Athletic win but fans of both teams were reminded of a previous meeting in 2008 when the opposite outcome occurred.
Historic clubs As well as the reserve teams of Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad (and sometimes Alavés), several smaller Basque teams play in the semi-professional fourth tier, third until 2021, which is organised on a regional basis; therefore local derbies occur between them regularly. The squads of these clubs are composed mainly of former Athletic and Real youth and reserve trainees who failed to make the grade at the top level.
Two of the teams, Real Unión and Arenas Club from Getxo, were among the strongest in Spain during the early decades of football in the country. Each won several editions of their respective regional tournaments in the 1910s and 1920s – Arenas battling with Athletic in the Biscay Championship and Real Unión with Real Sociedad in the Gipuzkoa Championship – and also appeared in a number of Copa del Rey finals: Arenas played in four, winning one (1919), while Real Unión were victorious in four of their five finals. Their last win in 1927 was against Arenas, with the match in Zaragoza being one of the first to be broadcast over radio; this is the only all-Basque Copa final which did not involve Athletic Bilbao.
Due to this strong performance, both were invited to participate in the inaugural season of La Liga in 1929, Real Unión surviving for the first four years of the competition and Arenas for seven. Due to the small scale of the clubs and the communities they represented, they were soon overshadowed by big-city teams as the game became professionalised and spread in popularity around the country. Neither Arenas nor Real Unión would appear again in the top division or make it back to the cup final beyond the 1930s, although they have survived into the 21st century competing at lower levels. Real Unión had a brief experience in the 2009–10 Segunda División, and when a new third level of 40 teams – Primera División RFEF – was created in 2021, they were one of the few from the territory to be included, along with Athletic Bilbao B. On the other hand, participation at a higher level increased: three Basque teams would be involved in 2021–22 Segunda División (from there being none the previous season) as Eibar's relegation coincided with the promotion of Amorebieta (for the first time ever)¡La SD Amorebieta asalta el Nuevo Vivero y hace historia! [SD Amorebieta assaults the Nuevo Vivero and makes history!], RFEF (in Spanish), 22 May 2021 and Real Sociedad B, after an absence of 59 years.La Real Sociedad 'B' regresa a Segunda División sesenta años después (1-2) [Real Sociedad 'B' returns to the Second Division sixty years later (1-2)], RFEF (in Spanish), 22 May 2021
The Basque team which spent the most time in the second division without ever being promoted – 28 seasons – is Barakaldo, and from the 1990s to the 2020s they were also almost perpetually in the third tier. They are one of a number of teams from the settlements lining either bank of the Estuary of Bilbao north of the city proper, along with Arenas and others including Erandio (who also faded from a greater prominence in the game's early decades), Portugalete, Sestao, Santurtzi and Leioa.
Players and managers
The canteras (youth academies) of Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad have been analysed as being among the most productive in Europe,Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad: How La Real's trust in youth is paying off, Alex Bysouth, BBC Sport, 29 December 2020 with the vast majority of the players originating from the Basque region (population approximately three million). By contrast, Alavés and Eibar have used few locals in their periods of relative success due to there being an insufficient number Basque players of the required quality – almost all who show potential at a young age are recruited by the larger duo; over the decades there is a regular pattern of Alavés losing emerging talent to Athletic, including Zubizarreta, Estíbariz, Karanka, de Marcos and Vesga.