Athletic plays a match every five days or so.

Athletic began their campaign on Sunday, August 17th with Sevilla’s visit to San Mamés, before playing their final game of 2025 on Monday, December 22nd, also at home against Espanyol. A total of 25 matches were played over 128 days, with an average of one match every just over five days, with three interruptions of competition due to the corresponding FIFA periods: 6th and 7th September, 11th and 12th October, and 15th and 16th November.

The team reached its peak of the season against Atlético and four days later against PSG in Round 5 of the Champions League. So the Lions seemed to take flight, but then came a bad game in Vigo, a difficult passage to the cup round, and a loss to the Parakeets.

“It was a blow. We wanted to focus on our place in Europe. It was a tough night. We couldn’t finish this year the way we wanted. We have challenges in 2026,” he said. Inaki Williams In the San Mamés press room after the loss to the Catalans.

Yesterday, the red and white team began a six-day mini-vacation, returning to Lezama in preparation for the first event of 2026, the visit to Osasuna for the final match of the first round of league matches, ending on Monday the 29th. The players need to be mentally prepared ahead of a very competitive January with four competitions – three league games, one or two games depending on whether the Super Cup final is played, one cup game and two Champions League games. The captain demanded, “We need to recover, disconnect, and grit our teeth when we come back. From the 29th, we want you to reset your mind and come back.”