Athletic Club, known as Athletic Bilbao, is a professional football club, based in the city of Bilbao, in the Basque Country (Spain).
They are known as Los Leones (The Lions) because their stadium was built near a church called San Mamés (Saint Mammes). Mammes was an early Christian thrown to the lions by the Romans. Mammes pacified the lions and was later made a saint.
Athletic Bilbao have won La Liga on 8 occasions, fourth most in the history of the league. In the table of Copa del Rey titles, Athletic is second only to Barcelona, having won it 23 times.