In the Athletic Museum, in the guts of San Mamés, there is a space reserved for small jewels of teams and footballers who once visited the Atletico stadium or historical rivals. Among the most recent pieces, one of the most symbolic is the shirt that Ryan Giggs wore on March 8, 2012. On that day, Athletic conquered Old Trafford in the eighths of the Europa League, as a previous step to the final of the tournament that ended up losing against Atlético in Bucharest.

Since that tie, Manchester United became a benchmark in the recent history of Athletic and also, as a symbol, Giggs, already a veteran. Eight years later, the rojiblanco club pays tribute to the Welsh winger. It will be he who receives, when possible, the One Club Man award with which Athletic recognizes each year a footballer who chose to develop his entire professional career in the same club, the ideal to which the Basque entity aspires for its footballers.

Giggs' merits are indisputable: 963 games in 24 seasons with United, winning two Champions (1999, 2008) and 13 Premier Leagues. Along with the Welsh, she has also been awarded as One Club Woman Pia Wunderlich , footballer for Frankfurt for 16 years (1993-2009), as well as world champion and triple European champion with the German team.

Little change with Elizegi

The One Club Player Award (its generic name) was created in 2015 as a way to recognize players who have always shown fidelity to the same colors. During its first four years of life, it was men who received it. Matt Le Tissier (Southampton) in 2015, Paolo Maldini (Milan) in 2016, Sepp Maier (Bayern) in 2017 and Carles Puyol (Barcelona) in 2018.

Starting in 2019, and after the change in the club's presidency due to the departure of Josu Urrutia and the electoral victory of Aitor Elizegi , Athletic chose to award two awards each year, one to a man and the other to a woman. Last year, the chosen ones were the Scottish Billy McNeill (Celtic), who died before he could collect the award) and the Swedish Malin Moström (Umea).

Traditionally, the winners come to Bilbao to collect their distinction during an Athletic match in San Mamés. Since the circumstances make any tribute impossible at the moment, the rojiblanco club has decided to postpone the physical delivery until the public returns to the stands.

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