Watch as Athletic Bilbao players celebrated ending their 40-year trophy drought on a barge called “La Gabarra”.
Hundreds of thousands of supporters were expected to line the banks of Bilbao’s River Nervion on Thursday 11 April to watch the celebrations.
The Spanish side beat Mallorca 4-2 on penalties on Saturday to win the Copa del Rey title – their first since 1984 – ending a four-decade wait for silverware in a nerve-wracking final in Seville.
Athletic have been through years of heartache, having lost their previous six consecutive Spanish cup finals and a Europa League final to Atletico Madrid in 2012.
But roared on by around 50,000 fans who swarmed Seville and outnumbered Mallorca’s supporters at a sold-out La Cartuja stadium which holds 60,000 spectators, the club put all their trauma behind them to pull out the long-awaited victory in a hard-fought final.
The game had finished 1-1 after extra time, before 23-year-old keeper Julen Agirrezabala, who made a couple of brilliant saves during the game, saved one spot kick in the shootout.
