DERMOT CORRIGAN: San Mames deserved a better goodbye

Friday night’s last ever Basque derby to be held at Athletic Bilbao’s Estadio San Mames should have been a celebration of La Catedral’s 100-year history, but instead turned into yet another low point in one of the club’s worst seasons.

Real Sociedad deservedly won 3-1, sinking Marcelo Bielsa’s side, who thrilled neutrals throughout Europe just 12 months ago, even deeper into the gloom.

The old ground, opened in industrial Bilbao in 1913, had seen better nights. The first derby against swankier neighbours Real Sociedad, from along the coast in San Sebastian, came in February 1914. Athletic won 3-2, with the stadium’s first goal fittingly scored by legendary striker Rafael Moreno ‘Pichichi’, whose name lives on in the trophy given to La Liga’s top goalscorer each season.