LaLiga clubs will pay tribute to one of the greatest in LaLiga history this weekend, as goalkeepers across Spanish football’s top two divisions will wear black to honour Athletic Club legend José Ángel Iribar on his 80th birthday. Iribar played 466 matches in LaLiga Santander for Los Leones between 1962 and 1980, making 614 appearances for the club in all competitions.
The landmark birthday of a club legend was already a day Athletic Club had been looking forward to for a long time, but the club suggested extending the tribute to other clubs to extend its reach. Iribar was famous for playing in an all-black strip during his playing career, and fittingly this weekend LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank goalkeepers will wear black kits in his honour.
LaLiga and the Technical Committee of Referees have also come to one side, permitting goalkeepers on opposing sides to wear the same colour in an exception to existing regulations which forbid matching colours on opposing sides. If for whatever reason a goalkeeper is unable to play in black, Athletic Club have suggested that they should wear back in the official pre-match photo.
A fitting tribute to a true great of Spanish football.
