Unai Simón, Nico Williams, Aymeric Laporte receive ovation before La Liga match

San Mamés did what San Mamés does best on August 22: it roared. Unai Simón, Nico Williams, and Aymeric Laporte walked onto the pitch in Bilbao alongside the FIFA World Cup trophy, and the standing ovation that followed was the kind of noise that makes stadium architects nervous.

The pre-match ceremony took place before Athletic Club’s La Liga jornada 2 fixture against Sevilla, marking the first time the trio appeared at their home ground since helping Spain lift their second World Cup title on July 19.

A World Cup summer to remember

Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in extra time at MetLife Stadium to claim the trophy. Ferran Torres found the net in the 106th minute, converting from a Nico Williams assist to settle an otherwise deadlocked final.

Simón, Athletic’s goalkeeper, was rewarded with the Golden Glove after allowing just one goal across the entire competition.

Rodri claimed the Golden Ball as the tournament’s outstanding player. Williams provided the assist on the biggest stage imaginable, Simón’s gloves were essentially vacuum-sealed, and Laporte anchored the backline that made it all possible.

The three players returned to Athletic Club training on August 10, roughly three weeks after the final.

San Mamés honors its own

Luis de la Fuente, Spain’s national team coach and the architect of the World Cup campaign, was also recognized during the ceremony. De la Fuente is a former Athletic player himself, which made the homecoming feel less like a formality and more like a family reunion.

The event also included a moment of silence for Carmelo Cedrún, a former Athletic Club goalkeeper who passed away.

What this means for Athletic’s La Liga campaign

The timing of the World Cup, held in the summer of 2026 across the US, Mexico, and Canada, compressed the pre-season schedule for clubs with heavy international representation. Athletic’s La Liga season is already underway at jornada 2, with the World Cup heroes having had barely two weeks of full training before competitive action resumed.

Manager Edin Terzić faces the classic post-tournament puzzle: integrating players who spent their summer in high-stakes knockout football while the rest of the squad went through a conventional pre-season.

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