Unai Simón’s late save headlines Athletic’s 2-1 Basque derby win at San Mamés

Unai Simón produced a series of decisive saves as Athletic Club beat Real Sociedad 2-1 at San Mamés in the Basque derby on Sunday, capping a week that included him receiving the Lev Yashin trophy at the Ballon d’Or ceremony on Monday.

Simón had been applauded twice in six days — at the London Palladium on Monday and again before kick-off at San Mamés — and the ovations continued after his intervention in Bilbao, where 50,092 spectators filled the stadium the club’s supporters call the Cathedral. Named the best men’s goalkeeper on the planet and holding the Lev Yashin trophy, he entered the derby amid heightened attention following his acceptance speech at the Ballon d’Or.

With 72 minutes played and Athletic leading 2-1, Simón produced a save to deny Carlos Soler as the ball flew off his palm and San Mamés erupted; the crowd then began clapping and did not stop for about a minute. That stop was the final of four stands-out saves that night and came as Real Sociedad were pressing for an equaliser, leaving the stadium briefly focused on the goalkeeper rather than the match.

Earlier, immediately after Luka Sucic had made it 1-1, Simón stopped a sequence of attempts in a six-minute spell: he saved from Ander Barrenetxea on 33, Sucic on 34 and Mikel Oyarzabal on 38, then carried the ball forward and dribbled past Oyarzabal on 40. Those interventions helped preserve Athletic’s advantage after Iñaki Williams and Álex Berenguer had put Athletic 2-1 ahead.

The victory ended Real Sociedad’s run of four consecutive derby wins and was described by the referee as "a typical derby: hard but noble too." Athletic’s coach, Edin Terzic, said: "We already knew. If anyone [else] had any questions about the trophy, those can be put aside now." Later, after the match, Terzic relayed praise he had received: "What a goalkeeper you have!" Terzic was told. "The best in the world," he said.

Simón’s week also included the Ballon d’Or stage where, having been a World Cup winner and a tournament record breaker, he had said in New Jersey: "If my gloves could talk they would say they didn’t have to do much." His Palladium speech was delivered without notes, ran to 491 words and lasted two minutes and 21 seconds, and paid tribute to his cuadrilla, the partner he described as an "oasis of calm", his parents, the goalkeepers he shared the World Cup with and friends including Óscar De Marcos, Iñigo Lekue and Gorka Guruzeta.

A product of Athletic’s academy who joined the club at 14, Simón is in his ninth season with the first team. In the summer of 2018, aged 21 and fourth choice, he went on loan to Elche; Chelsea signed Kepa Arrizabalaga, Iago Herrerín was injured and contract talks with Álex Remiro stalled, leading to Remiro’s move to Real Sociedad and Athletic recalling Simón from Elche. "Sometimes you need some luck; that was mine," Simón says. He had not played a competitive game for Elche before the recall; within three days he had played his first match for Athletic and has played almost 300 since.

Simón reflected on the club and his career in other remarks reported that night: "In the first few years we had to eat shit, we had bad moments. But even then – even then – there’s something," he says. He recalled guiding Julen Agirrezabala from the bench through the shootout that delivered Athletic’s Copa del Rey in 2024 and accepted the significance of winning the Zamora award when Ernesto Valverde told him it mattered "for the club." He added that one of the best things about winning Euro 2024 with Spain was that it shows academy players they can remain at clubs like Athletic, a point he extended to his friend Mikel Oyarzabal at Real Sociedad.

Match reports and reactions underlined the scale of Simón’s display: Sport called him "Enormous", El Mundo Deportivo said "gigantic" and Real’s Jon Aramburu commented, "That’s why he won the trophy." After the final whistle, players and fans sang Mikel Laboa’s Txoria txori together and Simón said: "It’s lovely," he said. "Because they identify with this team, they’re proud of us."