On the final weekend of the 2024/25 Spanish top flight season, LLE headed to Bilbao to take in Athletic Club’s clash with Barcelona thanks to Sorare.
The newly-crowned champions won the game 3-0, and we were treated to a Sorare VIP experience which included a stadium tour, hospitality and tickets with a great view of a match which featured some of the best young players in Europe, including the likes of Pedri, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams.
For those unaware, Sorare is a global fantasy football game where managers can compete for prizes ranging from in-game player cards and cash rewards, to real-world experiences similar to this one.
Sorare VIP experience – Stadium tour
The Sorare VIP experience began two hours before kick-off, with a guided tour of sections of San Mames that are usually inaccessible to supporters.
That included a walk along the perimeter of the pitch, taking in the dugouts and Athletic’s famous Pichichi statue, in honour of their free-scoring forward who shone for the club during its glorious early years in the 1910s and 1920s.
To this day, the top-scoring player in LaLiga is rewarded with the Pichichi Trophy and the bust of arguably the first true Basque and Spanish football superstar continues to look on over events on the pitch at Athletic’s magnificent modern home.
The tour continued with exclusive access to the arrival point of the two teams, and we were able to see the Athletic players getting off the team bus from just a few metres away, before heading towards the changing rooms.
We were also able to check out some of the media areas, such as the press conference room where players and coaches face questioning from the media.
The VIP area
San Mames is only 12 years old and while it’s well known for creating one of the best atmospheres in LaLiga, there is a small hospitality tier, between the two main tiers, which completely encircles the pitch and offers some of the best views in the house.
Anyone seated in that section, can also get access to an extensive VIP area which also runs right around the stadium featuring various different lounges and sections serving drinks and the best in Basque cuisine.
With our Sorare tickets, we were able to enjoy as much buffet-style food as we wanted, with alcoholic beverages also served before the game.
The VIP sections were relatively busy, with this one of the biggest games on the San Mames calendar, between two of the best four teams in LaLiga this season. The walls in those areas are decorated with a range of memorabilia and photos from one of the most historic and unique clubs in world football, so you can get a feel for Athletic’s history and special identity as you move around.
Pitchside access
The Sorare LaLiga VIP experience continued with a return to the side of the pitch to watch the warm-ups as the two teams geared up for the very final match of the entire season in the Primera Division.
While, for obvious reasons, there are restrictions that prevent you going onto the pitch itself, it was still an opportunity to be closer to some of LaLiga’s biggest stars than would ever be possible with regular match or even regular hospitality tickets.
This may not be a feature of all Sorare experiences, which will vary depending on where the game is taking place and the policies of the clubs and leagues involved, but the opportunity to watch the warm-ups from the side of the pitch, while the stadium was starting to fill up, added to the VIP feel of the whole affair.
The game – Athletic Club 0-3 Barcelona
For the game itself, we had front-row seats in the small, middle VIP/hospitality section of San Mames which only consists of a few rows, but stretches around the whole stadium.
It offered a cracking view of the game at Athletic’s iconic home which had hosted the Europa League final only a few days earlier. While there was nothing riding on this particular match, the atmosphere was still electric early on, with the home fans paying tribute to right-back Oscar De Marcos in his final match as a professional footballer after 16 years at the club.
Los Leones had only lost one of their previous 36 home games in LaLiga, but Barca proved two strong on the night, and there was little doubt about the likely outcome after the opening 20 minutes which saw Robert Lewandowski score two quick-fire goals as the Catalans assumed control.
Athletic did have their opportunities, with Spain international Nico Williams pressing and probing on the left flank, while Maroan Sannadi got into plenty of good positions, but lacked conviction in front of goal.
The hosts also frequently fell victims to Barca’s offside trap, and in the end, the game finished with a 3-0 scoreline in favour of Hansi Flick’s side, with Dani Olmo coming off the bench to convert a 94th-minute penalty with the final kick of the game.
Few of the 50,000 fans packed inside San Mames departed at full-time, with the locals still mostly in good spirits despite the defeat, and eager to pay homage to De Marcos and their team at the end of a successful season, with Athletic having already secured Champions League qualification.
While we were also able to return to the hospitality areas and grab some more food at half-time, the experience ended after the game, after more than four hours inside one of the best modern stadiums in European football.
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