The Spirit of Athletic Club’s La Catedral, the Iconic San Mamés Stadium.
Dutch street photographer Kevin Westhoeve has an eye for telling stories through his camera, and his latest photo series masterfully captures the essence of Bilbao on a matchday. Focusing on the iconic San Mamés Stadium and the Basque streets that surround it, Westhoeve brings to life the deep connection between Athletic Club, its fans, and the city itself. The series encapsulates the fusion of stunning modern architecture, historical Basque identity, and passion for football.
Bilbao, the largest city in Spain’s Basque Country, boasts a rich industrial heritage, yet it is also a city that has embraced modernity. Athletic Club, founded in 1898, is a cornerstone of the city’s identity. Known for its unique philosophy of fielding only players of Basque heritage, the club represents the pride and resilience of the Basque people.
At the heart of the city lies San Mamés Stadium, affectionately known as “La Catedral.” First opened in 1913, the original San Mamés hosted over a century of football history before being replaced by the current state-of-the-art stadium in 2013. With its sleek, illuminated façade, San Mamés is a modern architectural marvel and a fitting home for a club steeped in tradition.
“Football is a universal language which transcends any language barriers. The rules are the same all around the world, everyone is familiar with it, making it not only a sport, but a hugely interesting sociological phenomenon!”
Kevin Westhoeve
For Ajax supporter Kevin, a trip to Bilbao offered an opportunity to document the vibrancy of a city on matchday. His images not only showcase the breathtaking architecture of San Mamés but also the pulsating atmosphere surrounding Athletic Club’s La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid.
“I’m a medical student from the Netherlands, and currently live in Amsterdam, outside of my studies I’m a passionate photographer and football nerd.
I support Ajax, I’ve been supporting them since I was about 8-10 years old. My family wasn’t into football, but one of my best friends from elementary school was a passionate Ajax fan, so he converted me!
Ajax for me is the perfect embodiment of the city of Amsterdam. The club is always innovative, always able to reinvent itself, able to produce greatness with own resources and always believing in a philosophy. There’s few other clubs with such a strong identity, whether that’s the unique shirt, the recently re-adopted historic logo, playing style, vision on youth development, et cetera. On the stands, I love the fact that the street sweepers and standing side a side with the rich kids, just like on the streets of our city.
As I regularly go to Ajax games, I don’t know any better than to go to matches and be surrounded by football culture. As a passionate traveller, I am always interested in seeing football culture around the globe to see how it is perceived and experienced in different regions of the world. This grew naturally, but the defining moment that locked me into (photographing) football culture was witnessing the 2022 World Cup in Argentina, including the final. I get goosebumps even when I think about it two years later!
“As a passionate traveller, I am always interested in seeing football culture around the globe to see how it is perceived and experienced in different regions of the world.“
Kevin Westhoeve
Whenever I visit different places around the world, I instinctively try to visit stadiums or games, so did I in Bilbao. As an adopted Atletico Madrid supporter (shoutout to Nico, Luis and Gonzalo) I was very lucky that Athletic Bilbao was playing them in the week I was in Bilbao. I arrived on matchday, and at first glance I could already see loads of Bilbao shirts in the city, showing how much this club means to the people. There seemed to be a general happy and positive atmosphere, even the rain- and thunderstorm an hour before kickoff could not change that. I tried to capture what a matchday looks like in Bilbao, not just the game but also the hours before and after that.
I’ve been taking photos since I was 13 years old. It was only since a few years since I started combining these two passions. The work of Gabriel Uchida and Pancho Monti greatly inspired me to do similar things. Also I somewhat envy Feyenoord fans with the way Willem de Kam captures them, he is such a talented guy!
Just like music, football is a universal language which transcends any language barriers. The rules are the same all around the world, everyone is familiar with it, making it not only a sport, but a hugely interesting sociological phenomenon! “
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