What sport do the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs play?

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership, as well as the New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions.

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

The club was admitted to the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership, predecessor of the current NRL competition, in 1935. They won their first premiership in their fourth year of competition with another soon after, and after spending the 1950s and most of the 1960s on the lower rungs went through a very strong period in the 1980s, winning four premierships in that decade.

Known briefly in the 1990s as the Sydney Bulldogs, as a result of the Super League war the club competed in that competition in 1997 before changing their name to the geographically indistinct Bulldogs and continuing to play every season of the re-unified NRL, winning their most recent premiership in 2004. In 2012 the Bulldogs won the minor premiership, but lost to the Melbourne Storm 14–4 in the Grand Final, in October. In 2014 they came from 7th to make the Grand Final against the Rabbitohs, but lost 30-6.

In 1935 – thirteen years after a meeting above "The Ideal Milk Bar" in Campsie led to the creation of the Canterbury-Bankstown Junior Rugby League – the Canterbury club was admitted into the elite New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership. It took the new club, nicknamed "Country Bumpkins" because of their rural recruiting and CB emblem, four years to win their first premiership in 1938. The grand final-winning effort was repeated in 1942 before a 38-year premiership drought.

In 1967, having ended the 11-year premiership reign of St. George by defeating them in the final, "The Berries" (as they were known at the time) lost to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the Grand Final. But the return to the top end of the table set the scene for off-field restructuring that laid the foundations for the club to become one of the most consistent achievers in the remaining decades of the 20th century.

In 1978 Canterbury became known as "The Bulldogs". Nicknames such as "Cantabs" "CBs" and "Berries" were seen to be "soft" and the club wanted something to signify determination and grit. A grand final appearance in 1979, followed by a grand final win in 1980 with a young, enthusiastic and free-running side dubbed "The Entertainers", was the beginning of a golden era that was to produce three more grand final wins in the 1980s: 1984, 1985 and 1988.
In the mid-1990s’ Super League war, the Bulldogs aligned themselves with the Super League competition, playing in the 1997 premiership season. In 1998 the Bulldogs came close to adding another premiership trophy after qualifying for the Grand Final where they met the Brisbane Broncos and lost 38–12. On the way to the 1998 Grand Final, the Bulldogs had two come-from-behind wins. The first was against the Newcastle Knights in the third week of the finals – behind 16–0 in the second half, they fought back to 16-all at full-time and went on to win in extra time. A week later they trailed Parramatta in the preliminary final by 16 points with 9 minutes remaining. Three tries and a conversion in the final minutes got them back level at 18-all, and the Bulldogs eventually went on to win.

Following indifferent form in 1999, 2000 and 2001 where they had varying levels of success, the club was found to have systematically and deliberately breached the NRL salary cap in 2002 (for the 2001–02 seasons), and was penalized all 37 competition points which it had amassed up to that point for 2002. This resulted in the club falling from first to last place on the ladder, and at the end of the season the Bulldogs received their first "wooden spoon" (a reference to the club which finishes last in the competition) since 1964.

The Bulldogs returned to finals contention in 2003, however they fell one step short of yet another Grand Final after losing to the Roosters 28–18 in the Preliminary Final.

The club went through some off-field dramas in 2004, the most serious of which included rape allegations during a pre-season match in Coffs Harbour. The team managed to focus on football and triumphed when they held out the Sydney Roosters 16–13 with a try-saving tackle by Andrew Ryan in the dying seconds of the 2004 Grand Final. The game was to be the last for departing captain Steve Price, but he missed the match due to a leg injury.

2005 saw the Bulldogs unable to mount a serious defence of their premiership title as injuries and contract negotiations saw the year start and finish on a sour note for the club. Due to the extent of injuries suffered, the team was under-strength for most of the year. This took its toll in the final six weeks of the season, with the club suffering successive heavy losses and missing the finals series. In 2006, little was expected from the club after a poor 2005 season, but despite some doubt over the strength of their side, the Bulldogs' forward pack helped them to a better than expected result for the year, finishing a game short of the Grand Final, losing to eventual premiers the Brisbane Broncos. Inconsistency and a poor finish to the 2007 season meant the Bulldogs were knocked out of the finals in week two.

In 2008, having already lost Mark O'Meley to the Sydney Roosters, Willie Mason left the club. Further into the off-season the Bulldogs also lost halfback Brent Sherwin, and prospects for the 2008 season began to look dim. Although they recorded at the start of the season a couple of victories, the injury toll and the departure Sonny Bill Williams mid-season demoralised the club and players, and the Bulldogs' earned their second wooden spoon of the decade.

Another source of discontent in 2008 was the battle for election to the football club board. Many contenders believed that the board of the time was steering the club in the wrong direction, particularly then-CEO Malcolm Noad. New members were elected to the board early in 2008, and later in the season Noad resigned as CEO. His replacement as head of the football club was Todd Greenberg.

Greenberg's influence became apparent during the 2009. Premiership-winning coach Steve Folkes was replaced with his assistant Kevin Moore. The purchases of several key players, including former Melbourne and Cronulla playmaker Brett Kimmorley changed the Bulldogs from a poorly run and poorly performing club to one of the best clubs both on and off the field in 2009. The Bulldogs finished second in the regular season (losing the minor premiership to the St George Illawarra Dragons due to a loss of two competition points for an interchange breach against Penrith in Round 2), and players and officials took out a number of Dally M awards. 2009 was also the final season for Hazem El Masri, who became the highest all-time pointscorer in Australian rugby league history with a penalty goal in the Bulldogs' Round 1 match against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

From 2010, the Bulldogs returned to the name Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. The Canterbury-Bankstown club celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2010.

In 2012 the Bulldogs finished first on the competition ladder to take out their first minor premiership since 1994. They made it to the Grand Final, losing to the Melbourne storm 14-4.

In May 2013, former Netball New Zealand chief executive Raelene Castle was appointed CEO, the first female in the NRL's history. They finished the regular season sixth on the ladder and bowed out in the semi final.

In 2014, the Bulldogs made history by winning three consecutive games by one point, from Round 5 to Round 7. They finished runners up to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the grand final.

On the 10th August 2017, the Bulldogs announced Rugby League World Cup CEO Andrew Hill as the replacement for outgoing boss Raelene Castle. On the appointment, chairman Ray Dib noted that “Andrew was appointed from a very strong list of candidates and has exceptional experience in the game of rugby league.”
In September 2017, Canterbury announced that former premiership winning player Dean Pay would be the new coach at the club starting in 2018.

The 2018 season started off badly for Canterbury with the club only winning 3 of its first 10 matches. In May 2018, the new Canterbury board admitted that they would not be able to make any major signings until the end of the 2021 season due the salary cap drama engulfing the club. The issue with the salary cap problems involved the previous administration and former coach Des Hasler who signed numerous players on back ended deals. In the wake of the scandal, the club was forced to offload players to free up room in the cap. This resulted in Moses Mbye departing for the Wests Tigers and star recruit Aaron Woods being sold to Cronulla after only signing with Canterbury months prior. On June 16, 2018, Canterbury suffered a humiliating 32-10 loss to the Gold Coast Titans at Belmore, in the press conference coach Dean Pay said “Physically, we just weren’t good enough. The way they turned up, the way they trained during the week wasn’t good enough, I feel sorry for the fans".
On 20 July 2018, Canterbury played against arch rivals Parramatta in what the media had dubbed as the "Spoon Bowl" with both sides sitting at the bottom of the ladder. There were fears before the game that the match would attract the lowest NRL crowd in over 20 years. Parramatta went on to win the match 14-8.
After the defeat to Parramatta, Canterbury were facing the prospect of finishing with the wooden spoon for the first time since 2008 but over the coming four weeks the club managed to pull off upset wins against the Wests Tigers, the Brisbane Broncos and St George to finish the season in 12th place.

On 3 September 2018, The Canterbury club found themselves in trouble with The NRL after it was revealed that players who had been celebrating mad monday were behaving badly. It was alleged that Canterbury players had been photographed stripping naked and one player vomiting in the street. NRL CEO Todd Greenberg issued a statement saying “We had a very detailed discussion with all 16 clubs and the eight clubs that weren’t playing, “There’s no doubt we’ll take some action, I’ve asked the club today for a report. I expect that report to be on our desk within 24 hours".
On 6 September 2018, The NRL handed Canterbury a $250,000 fine over the mad Monday incident with players Asipeli Fine and Adam Elliott both receiving a $25,000 fine (including $10,000 suspended) by the club. Elliott and Fine were also issued with court attendance notices for wilful and obscene exposure. Two other Canterbury players Marcelo Montoya and Zac Woolford also received fines of $10,000 each($5000 suspended).

The lower grades of Canterbury performed better in 2018 with the club winning the Intrust Super Premiership defeating Newtown 18-12 in the final and also winning the NRL State Championship defeating Redcliffe 42-18.

The name and emblem of the club has changed several times over its history. At the club's foundation in 1935, it was known only as 'Canterbury-Bankstown', without an animal mascot. The nicknames 'Berries' and 'C-Bs' (or, derisively, 'Country Bumpkins') were often used informally, 'C-Bs' being used from the outset and 'Berries' coming into use by the mid-1940s. The club had been referred to as the 'Bulldogs' as early as 1977. In 1978, the Bulldog mascot and name was adopted, with the club becoming known as the 'Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs'. This was the name used throughout the team's 1980s glory era. In 1995 the club name was changed to 'Sydney Bulldogs', reflecting a similar change by Eastern Suburbs (to 'Sydney City Roosters'). The name changed again in 1996, returning to 'Canterbury Bulldogs' with 'Bankstown' omitted, and yet again in 2000, to the geographically indistinct 'Bulldogs'. Bob Hagan, the club boss at the time of the 2000 change, explained that the dropping of the name 'Canterbury' was intended to broaden the appeal of the club outside of its traditional supporter base, so that the club could attract a geographically diverse following like Manchester United or the Chicago Bulls. Despite the name change, some supporters, as well as many television and radio commentators, continued to refer to the club as 'Canterbury'. In the most recent change, board officials voted in late 2009 for the club to return to 'Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' from the 2010 season onwards.

The initial crest was a 'C-B' in a shield. The adoption of the 'Bulldogs' name and mascot took place in 1978. There have been three main versions of the mascot logo. The first, which featured a snarling bulldog inside a circle, was replaced in 1998 by a more 'cartoonish' logo of a bulldog's head. In 2009, the club announced that the logo would be changing again, and asked members to vote on which of two similar proposed logos would be used from 2010. The rationale for the logo change was to celebrate the club's 75th anniversary in 2010 and to better reflect the club's "true essence and history". Two months later, the new design was unveiled, with the official change of logo taking place in November 2009. The current logo returns to the standing bulldog of the 1978–1997 logo, although it is no longer snarling. It also references elements of the club's history by incorporating the 'C-B' emblem, the club's year of foundation (1935), and the blue and white 'V' design which has featured on many of the club's jerseys over the years. The change of name from 'Bulldogs' to 'Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' took place after the new logo was unveiled.

The Bulldogs have played in predominantly blue and white strip since the club entered the league in 1935. The only exception to this was during the Second World War, when rationing meant they had to wear a maroon jersey with a blue 'V'.

There have been three basic strip designs since the club's inception in the top flight league competition:
This design had blue and white irregular stripes worn with black shorts.
The irregular strip has been used recently in occasional 'heritage' matches (e.g. Heritage round in 2008 vs St George-Illawarra)
White shirt with blue V, blue shorts.
The current "away" strip has blue shorts, but features a blue shirt with white V.
This reverted to the 'V Strip' from 1974 onwards.

In their inaugural season, very few home matches were allocated to the Canterbury-Bankstown club. However, when the opportunity arose the club took their matches to either Marrickville or Pratten Park. From the following season, the club began to base itself at Belmore Sports Ground. The club had a long-time affinity with the ground and stayed there continuously until 1994.

In 1995 when the Super League War began to come about, the club changed its playing name to the "Sydney Bulldogs" in an attempt to broaden its fan base and played matches at Parramatta Stadium where spectator facilities were of a higher class. This move paid off with the club going on to become premiers that season. However, the club reverted its name to Canterbury for the 1996 season and once again played matches out of Belmore Sports Ground; something that lasted up until the inaugural National Rugby League season of 1998.
Once the new Stadium Australia had been finished and opened in preparation for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the club began to play matches there between 1999 and 2000. From 2001 to 2005, the club then began to play matches out of the new Sydney Showground at Homebush Bay, with bigger matches played out of the then-Telstra Stadium from 2003. When fans began to complain about the poor quality of the Showground venue as a rugby league ground, the club eventually decided to move all future home matches to the Stadium, where the club remains. In 2008, Telstra Stadium became known as ANZ Stadium due to a naming rights change.

The club's training and administration offices remained at Belmore Sports Ground until the beginning of 2008, but were relocated to Sydney Olympic Park during the 2008 season. With the NSW Government committing to upgrading Belmore Sports Ground, the club administration and training has now been returned to the historical ground after a $9 million upgrade.

In 2015, the club played 2 home games at their traditional home ground Belmore Sports Ground as part of the club's 80th anniversary celebrations and continue to play some games at Belmore ever since.

The Bulldogs Army is the core supporter group for the Bulldogs, with the section they sit within known as 'The Kennel'. To be sitting in this section, supporters must become a member of the club itself and register any large flags and/or banners which are brought to the game. At all away games the Bulldogs Army locates themselves in the general admission section. The main aim of the Bulldogs Army is to show support and passion for the Bulldogs.

As the region's traditional local representatives, the Bulldogs predominantly draw on a support base in and around the districts of Canterbury and Bankstown in south-western Sydney, although in recent years club administration and home matches have relocated to Sydney Olympic Park. The Bulldogs are the most supported NRL club in regional NSW – over 25% of Bulldog fans are located in regional NSW, over 25% are located outside of NSW and over 10% are located in QLD The club has one of the highest average attendances in the league: over the 2010 season, it was one of only two clubs to record an average home crowd of more than 20,000.

The multicultural demographics of the suburbs in the club's support base, such as Lakemba, means the club has a large number of supporters from a range of non-Anglo ethnicities. In recent years the club has become particularly identified in the media with the Lebanese and the Greek community, particularly with the club's former star goalkicker Hazem El Masri, who migrated from Lebanon as a young child. The Greek community has a huge history of Greeks playing for the club dating back to the 1970s with club legend George Peponis,who migrated from Greece as a very young child who captained the Bulldogs and Australia. El Masri retired at the end of the 2009 season.

The Canterbury League Club is the licensed club of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Canterbury League Club first opened its doors for trade in September 1956 to service the needs of the football club and local community. The Salvation Army Hall became the first venue of the Canterbury League Club. Sixty people would fill the venue on a busy night.

In the first two years of trade the Club was outgrowing itself and in 1960 the Club moved its premises to Bridge St which allowed the League Club to grow as well as cater for patron parking.

During the 90s Canterbury managed one of the most successful league clubs in NSW and was quickly becoming known as one of the most progressive leisure facilities in Australia. With trade booming and patronage at an all-time high, the Club extended its trading to 24-hour trading.

In 2000, the Board had approved major renovations. The renovations started in 2000 and in 2002 the Banyan Brasserie, Dynasty Restaurant, new foyer, level 1 and health club were opened to the public.

The Club also amalgamated with Lakemba Services Memorial Club (2008) & Belfield RSL (2013).

Canterbury League Club has since become one of Sydney's premier hospitality destinations with 5-star amenities including three restaurants, two coffee shops, multiple bars and entertainment lounges and a 24-hour health club.

Hazem El Masri holds the NRL record for the most games played for the club, having made 317 appearances in total.

Hazem El Masri also holds records for the most points scored, the most tries scored and the most points scored for the Bulldogs. Since his debut in 1996, he has scored a total of 2,418 points – which is also a competition record for Rugby League in Australia. Former player Daryl Halligan, who retired with the club in 2000, had previously held the competition record for most points scored with 2,034, which included points scored whilst at his former club the North Sydney Bears.

The club's largest win occurred in 1995 when they played as the "Sydney Bulldogs." In a match against the newly formed North Queensland Cowboys, the Bulldogs won 66–4. In the club's first season in 1935 they were subject to the two heaviest defeats in competition history two weeks in succession. Firstly, they lost to St. George 91–6 and the following week to Eastern Suburbs 87–7. However, despite these big losses, the club was able to secure their first premiership 3 years later in 1938 in the Grand Final against Eastern Suburbs; at the same time setting the record for becoming the quickest non-foundation club to win a title. This record was not broken until 1999.

In 2002, the club won 17 matches in a row after getting beaten by New Zealand Warriors; falling just two short of the record set by the Eastern Suburbs team of 1975.

In Round 7 of the 2014 season, after beating the South Sydney Rabbitohs 15–14, the Bulldogs became the first club to win three consecutive matches by 1 point. They went on to be runners up to South Sydney Rabbitohs in the grandfinal.

In April 2015, the Bulldogs played the Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium in front of 40,523 spectators.

On 1 August 2015, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs announced a "Team of the Decade" to celebrate their 80th anniversary.

Gains

Out
Junior Representative Honours:

Jersey Flegg Premiers: 1963, 1971, 1976, 1979, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003.

SG Ball Premiers: 1972, 1978, 2009.

Harold Matthews Premiers: 2007, 2009, 2011

Current Canterbury-Bankstown junior clubs are:


When was Athletic Bilbao established?

Meanwhile, sons of the Basque educated classes had made the opposite journey and went to Britain to complete their studies in civil engineering and commerce. While in the United Kingdom, these students developed an interest in football and on their return to Bilbao they began to arrange games with British workers. In 1898, students belonging to the Gymnasium Zamacois founded the "Athletic Club", using the English spelling. In 1901, a meeting was held in the Café García, which established more formal rules and regulations. In 1902, the two Bilbao clubs formed a combined team, known as "Bizcaya", in the first Copa del Rey. They returned with the trophy after defeating Barcelona in the final. This would lead to the eventual merger of the two clubs as "Athletic Club" in 1903. In the same year, Basque students also formed "Athletic Club Madrid"; this club later evolved into Atlético Madrid. The club's foundation date is a subject of debate among football historians. The club itself declares 1898, but others claim 1901 or 1903 as the true founding year.

History of Athletic Bilbao

Athletic Bilbao is a Spanish football club from Bilbao, Biscay in the Basque Country.

In addition to winning several national league titles and domestic cups since their formation around the start of the 20th century, the club is perhaps best known for their policy of only signing players who have some link to their home territory, and for being one of only three clubs to have participated in every league season without being relegated, despite the restrictions of the policy.

Football was introduced to Bilbao by two distinct groups of players, both with British connections; British steel and shipyard workers and Basque students returning from schools in Britain. In the late 19th century, Bilbao was a leading port of an important industrial area with iron mines and shipyards nearby. It was the driving force of the Spanish economy and as a result attracted many migrant workers. Among them were miners from the north-east of England, and shipyard workers from Southampton, Portsmouth and Sunderland. The British workers brought with them (as to so many other parts of the world) the game of football. In the early 1890s, these workers came together and formed.

The club featured prominently in early Copa del Rey competitions. Following the inaugural win by "Club Bizcaya", the newly formed Athletic Bilbao won it again in 1903. In 1904, they were declared winners after their opponents, Club Español de Madrid, failed to turn up. In 1907, they revived the name "Club Vizcaya" after entering a combined team with "Union Vizcaino". After a brief lull, they won the competition again in 1911 and then won it three times in a row between 1914 and 1916. The star of this team was Pichichi, a prolific goalscorer who scored the very first goal in the San Mamés stadium on 21 August 1913 and a hat-trick in the 1915 final, before dying aged just 29 in 1922. Today, the La Liga top-scorer is declared the "Pichichi" in his honour.

Athletic were not the only Basque team represented in the 1920 squad. Other clubs such as Real Unión, Arenas Club de Getxo and Real Sociedad also provided players. These four clubs were all founding members of La Liga in 1928 and by 1930 they were joined by CD Alavés. This meant that five of the ten clubs in the "Primera División" of Spain's national league were from the Basque Country. The saying ""Con cantera y afición, no hace falta importación"", translated as "With home-grown teams and supporters, there is no need for imports", made sense during these early days.

In 1921, a new British coach, Fred Pentland, arrived from Racing de Santander. In 1923, he led the club to victory in the Copa del Rey. He revolutionised the way Athletic played, favouring the short-passing game. In 1927, he left Athletic and coached Athletic Madrid, Real Oviedo and the Spanish national team. In 1929, he rejoined Athletic and subsequently led the club to La Liga/Copa del Rey doubles in 1930 and 1931. The club won the Copa del Rey four times in a row between 1930 and 1933 and they were also La Liga runners-up in 1932 and 1933. In 1931, Athletic also defeated Barcelona 12–1, the latter's worst-ever defeat.

Athletic's success under British coaches continued with the arrival of William Garbutt from Napoli which made it to the top three in the Italian Serie A under his command for the first time in the club's history in 1932–33 and again in 1933–34. He had previously won the "scudetto" three times with Genoa and as a result arrived in Spain in 1935 as a well-respected coach, despite his reputation being non-existent in his native England. His first season in Spain was a massive success as he won the Liga that year. He had inherited a talented squad which included strikers Guillermo Gorostiza, La Liga's top scorer in 1930 and 1932, and Bata, the top scorer in 1931. The year prior to Garbutt's appointment was not a success for the club; they only finished fourth (in 1934–35) despite having been the 1933–34 winners.

Garbutt set about galvanizing what was an already strong Athletic into action, which included promoting the young Ángel Zubieta to the first team, a player who at 17 years of age went on to become the youngest ever to play for the Spanish national team at the time. Garbutt's first game was a 3–3 draw away at Oviedo on 10 November 1935, but he followed this up the next weekend with a 7–0 victory over Betis Balompié, who were the reigning champions. Garbutt's success continued with a 1–0 victory over Real Madrid on 12 January 1936, a significant victory as the two teams played "cat and mouse" over the following weeks in the race for the title. In the final game of the season, the title was decided when Athletic defeated Oviedo 2–0 at home on 19 April 1936, winning the title just two points clear of Real Madrid. This marked the return to success for the Athletic Club in a season which brought them their fourth title, and where Bata was the second top scorer with 21 goals. In July 1936, a mere three months after the end of the season, football halted due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. The league did not restart until the 1939–40 season. Athletic Club did not win the title again until 1943 and by that time Garbutt had been exiled by Mussolini's fascists in Italy after having returned to coach Genoa in Serie A.

In 1941, the club changed its name to "Atlético Bilbao", following a decree issued by Franco, banning the use of non-Spanish language names and scrapping the policy of only letting Basque-born players in the team (see origins of the "grandparent rule"). The same year also saw Telmo Zarra make his debut. Over the next 13 seasons, he went on to score 294 goals in all competitions for Atlético, plus another 20 international goals for Spain in as many games. His 38 goals in the 1950–51 season stood as a record for 60 years before ultimately being broken by Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo. Another great player from this era was José Luis Panizo.

In 1943, the club won a double of Liga and Copa del Generalisimo (the new name of the Copa del Rey) and they subsequently retained the Copa in both 1944 and 1945. During the early 1950s, the club featured the legendary forward line of Zarra, Panizo, Rafa Iriondo, Venancio and Agustín Gaínza. They helped the club win another Copa del Generalisimo in 1950. The arrival of coach Ferdinand Daučík improved the club's fortunes further. He led the team to another double in 1956 and to further Copa del Generalisimo victories in 1955 and 1958. In 1956 the club also made their debut in the European Cup, eventually being knocked out by Manchester United.

What helped the club succeed in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s were the strict limits imposed on foreign players. In most cases, clubs could only have three foreign players in its squad, meaning that at least eight local players had to play in every game. While Real Madrid and Barcelona circumvented these rules by playing dual citizens such as Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás, José Santamaria and Ladislao Kubala, Atlético adhered strictly to their cantera policy, showing little or no flexibility. The 1960s, however, were dominated by Real Madrid, and Atlético only had a single Copa del Rey win in 1969. Like international teams, the club has used the "grandparent rule", allowing the recruitment of some players of Basque descent. This enabled the Barcelona-born Armando Merodio to play for the club. During the 1960s, however, other players such as Jesús María Pereda, Miguel Jones and José Eulogio Gárate were overlooked. Although none of them were Basques by birth, all three grew up in the Basque Country and could be classified as naturalised Basques; Gárate even had Basque parents. On a positive note, the 1960s saw the emergence of a club legend José Ángel Iribar.
The 1970s were not much better, with only another single Copa del Rey win in 1973. In December 1976, before a game against Real Sociedad, Iribar and Sociedad captain Inaxio Kortabarria carried out the Ikurriña, the Basque flag, and placed it ceremonially on the centre-circle – this was the first public display of the flag since the death of Francisco Franco. In 1977, the club reached the final of the UEFA Cup, only losing on away goals to Juventus. By then the Franco regime also ended and the club reverted to using the name "Athletic".

In 1981, the club appointed Javier Clemente as manager. He soon set about putting together one of the most successful Athletic Bilbao teams in the club's history. Young players from the cantera such as Santiago Urquiaga, Miguel de Andrés, Ismael Urtubi, Estanislao Argote and Andoni Zubizarreta joined veterans Dani and Andoni Goikoetxea. In his first season in charge, Clemente led the team to fourth place in La Liga. In 1983, the club won La Liga and in 1984 they won a La Liga/Copa del Rey double. In 1985 and 1986, Athletic finished third and fourth respectively. Clemente's Athletic acquired notoriety for its aggressive style of play, personified by hard-man Goikoetxea. He favoured two defensive midfielders playing in front of twin centre backs and a sweeper, and as a result, critics regarded his teams as dour but effective. Athletic has failed to win a major trophy since the success of the Clemente era. A succession of coaches that included José Ángel Iribar, Howard Kendall, Jupp Heynckes and Javier Irureta and even a returning Clemente failed to reproduce his success.

One of the most successful Athletic coaches since Clemente's tenure was Luis Fernández, appointed in 1996. In 1998, he led the club to second in La Liga and UEFA Champions League qualification. Fernández benefited from the club adopting a more flexible approach to the cantera. Now anybody could play for Athletic, just as long as they acquired their skills in the Basque Country. Thus, Patxi Ferreira from Salamanca and Biurrun, a Brazilian-born player who immigrated to the region at a young age, played for the club in the late 1980s. Despite this new approach, their definition of a Basque is still open to interpretation, with both Roberto López Ufarte and Benjamín being overlooked despite having Basque parents.

Fernández signed Bixente Lizarazu (the first French-born Basque to join the club), Ismael Urzaiz (from Tudela in southern Navarre but trained at Real Madrid's "La Fabrica" academy), and José Mari García and Santiago Ezquerro (Osasuna youth graduates born in La Rioja). Athletic also began to recruit players from the canteras of other Basque clubs, leading to allegations of poaching. In 1995, Athletic signed Joseba Etxeberria from regional rivals Real Sociedad, causing considerable bad feeling between the two clubs. Although Lizarazu left after one season, Urzaiz, José Mari and Etxeberria were prominent members of the 1997–98 squad, along with the returning Rafael Alkorta, Ferreira and regular stalwart Julen Guerrero.

After Jupp Heynckes' second cycle in charge as manager (2001–2003), and Ernesto Valverde's first (2003–2005), the club was embroiled in a relegation battle during the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In 2006, top-flight survival was ensured on the 37th match day when Deportivo de La Coruña were beaten at the Estadio Riazor 2–1. Javier Clemente then began his third spell as club coach in 2005, when the club were last in the table. He is widely acknowledged to have brought defensive stability to the team, and so is also credited with having saved the club from relegation. Despite this, he was not left in charge for the 2006–07 season. The 2006–07 season was the worst in the club's history; top-flight survival was ensured on the last match day when Levante were beaten at San Mamés 2–0.

In the 2008–09 season, Athletic again achieved unspectacular results and finished in mid-table, though they ensured safety from relegation earlier than in the previous campaigns. In the Copa del Rey, however, the team pulled through some tough ties, including local rivals Osasuna and a strong Sevilla side, to reach their first final in the competition in 24 years. The match in the city of Valencia against Barcelona was a great occasion for the fans, and though they lost 4–1, the result was no disgrace, as the Barcelona side of that season also proved unbeatable in La Liga and the Champions League. Athletic's reward for their efforts was a place in the 'new' UEFA Europa League tournament for the following campaign.

The 2009–10 season saw Athletic make steady progress in the league and in Europe. Decent home form, including a victory over Real Madrid, led to the team sitting comfortably in the top half of the Liga and qualifying from their Europa League group, although poorer performances away from Bilbao meant that a really successful run never materialised. In 2010, the home games often resulted in draws rather than victories, and this also proved to be the case in the Europa League, where a draw at San Mamés against Anderlecht was followed by a heavy defeat in Belgium. Ultimately a promising season delivered little, with Athletic finishing eighth, just outside of the European places. Young stars Javi Martínez, Markel Susaeta and Óscar de Marcos performed well, if inconsistently, providing for main striker Fernando Llorente, while 16-year-old forward Iker Muniain made a successful breakthrough into the squad. At the other end of the career scale, 500-game man Joseba Etxeberria retired after 15 seasons at the club, and Francisco Yeste, who had also played over 300 games, left rather abruptly at the end of the campaign.

The 2010–11 season started positively, with Llorente scoring several times in early games. The team eventually achieved qualification for the Europa League
with one match remaining, in 6th place. A defensive crisis led to Borja Ekiza from the B squad being drafted at centre-half, and he retained his place with solid performances. Teenager Iker Muniain started almost every match, and Jon Aurtenetxe claimed the starting place at left-back before a bad injury finished his season early. The signing of Ander Herrera was agreed although he elected to stay with his club Real Zaragoza until the summer as they battled against relegation.

Prior to the 2011–12 season, Athletic's members held their
latest presidential election, with incumbent defeated by former player Josu Urrutia. One of Urrutia's election pledges had been to bring in former Argentina and Chile head coach Marcelo Bielsa, and he fulfilled this promise. Joaquín Caparrós left as his contract expired, having improved Athletic's stature during his stewardship. Bielsa joined with a reputation for using unconventional formations and tactics. Several players began the campaign playing in unfamiliar positions, including World Cup-winning midfielder Javi Martínez, deployed as a ball-playing central defender and Óscar de Marcos, used in several matches at left-back despite being known as a midfielder.

Initial results were not good and new signing Ander Herrera was injured. The players began to
adjust as the season progressed and produced a strong run of autumn form, finishing top of their Europa League group ahead of Paris Saint-Germain. They defeated and defeated Lokomotiv Moscow in the last 32.

Athletic then drew Manchester United and won 3–2 in the first leg at Old Trafford, going on to knock the three-time European champions out of the tournament with an impressive 2–1 victory at home. Fernando Llorente and Óscar de Marcos each scored in both legs. In the quarter-final, they travelled to Schalke 04 of Germany and won the first leg 4–2, despite being 2–1 down on 72 minutes after a Raúl brace. Athletic drew 2–2 in the second leg, going through to the semi-finals to face Sporting CP. They lost the first leg in Portugal 2–1 after initially taking the lead, but beat Sporting 3–1 at home with goals by Markel Susaeta, Ibai Gómez and the winner from Llorente in the 89th minute in front of a fervent home crowd which edged them through to the final, 4–3 on aggregate.

In their first European final since 1977, Athletic could not maintain their momentum and deliver their first trophy in 28 years, as they lost 3–0 to Spanish rivals Atlético Madrid (inspired by the forward play of Radamel Falcao), on 9 May in the final at the Arena Națională in Bucharest.

Although crushed by this disappointment, there was still another chance to claim glory having reached the 2012 Copa del Rey Final by defeating giant-killers Mirandés. Athletic faced the same opponent in the final as in 2009, Barcelona, who proved too strong
in another 3–0 result. Being Copa runners-up meant that Athletic qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, even though they ended the league season in tenth place.

Going into the 2012–13 season, Athletic went through a period of some turmoil. The Europa League run meant many top players were being scouted by clubs who could offer higher wages and almost definite Champions League football. Fernando Llorente, whose contract was nearing its end, failed to agree a new deal and it then it emerged that fellow Spain international Javi Martínez possibly wanted to leave as well.

With few replacements available under their signing policy, Athletic took a rigid stance on the matter, whereby no offers would be accepted and players would have to meet their inflated contract buyout clause to leave. Martínez did so, joining Bayern Munich before the transfer deadline despite Athletic's refusal to cooperate. Llorente failed to secure a move despite the bad blood which had developed with the club management over the situation. Marcelo Bielsa also had a major disagreement with the contractors working on improvements to the Lezama training ground. Experienced striker Aritz Aduriz returned from Valencia for a third spell, while winger David López departed.

With this backdrop of uncertainty Athletic began their season with poor results. The possession football did not lead to enough goals scored without the presence of Llorente and the Bielsa tactic of using players regarded as midfielders in defence to boost the overall technique level of the team backfired as opponents created chances with ease.
They were eliminated from the Europa League group stage, failing to beat debutants Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona of Israel at home, and there was further embarrassment as they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Basque club Eibar of the third tier. Relegation was a threat until a decent run towards the end of the season, and the final league game at the "old" San Mamés ended in a 0–1 defeat to Levante. Athletic would soon be playing in a new stadium, San Mamés Barria, albeit in a partially completed state.

Bielsa promoted young French defender Aymeric Laporte into the side as a potential replacement for Fernando Amorebieta and he later signed a long-term contract with the club. Fernando Llorente, who played only a peripheral role, eventually completed a free transfer to Juventus.

With the departures of manager Marcelo Bielsa, forward Fernando Llorente and defender Fernando Amorebieta, Athletic looked to replace them in the transfer market. They would begin by replacing Bielsa with former player Ernesto Valverde, who had had a previous spell as manager at the club. They quickly moved to sign Beñat from Real Betis to reinforce the midfield, while also picking up two defenders in Xabier Etxeita and Mikel Balenziaga. Finally, to give the club another, more viable attacking option in tandem with Aritz Aduriz, they signed striker Kike Sola from Osasuna. With these reinforcements, as well as youth breakouts such as Aymeric Laporte and Jonás Ramalho, Athletic looked to have a bounceback-season.
With a very successful 2013–14 campaign, which included a 1–0 victory over Barcelona, they finished fourth in the league, meaning a new exciting UEFA Champions League campaign. Stars Aritz Aduriz and Ander Herrera shone, meaning the summer would be full of begging suitors for their players, and indeed, the summer transfer market began with a bid for Herrera; a €36 million deal was finalized in June 2014 with Manchester United.

In the first weeks of the 2014–15 season, Athletic had a triumphant first full-capacity match in the new San Mamés as they defeated Napoli to qualify for the Champions League group stage, however they could only finish 3rd behind FC Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Porto and were then knocked out of the Europa League by Torino. Athletic reached the final of the Copa del Rey, but once again lost to Barcelona, 3–1. Captain for the occasion was Andoni Iraola, playing in his final match after over 500 appearances for the club. He was the only Athletic player to start the 2009, 2012 and 2015 cup finals (Susaeta appeared at some point in each of them, as did four men from Barcelona).

In addition to qualifying for the subsequent Europa League through their league position, Athletic qualified for the 2015 Spanish Super Cup as cup finalists. The reserves at Bilbao Athletic won promotion to the Segunda División for the first time in 19 years.

Beginning the 2015–16 season in the first leg of the Super Cup on 14 August 2015 at San Mamés, Athletic historically defeated Barcelona 4–0, with Aritz Aduriz scoring a hat-trick. In the return leg at Camp Nou, Athletic hung on with a 1–1 draw to win their first trophy since 1984. Aduriz continued to score freely throughout the season, finishing with 36 goals in all competitions; this form earned him a place in the Spain squad for Euro 2016 along with clubmate Mikel San José. Other strong performances, notably from youngsters Sabin Merino, Iñigo Lekue and Iñaki Williams and new signing Raúl García contributed to a strong 5th-place finish in the league.

In Europe, Athletic won their group in the Europa League and advanced to the quarter-finals where they were only defeated on penalties by the holders and eventual repeat winners Sevilla FC. Long-serving club captain Carlos Gurpegui retired from playing to become a member of the coaching staff, and Bilbao Athletic were relegated back to the Segunda División B after just one season.
The 2016–17 season produced solid results with an almost unchanged squad, although youth graduates Yeray Álvarez and Kepa Arrizabalaga established themselves in the team. A run of four wins in September led to Valverde receiving the La Liga Manager of the Month award for the period. Overall, good home form (43 points) but poor away results (20 points) meant that Champions League qualification was never a realistic possibility. A keen contest for the Europa League places was fought with Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Eibar, until the latter fell out of the running after the meeting at Ipurua was settled by a stoppage-time winner from Raúl García. That victory was one of six in seven games for Athletic in April, however only one point was collected from the final three fixtures in May, while on the last matchday Villarreal got the win they needed for 5th place and Real Sociedad scored a last-minute equaliser in their match, taking the 6th spot by one point. Athletic had to await the outcome of the 2017 Copa del Rey Final to determine if they would compete in continental football the following season - that match was won by Champions League qualifiers Barcelona, and the last Europa League berth therefore passed to Athletic (until a rule change a few years before, it would have gone to cup runners-up Alavés).

In the cups, involvement in the Copa del Rey ended in familiar fashion with elimination by Barcelona (for the sixth time in ten seasons, including three finals). A highlight in the Europa League was Aduriz scoring all Athletic's goals in a 5–3 home win over Genk, a competition record, but despite a 100% home record in the tournament, a loss to APOEL was suffered in the first knockout round due to a weak away performance.

Veteran goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz, who had still been first choice at the start of the season, was allowed to leave at the end of his contract, having played nearly 400 games in his 10-year-spell. As the season reached its conclusion, on 23 May the club announced that Ernesto Valverde would be leaving his position, bringing to a close his four-year cycle at the helm. The following day it was confirmed that his successor would be former player José Ángel Ziganda, moving up from Bilbao Athletic, on an initial two-year contract. Valverde was subsequently appointed the new manager of Barcelona.

Ziganda's spell in charge, controlling a squad which was virtually unchanged from the previous year, began with the third qualifying round for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League, with Athletic facing FC Dinamo București, a team they had never previously met in European competition. After overcoming the Romanians, Athletic defeated Greece's Panathinaikos to reach the group stage. On 29 November the club suffered a shock defeat to SD Formentera – a club experiencing their first-ever season in the third tier – in the opening round of the domestic cup, conceding the critical goal in stoppage time at the end of the second leg when a goalless draw would have been sufficient to progress.

Club history at official website:

Bilbao Athletic, officially named Athletic Club "B", is the reserve team of Athletic Bilbao, a football club based in Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. The team will play in the Segunda División B in the 2018–19 season. Founded in 1964, the team holds home matches at the small stadium attached to the club's training facility at Lezama, or occasionally at San Mamés Stadium, with its 53,500-seat capacity, for important fixtures.

Athletic Bilbao B

Reserve teams in Spain play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However, reserves cannot play in the same division as their senior team. Therefore, Bilbao Athletic are ineligible for promotion to La Liga. Reserve teams are also no longer permitted to enter the Copa del Rey. In addition, only under-23 players, or under-25 with a professional contract, can switch between senior and reserve teams. In recent years most of Bilbao Athletic's players have been graduates from the club's youth setup ('cantera') via the farm team, Basconia.

The "Bilbao Athletic" name was first used in 1938 during the Spanish Civil War, when both La Liga and the Copa del Rey were suspended; several of top Athletic players subsequently joined the "Euskadi XI". This team was put together at the suggestion of José Antonio Aguirre, the president of the Basque Country, himself a former Athletic Bilbao footballer.

The team went on tour to raise funds for the Basque cause, and also played in Europe and Mexico. However, the "Campeonato de Vizcaya" continued to be played. With their best players on tour with the Basque team, Athletic could only field weakened sides and, as a result, chose to enter under the name "Bilbao Athletic"; the club's name was derived from the two clubs that merged in 1903 to become Athletic Bilbao – "Bilbao Football Club" and "Athletic Club". Despite this, they still won the championship and entered the 1939 Copa del Generalísimo.

The name was revived in 1964, when Athletic Bilbao decided to establish a reserve team with Agustín Gaínza as coach. The new "Bilbao Athletic" initially played in local regional leagues before winning promotion to Tercera División in 1966, under Rafa Iriondo; in 1969 they first reached Segunda División.

In 1983–84, with José Ángel Iribar as coach, and an emerging Julio Salinas as striker, the reserves finished in second place, only trailing Castilla CF; both teams were ineligible for promotion, and Salinas won the "Pichichi".

Bilbao Athletic dropped back down to the third level in 1996, but the main squad continued to be nurtured with several players who had spells with the reserves.
After 19 seasons in the Segunda División B, Bilbao Athletic returned to the second tier after defeating Cádiz CF, 3–1 on aggregate, in the promotion playoffs. However in their campaign in the Segunda they were reliant on the same group, a core squad of 20-year-olds who had never played at such a high level before, and despite battling performances in most of their games, a pattern of narrow defeats led to the team finishing bottom and being relegated back down at the first attempt. Somewhat ironically, the promoted teams that season were CD Leganés whose squad included three players on loan from Athletic who would have been eligible to play for Bilbao Athletic that season, as well as the parent club's local rivals Alavés and Osasuna.

Athletic applied to compete in the England-based Premier League International Cup, with most of the players selected for the Under-23 tournament drawn from Bilbao Athletic with some younger additions from Basconia and the Juvenil squads (a limited number of overage players are permitted, but Athletic do not use them). In 2014–15, 2015–16 and 2016–17 the club qualified from their group but were eliminated in the first knockout round, while in the 2017–18 and 2018–19 editions, they bowed out at the group stage.For playing big matches, they use San Mamés, the first team stadium.Note: this list contains players who have appeared in at least 100 games for the first team.


Is Snoopy a girl or a boy?

Peppermint Patty often refers to Snoopy as a "funny looking kid with a big nose", unaware that he is a beagle. In one instance, she has him serve as her attorney in a case involving the school dress code. In the March 21, 1974, strip, Marcie tells Peppermint Patty that Snoopy is a beagle, finally resulting in her realizing his true identity. Snoopy serves as Peppermint Patty's watchdog several times. She is one of the few girls who does not get disgusted after being kissed by him.

Snoopy

Snoopy is Charlie Brown's pet beagle in the comic strip "Peanuts" by Charles M. Schulz. He can also be found in all of the "Peanuts" movies and television specials, like "The Peanuts Movie". Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of the most recognizable and iconic characters in the comic strip, and is considered more famous than Charlie Brown in other countries. The original drawings of Snoopy were inspired by Spike, one of Schulz's childhood dogs.

Snoopy is a loyal, innocent, imaginative and good-natured beagle who is prone to imagining fantasy lives, including being an author, a college student known as "Joe Cool", an attorney, and a British World War I "flying ace" in the Royal Flying Corps. He is perhaps best known in this last persona, wearing an aviator's helmet and goggles and a scarf while carrying a swagger stick (like a stereotypical British Army officer of World War I and II).

Snoopy can be selfish, gluttonous, and lazy at times, and occasionally mocks his owner, Charlie Brown, but on the whole he shows great love, care, and loyalty for his owner (even though he cannot even remember his name and always refers to him as "The Round-Headed Kid"). In the 1990s comic strips, he is obsessed with cookies.
All of his fantasies have a similar formula: Snoopy pretends to be something, usually "world famous", and fails. His short "novels" are never published, and his Sopwith Camel is consistently shot down by his imaginary rival enemy, the German flying ace the "Red Baron". Schulz said of Snoopy's character in a 1997 interview: "He has to retreat into his fanciful world in order to survive. Otherwise, he leads kind of a dull, miserable life. I don't envy dogs the lives they have to live."

Snoopy imagines himself to speak, but never actually does, other than moans and yipping yelps and sniveling crying. Very rarely, he talks, but usually to himself. His (very articulate) thoughts are shown in thought balloons. In the animated "Peanuts" films and television specials, Snoopy's thoughts are not verbalized; his moods are instead conveyed through moans, yelps, growls, sobs, laughter, and monosyllabic utterances such as "bleah" or "hey" as well as through pantomime. His vocal effects were usually provided by Bill Melendez, who first played the role during Snoopy's appearances on "The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show". The only exceptions are in the animated adaptions of the musicals "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "Snoopy!!! The Musical" in which Snoopy's thoughts are verbalized by Robert Towers and Cameron Clarke, respectively. (His dialogue, however, is not "heard" by the other characters except Woodstock the bird and other non-human characters.)

Snoopy's doghouse defies physics and is shown to be bigger on the inside than the outside. It is usually shown in a side view, so you cannot see the inside, except for the May 8, 1960 comic strip in the second frame.

Snoopy appeared on the October 4, 1950, strip, two days after the first strip. He was called Snoopy for the first time a month later, on November 10. On March 16, 1952, his thoughts were first shown in a thought balloon. Snoopy first appeared upright on his hind legs on January 9, 1956, when he was shown ice-skating across a frozen lake.

Despite his history of conflicted loyalties, his constant disrespect for Charlie Brown, and his inability to remember his name (he refers to him as "that round-headed kid"), Snoopy has shown both love and loyalty to his owner. He joins Charlie Brown in walking out of a game of Ha-Ha Herman when Peppermint Patty insults Charlie Brown, unaware that Charlie Brown is within earshot. He also helps Charlie Brown recover his autographed baseball when a bully takes it and challenges Charlie Brown to fight him for it. When Charlie Brown has to stop dedicating himself to making Snoopy happy, Snoopy replies, "Don't worry about it. I was already happy." In "The Peanuts Movie", Snoopy remains loyal to Charlie Brown, supporting and caring for him throughout the movie.

In early Peanuts strips, Charlie Brown was not Snoopy's owner (as seen in the February 2, 1951, strip), and it was initially not clear who his owner actually was. The September 29, 1951 strip implied that Snoopy was owned by Shermy. Charlie Brown was first portrayed as being responsible for Snoopy in the strips of November 1 and 3, 1955; it was not until September 1, 1958 that Snoopy was specifically said to be Charlie Brown's dog. (In the September 20, 1980 strip, Charlie Brown comments that he once told Snoopy to "stay" and "he never went home.")

Snoopy frequently tries to kiss Lucy on the cheek and/or nose, which Lucy, who is afraid of dog germs, thoroughly hates. These actions occasionally result in Lucy hurting Snoopy. Despite their rivalry toward each other, each seems to care for the other: in "Snoopy, Come Home", Lucy is sad to see him go and is (momentarily) glad when he comes back home. In some strips, Lucy goes to Snoopy for help, such as in the April 16, 1961 strip, wherein a jealous Lucy and Frieda are beating each other up at Schroeder's piano, Lucy ends up winning, and shakes hands with Snoopy in the end, looking slightly injured. Snoopy also commandeers Lucy's psychiatric booth either in her absence or when she ends up being the one needing help.

Snoopy often tries to steal Linus' blanket, leading to slapstick fights and wild chases in which Snoopy often wins.

Lila was Snoopy's owner before Charlie Brown. Snoopy visits her in the film "Snoopy, Come Home" and struggles to decide whether to stay with Charlie Brown or go back to Lila. Lila eventually convinces him to leave Charlie Brown so he can live with her again. However, upon arriving at her residence, Snoopy is overjoyed to see a "NO DOGS ALLOWED" sign, and returns to live with Charlie Brown.

Like Lucy, Sally does not care that much for Snoopy and often calls him a stupid beagle. Sally usually complains when her big brother asks her to feed Snoopy whenever he is away from home. While she is still an infant, Sally has a friendly and playful relationship with Snoopy. In later years, Sally occasionally enlists Snoopy's help in school assignments. She even treats him to an ice cream cone (a very tall ice cream cone, with scoops of about a dozen flavors) when Snoopy helps her get an "A" on a report about "Our Animal Friends". In one story line, Sally uses Snoopy as a "weapon" to help protect her from bullies on the playground (Snoopy barks loudly at anyone who threatens Sally, leading Snoopy to comment, "I feel like a can of mace!"), but this ends in disaster when Snoopy sees an old girlfriend of his and runs off to meet her, abandoning Sally and leaving her to get "slaughtered" by the playground bullies.

Schroeder does not mind much when Snoopy sits against his toy piano, except when Snoopy dances on top of the piano, much to Schroeder's annoyance. He also sometimes plays with the notes coming from the piano.

Rerun, the youngest child character in the strip, plays with Snoopy sometimes. In some strips, Rerun and Snoopy are playing cards with each other, both of them clueless on how to play.

Snoopy is usually depicted as having seven siblings, five of whom appear at some point in the strip: Andy, Belle, Marbles, Olaf, and Spike. They were born at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. Most often seen is Spike, who lives a hermit-like existence in the desert, near the real-life location of Needles, California.

Woodstock is Snoopy's best friend and sidekick. He is a small, yellow bird of indeterminate species. He speaks in a chirping language that only Snoopy and his other bird friends can understand. In return, the birds somehow understand Snoopy's thoughts. In some strips, Snoopy can be seen telling a joke to Woodstock and both laugh so hard they end up falling off the doghouse. Woodstock sometimes sleeps on top of Snoopy's nose, such as in one strip where Snoopy says "Never share your pad with a restless bird".

Fifi is a major love interest of Snoopy and she appears in "Life Is a Circus, Charlie Brown" and "The Peanuts Movie". In "Life Is a Circus, Charlie Brown", Snoopy sees Fifi at a circus and starts to get attracted to her. He and Fifi do a trapeze act and afterward, he runs away, taking Fifi with him. Fifi decides to go back to the circus, however, leaving Snoopy heartbroken and forced to return to Charlie Brown. In "The Peanuts Movie", Fifi (voiced by Kristin Chenoweth) is a pilot just like Snoopy, and together they have an interaction via Snoopy's typewriter against the Red Baron. He shows how much he cares for her when he cries at Schroeder's house after she is captured by the Red Baron. Snoopy, Woodstock, and the Beagle Scouts set out on a mission to rescue her. Eventually, they save her, and she shows her affection to Snoopy.

Snoopy and Charlie Brown were ranked by "TV Guide" as the 8th greatest cartoon characters of all time.

Some critics feel that the strip suffered a decline in quality after the 1960s. Writing in 2000, Christopher Caldwell argued that the character of Snoopy, and the strip's increased focus on him in the 1970s, "went from being the strip's besetting artistic weakness to ruining it altogether". Caldwell felt that Snoopy "was never a full participant in the tangle of relationships that drove "Peanuts" in its Golden Age", as he could not talk. He went on to say that Snoopy "was way too shallow for the strip as it developed in the 1960s, and the strips he featured in were anomalies."

Schulz was a keen bridge player, and "Peanuts" occasionally included bridge references. In 1997, according to Alan Truscott, the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL), awarded both Snoopy and Woodstock the honorary rank of Life Master, and Schulz was delighted. According to the ACBL, only Snoopy was awarded the honor.

On November 2, 2015, Snoopy was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, becoming the second "Peanuts"-related figure to be inducted with a star, after Schulz.