Athletic Bilbao signing policy

The Basque flag

Since 1912, Spain-based association football club Athletic Bilbao have had an unwritten rule whereby the club will only sign players who were born in the Basque Country, or who learned their football skills at a Basque club.[1][2][3][4]

The policy is related to Basque nationalism[5][6] and has been praised as a way to promote local talent,[7] although it has also been criticised as being discriminatory.[4][8]

History

In the first decade of their existence Athletic selected English players for the team,[9][3] but since 1912[10] they have adhered to a policy of allowing only players born in the Basque Country or who learned their football skills at a Basque club to play for them.[4][11][12] The motto used to describe the reasoning behind it is "Con cantera y afición, no hace falta importación" (English: "with home-grown talent and local support, you don't need foreigners").[13]

location of the 'Greater Basque Country' from which Athletic Bilbao recruits all its players

The policy is not written into the Athletic Bilbao rulebook[4] but has become a philosophy of the club in order to promote local players under the cantera (homegrown) system.[4][8][13] The policy also extends to Athletic's reserves, their farm team CD Basconia, their youth teams and their women's football department.[14] It does not apply to the coaching staff, with managers from England, Hungary, Germany, France and Argentina among those to have led the team at various times.[15]

They were not the only club to adhere to this approach; fellow Basque club Real Sociedad had a similar policy from the late 1960s[4][16] and won two consecutive league titles in the early 1980s adhering to the self-imposed restriction[17] (as did Athletic),[18] but it was dropped for foreign imports in 1989 when they signed the Republic of Ireland forward John Aldridge,[19][20][12] and for non-Basque Spanish players in 2002 with the transfer of Boris from Real Oviedo.[21][22] However, the San Sebastián-based club still places a high importance on producing their own local players, and a high percentage of their squad in the 2010s were home-grown.[23] Back in 1911, it was a dispute with local rivals Real Sociedad that prompted Athletic Bilbao to adopt the policy formally, after being accused of fielding ineligible English players in the 1911 Copa del Rey.[3]

The policy has been praised as a symbol of localised football being successful at the highest level,[4][24] as well as preserving a strong regional identity[6][25] and being a way for Basque nationalism to be moderately expressed.[6][5][25][26] It has been described as discriminatory for only allowing Basque players to play for Athletic Bilbao,[4][27][11] although it has been suggested that the policy is working for them since Athletic are one of only three clubs (along with Real Madrid and Barcelona) never to have been relegated from La Liga.[6][13][14]

Origins of players

Ethnic minorities

Iñaki Williams, of West African origin but born and raised in the Basque region

Due to a relatively low immigrant population in the region,[4][28][27] the policy also had the consequence of Athletic Bilbao being the last club in La Liga to have never fielded a black player. That was ended in 2011 when Jonas Ramalho, whose father is Angolan, made his debut.[4][3][16] In 2015 Iñaki Williams (born in Bilbao to Liberian immigrant parents) became Athletic's first black goalscorer.[24][29] Prior to Ramalho, in 2000 the first African-born player in the club's youth system was Blanchard Moussayou[30] whose promising career was curtailed by injury; some years later, he stated his belief that it was 'twice as hard' for a black player to make an impact at the club.[31]

Former academy trainee Yuri Berchiche, who rejoined Athletic in the summer of 2018 as one of the club's most expensive signings,[32] has an Algerian father but showed no interest in playing for their national team when the matter was put to him.[33][34]

As of 2018, Athletic's academy teams include a small number of players of an ethnic minority (mostly Afro-Spaniard) background, including Cameroon-born goalkeeper Chris Atangana,[35] forward Nico Williams (the younger brother of Iñaki),[36] and defender Loic Boum, also of Cameroonian origin, who having been orphaned as a child was a ward of the Government of Navarre when he moved to the club in 2014.[37][38]

French players

The club also rarely fielded players from the French Northern Basque Country, with Bixente Lizarazu being the first French Basque to play for the club in 1996[3][16][10] and Aymeric Laporte the first to successfully graduate from the youth system in 2012.[39][12]

Laporte's signing in 2009 prompted debate regarding the definitions of the policy, as he had no link to the Basque region through birth or residency, and a blood link only via great-grandparents.[40][41][42][12] He did join a team in the territory, Aviron Bayonnais,[43][42] but only by arrangement after the initial approach from Athletic, as he was too young to move to a club outside France at the time – he arrived formally in 2010.[24]

Yanis Rahmani, a Frenchman of Algerian origin raised in Sestao,[27] progressed as far as Basconia at the same time as Laporte but did not turn professional with the club.[44]

Griezmann debate

Antoine Griezmann, the French forward developed by Real Sociedad, was the subject of debate regarding his eligibility for a theoretical move to Athletic as he emerged as an elite player in 2012.[45] Hailing from Burgundy, he arrived at the San Sebastián club aged 14[46] but only to play football for their academy teams rather than for some other non-sporting reason, and has no connection to the French Basque Country other than attending school there after signing for Real.

The opinions of some (including Athletic's academy director José María Amorrortu) [45] were that his training at a Basque club from a young age adhered to the policy,[47] while others insisted that he had the same (ineligible) status as any adult player transferred in by Real and the other local professional clubs.[48]

In any event, Griezmann showed little interest in joining Athletic,[46] subsequently moved on to Atlético Madrid[45] and was voted the world's third best player in 2016,[49] making any move to Bilbao unlikely in the medium term. In respect of any future players of a similar trajectory, Athletic's position on recruitment remains unconfirmed.

Players of Basque descent

Fernando Amorebieta, born in Venezuela but raised in the Basque Country

In 1980 the club was believed to have given serious consideration to signing Iker Zubizarreta, a young Venezuelan of Basque heritage (his grandfather Félix had starred for Athletic in the 1910s) who had impressed at the football tournament at the 1980 Summer Olympics, but decided not to pursue it.[50]

In 2011, media sources claimed that Athletic had shown interest in young Mexican midfielder Jonathan Espericueta[51] but no such move materialised, and the player himself (who did later play in Spain with Villarreal B) stated that his Basque connection was as distant as a great-great-grandfather.[52]

The Uruguayan international Diego Forlán, whose paternal grandmother was Basque, claimed he had talks over a potential transfer to the club in 2004[53] but this signing would have been incompatible with the club's current policy as Forlan was not born in a Basque region, nor did he play football as a youth (or at any point in his career) at a club in the territory. That is also true of Argentinian forward Gonzalo Higuaín,[54] and Spaniards Benjamín Zarandona,[16][4] Kepa Blanco[55] and Jorge López,[56] all players with tenuous Basque links who were also said to have been considered as potential signings by the club's presidential candidates when Athletic were struggling on the field under the restrictions of the policy.[57] in 2015 the Australian winger Tommy Oar (with Basque-born grandparents) was the subject of similar speculation.[58]

This contrasts with players who were signed by the club such as Higinio Ortúzar,[59] Vicente Biurrun,[3] Javier Iturriaga[60] and Fernando Amorebieta[4][16] who were all born in Latin America with Basque parentage,[3] but as with players born in other Spanish regions such as Armando Merodio,[61] Patxi Ferreira and Ernesto Valverde, it was their residency in the territory from childhood rather than their ancestry which made them eligible for Athletic.[10] That was not always the case, as in the 1950s some talented players raised locally but with birthplaces elsewhere (Chus Pereda, Miguel Jones,[3] José Eulogio Gárate and the elder brother of Manuel Sarabia)[62] were not signed as would have been expected in later eras.[16][10] It has been suggested that the rejection of some of these foreign-born players by the club's hierarchy may have been influenced by the ruling regime.[63]

Roberto Ríos, born in Bilbao but raised and trained in Seville

Conversely, players born in the Basque Country but raised elsewhere are considered eligible.[16] Fernando Llorente was born in Pamplona but lived his whole childhood in Rincón de Soto (close to Basque territory but outside it) before he was recruited as an 11-year-old.[64] Two of Athletic's most expensive signings, the Bilbao-born Spain internationals Roberto Ríos[65] and Ander Herrera[66] learned their skills in the cities where their footballing fathers were based professionally (Eusebio at Real Betis, and Pedro at Real Zaragoza respectively); Gaizka Mendieta (son of Andrés Mendieta of CD Castellón) had similar origins but turned down a move,[67] albeit he remained a proud Basque who played for the unofficial representative team.[68]

The arrival of Bilbao-born Emilio Aldecoa in 1947 was unusual as he had spent the past decade of his life in England, having been evacuated as a teenage refugee of the Spanish Civil War.[69][70][71] Another member of that group was the club's star goalkeeper of the era Raimundo Pérez Lezama, although he had returned home much sooner on the outbreak of World War II; a third Basque refugee Sabino Barinaga turned down an offer from Athletic and joined Real Madrid.[72]

Players from Biscay

It was once the case that Athletic would usually recruit from the Biscay province surrounding Bilbao[16] while the other leading clubs Real Sociedad and Osasuna would focus on players from their respective provinces Gipuzkoa and Navarre. In recent decades (with the pool of potential players declining due to a low birth rate in the area),[63] Athletic expanded their recruitment in these other areas in their efforts to accommodate the best players with any Basque links. This saw many talented players from San Sebastián[73] and Pamplona[74] join the club, and also caused Real Sociedad to abandon their own Basque policy in the face of the competition for signings.[75][12]

Transfers between the clubs increased tensions with Osasuna[76] and with Real;[75] Athletic paid over the odds for players from those rivals on several occasions, including breaking the national record for a native player for Loren in 1989,[77] setting further records for purchasing a teenager with Joseba Etxeberria in 1995[78] followed by the €6 million outlay on the untested Javi Martínez in 2006,[79] being ordered by courts to pay €5 million for Iban Zubiaurre in 2008 after his signing was found to be a breach of contract,[80][81][82] and meeting Iñigo Martínez's €32 million release clause in 2018[83][84] (offset by losing Aymeric Laporte the same day in a similar deal worth double that amount).[85]

That change of focus also led to fewer players from the home province being selected; in a 2011 fixture, none of the Athletic starters or substitutes were from Biscay.[86][87] However, in subsequent years more local players made the grade, and the situation appears unlikely to occur again in the near future – twelve of the 25 players in the 2016–17 squad were born in Biscay, and in November 2017 a study showed that 77% of players in the academy teams hailed from the province.[88]

Players from outside the region

On the other hand, the definitions of the philosophy are stretched occasionally to accommodate promising youngsters with little Basque connection, which does not always sit well with some of the club's followers.

Enric Saborit, originally from Catalonia, who graduated through the youth and reserve levels to reach the first team, caused questions to be asked when he signed in 2008; he had no connection with the region by birth or blood, but while already 16 years old and playing in RCD Espanyol's cantera teams, he moved to Vitoria-Gasteiz where his mother had relocated for work two years earlier. As soon as he became a resident of the territory, Saborit was deemed eligible by Athletic to play for the club.[89][27][90]

In summer 2017, Athletic recruited Youssouf Diarra, an 18-year-old forward born in Mali who was raised in Catalonia and had spent the past two years playing for clubs in Navarre after moving these to continue his education, which the club deemed sufficient under the policy.[91][92][93] The previous year they had signed 16-year-old Colombia-born defender Deiby Ochoa, who lived in La Rioja and had only ever played for clubs in that region.[94][95] Both players had attended trial matches at the Lezama training centre.

However, despite having invited Ochoa (the spelling of whose name was changed to the Basque Otxoa in club records) to join,[96] in October 2017 it was announced that Athletic's youth training camp in Oion – a village in Álava, but just a few miles from Logroño – would no longer accept players who did not fit the Athletic philosophy, effectively excluding around 150 Riojan youngsters of various ages from the system and leaving only around ten Basques across the squads.[97][98]

In January 2018, Athletic announced the signing of 25-year-old Cristian Ganea, a Romanian international[99] who was also born in that country and had only played for Romanian clubs for the past five years. But prior to that, he had spent his teenage years living in Basauri just outside Bilbao and had featured for local teams (including Basconia, whose youth setup is separate from that of Athletic), making him eligible under the 'learned skills at a Basque club' aspect of the policy.[100][101]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Athletic Club Official Site - Club overview including 'code'".
  2. ↑ Phil Minshull (2009-12-16). "Colour barrier finally broken at Athletic Bilbao". BBC. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Athletic de Bilbao, cien años sin extranjeros" [Athletic Bilbao, a hundred years without foreigners]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 18 November 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "¿Por qué en el Athletic de Bilbao solo juegan vascos?" [Why do Athletic Bilbao play with Basques only?]. BBC Mundo (in Spanish). BBC. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  5. 1 2 Goss, Brian (2014). Identity: Beyond Tradition and McWorld Neoliberalism. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 98. ISBN 1443869074.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Unwin, Will (15 March 2012). "Welcome to Spain's old English outpost". The Independent. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  7. ↑ Pete Jenson (2014-08-26). "Pete Jenson: Athletic Bilbao's locals-only transfer policy shows success does not need to be bought". The Independent. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  8. 1 2 "Is Athletic Bilbao 'Basque-only policy' playing by the rules?". Metro. 2013-05-31. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  9. ↑ Radnedge, Keir (1 August 1977). "The history of Athletic Bilbao 1898–1936". World Soccer (via In Bed With Maradona website). Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Voluntad de tradición" [Will of tradition]. El Correo (in Spanish). 27 May 2001. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  11. 1 2 "5 football clubs and their unique traditions – Slide 1 of 5". Sportskeeda.com. 2016-01-24. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "For David Moyes in Basque derby, identity and sovereignty and points all part of the pressure". The National. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 "This Is Athletic Club de Bilbao". Copa90.com. 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  14. 1 2 Neil Stacey. "This is Athletic Bilbao: the club whose loyalty to local talent is not negotiable". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  15. ↑ "Coaches". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jonas Ramalho helping to dispel longstanding Athletic Bilbao myth; Sports Illustrated, 23 November 2011
  17. ↑ "Real Sociedad History". Football España. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  18. ↑ "Athletic Bilbao History". Football España. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  19. ↑ "When John Aldridge returned to Real Sociedad, he got a hero's welcome writes Sid Lowe". ESPN. 2015-03-13. Retrieved 2016-09-25.
  20. ↑ "Real Sociedad roll out the red carpet for John Aldridge". Diario AS. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  21. ↑ "Boris acabará con 30 años de tradición en la Real" [Boris to end 30-year tradition at Real]. ABC (in Spanish). 6 August 2002. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  22. ↑ "Boris, primer español no vasco en la Real" [Boris, first non-Basque Spaniard at Real]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 13 August 2002. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  23. ↑ "Revealed! Which clubs produce the most of Europe's top players?". FourFourTwo. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  24. 1 2 3 "Athletic Bilbao's methods provide lessons for Premier League clubs". Sky Sports. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  25. 1 2 Fox Sports (2012-03-08). "Quaint anachronism of Athletic Bilbao's Basque nationalism". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  26. ↑ "Athletic Bilbao is 'Basques only' and it's working". Vice. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  27. 1 2 3 4 "El Athletic se abre al mundo" [Athletic opens up to the world]. El Correo (in Spanish). 23 March 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  28. ↑ "El origen de los extranjeros que viven en el País Vasco" [The origin of foreigners living in the Basque Country] (in Spanish). El Correo. 1 January 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  29. ↑ Inaki Williams becomes first black Athletic Bilbao goalscorer in 117-year history; Sky Sports, 20 February 2015
  30. ↑ "Blanchard Mooussayou Sambou". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  31. ↑ "Blanchard: "El jugador negro tiene aquí doble dificultad"" [Blanchard: "The black player has double difficulty here"]. El Desmarque (in Spanish). 22 November 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  32. ↑ "Athletic Club seal four-year Yuri Berchiche deal". Marca. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  33. ↑ "Football / Yuri Berchiche balaie la possibilité de défendre les couleurs de l'Algérie" [Football / Yuri Berchiche sweeps the possibility of defending the colours of Algeria] (in French). Algérie Focus. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  34. ↑ "Équipe nationale : Yuri Berchiche dit non à l'Algérie" [National team: Yuri Berchiche says no to Algeria] (in French). ObservAlgerie. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  35. ↑ "Atangana surge entre los sucesores de Arrizabalaga" [Atangana emerges among the successors of Arrizabalaga] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  36. ↑ "Nico sigue la estela de Iñaki Williams" [Nico follows in the wake of Iñaki Williams] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  37. ↑ "El Athletic, a por un infantil camerunés de Osasuna" [Athletic, in for a Cameroonian child from Osasuna] (in Spanish). El Correo. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  38. ↑ "Loic Boum es ya nuevo jugador del Athletic" [Loic Boum is now a new Athletic player] (in Spanish). La Cantera de Lezama. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  39. ↑ "The French Basque Country: a rugby heartland with world-class footballers". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  40. ↑ "Laporte: "Tengo sangre vasca por parte de mis bisabuelos"" [Laporte: "I have Basque blood through my great-grandparents"] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  41. ↑ "Aymeric Laporte, un Basque parmi les Basques" [Aymeric Laporte, a Basque among the Basques] (in French). Only Football. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  42. 1 2 "Aymeric Laporte a "arrêté de regarder les papillons"" [Aymeric Laporte "stopped watching the butterflies”] (in French). So Foot. 26 September 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  43. ↑ "Biography - Athletic Bilbao signing and beginnings". Aymeric Laporte official website. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  44. ↑ "El extremo zurdo Yanis Rahmani se incorpora al Mirandés para las dos próximas temporadas" [The left winger Yanis Rahmani joins the Mirandés for the next two seasons]. El Correo (in Spanish). 27 June 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  45. 1 2 3 "Athletic Club's impossible dream of signing Griezmann". Marca. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  46. 1 2 "Griezmann not interested in Bilbao speculation". FourFourTwo. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  47. ↑ "¿Puede fichar el Athletic a Griezmann?" [Can Athletic sign Griezmann?] (in Spanish). EITB. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  48. ↑ "Antoine Griezmann no entra en la filosofía del Athletic de Bilbao" [Antoine Griezmann does not enter the philosophy of Athletic Bilbao] (in Spanish). Goal. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  49. ↑ "Cristiano Ronaldo wins Ballon d'Or for the fourth time". The Guardian. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  50. ↑ "Iker Zubizarreta: el nieto de león que pudo ser cachorro" [Iker Zubizarreta: grandson of a lion who could have been a puppy] (in Spanish). Gara. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  51. ↑ "Interés por el mexicano Espericueta" [Interest in the Mexican Espericueta] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  52. ↑ "Le dice 'no' a Europa" [He says "no" to Europe] (in Spanish). El Nuevo Heraldo. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  53. ↑ "Forlán afirma que negoció su fichaje por el Athletic" [Forlán confirms that he negotiated a transfer to Athletic]. El Correo (in Spanish). 14 September 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  54. ↑ "La sorpresa de Lamikiz podría ser un extremo argentino de River Plate" [The surprise of Lamikiz could be an Argentine winger from River Plate]. Marca (in Spanish). 21 June 2006. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  55. ↑ "Macua prefiere cerrar con Del Nido la compra de Kepa antes de negociar con el jugador" [Macua prefers to conclude the purchase of Kepa with Del Nido before negotiating with the player]. El Correo (in Spanish). 28 June 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  56. ↑ "El Athletic vuelve a pensar en Jorge López" [Athletic thinks again about Jorge López]. Marca (in Spanish). 8 July 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  57. ↑ Vaczi, Mariann (2015). Soccer, Culture and Society in Spain: An Ethnography of Basque Fandom. Routledge. ISBN 9781317677307.
  58. ↑ "Oar reveals: I almost joined Bilbao". socceroos.com.au. Football Federation Australia. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  59. ↑ "Higinio Ortúzar: el chileno de sangre vasca" [Higinio Ortúzar: the Chilean with Basque blood]. Club Perarnau - The Tactical Room (in Spanish). 13 November 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  60. ↑ "Zarautz: Javier Iturriaga debutó con el Athletic de Bilbao" [Zarautz: Javier Iturriaga made his debut with Athletic Bilbao] (in Spanish). El Diario Vasco. 19 October 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  61. ↑ "Nunca nadie marcó tantos goles" [Nobody ever scored so many goals]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 22 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  62. ↑ "Sarabia, la figura del actual Athlétic de Bilbao" [Sarabia, the figurehead of today's Athlétic Bilbao]. El País (in Spanish). 3 April 1983. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  63. 1 2 "¿Habrá un 'lehendakari' negro?". El País (in Spanish). 1 February 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  64. ↑ "Fue todo tan rápido que ni me lo creía" [Everything was so fast I could not believe it]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 18 January 2005. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  65. ↑ "Ríos y el Athletic pasan a la historia" [Ríos and Athletic make history] (in Spanish). El Mundo. 20 July 1997. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  66. ↑ "Athletic confirm Herrera deal". ESPN. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  67. ↑ "Leaving the pain in Spain". The Guardian. 24 August 2003. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  68. ↑ "Euskadi 5–1 Nigeria" (in Spanish). Euskadiko Futbol Federakundea. 29 November 1999. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  69. ↑ "A Spanish refugee boy 78 years ago blazed the trail for David Silva and Cesc Fabregas". The Independent. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  70. ↑ "First foreign footballers: Spain's Emilio Aldecoa". Football365. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  71. ↑ "Into the ether: When football welcomed refugees". Amnesty International. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  72. ↑ "El momento histórico" [The historic moment]. Algo Más que Fútbol. 6 February 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  73. ↑ "Real Sociedad: Hasta trece tránsfugas han defendido las dos camisetas" [Up to thirteen 'traitors' have defended the two shirts]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). 13 October 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  74. ↑ "La Chantrea, el mejor vivero, es del Athletic" [Chantrea, Athletic's best nursery] (in Spanish). El Diario Vasco. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  75. 1 2 Lowe, Sid (26 March 2001). "Morbo: The Story of Spanish Football by Phil Ball (London: WSC Books, 2001)". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  76. ↑ "Areso, último capítulo del trasvase Osasuna-Athletic" [Areso, latest chapter of the Osasuna-Athletic transfers]. Marca (in Spanish). 7 July 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  77. ↑ "El Athletic ha pagado casi 15 millones a la Real en 21 años" [Athletic has paid almost 15 million to Real in 21 years]. El Correo (in Spanish). 1 December 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  78. ↑ "550 millones por un juvenil: Athletic paga por Etxeberria un traspaso récord por un español" [550 million for a youth: Athletic pays a record transfer for a Spaniard for Etxeberria]. El País (in Spanish). 7 July 1995. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  79. ↑ "Athletic spend big on starlet". Sky Sports. 2 July 2006. Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  80. ↑ "Zubiaurre gets Athletic chance". UEFA. 1 July 2005. Archived from the original on 22 November 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  81. ↑ "El Athletic presentó ayer a Zubiaurre y la Real estalla" [Athletic presented Zubiaurre yesterday and Real explodes] (in Spanish). Diario AS. 2 July 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  82. ↑ "El Athletic tendrá que pagar cinco millones a la Real por Zubiaurre" [Athletic to pay Real Sociedad €5 millions for Zubiaurre] (in Spanish). El Mundo. 5 June 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  83. ↑ "Iñigo Martínez signing". Athletic Bilbao. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  84. ↑ "Athletic Bilbao sign Inigo Martinez to replace Aymeric Laporte". Goal.com. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  85. ↑ "Aymeric Laporte: Manchester City sign French defender for club-record £57m". BBC Sport. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  86. ↑ "Football Whispers – Athletic Bilbao's transfer policy".
  87. ↑ "Real Zaragoza 2 Athletic Club 1 02/03/2011". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  88. ↑ "El 77% de canteranos del Athletic son vizcaínos" [77% of Athletic homegrown players are from Biscay]. El Desmarque (in Spanish). 27 November 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  89. ↑ "Saborit abre el debate de la filosofía del club" [Saborit opens debate on club philosophy] (in Spanish). Marca. 27 February 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  90. ↑ "Saborit, un catalán en el Athletic" [Saborit, a Catalan at Athletic] (in Spanish). La Vanguardia. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  91. ↑ "Youssouf Diarra se incorporará al Basconia" [Youssouf Diarra to join Basconia] (in Spanish). La Cantera De Lezama. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  92. ↑ "La prueba del malí Diarra pone en marcha el debate filosófico" [The trial of Malian Diarra launches a philosophical debate]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 3 February 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  93. ↑ "Ander Alaña: "Si Diarra está aquí entra en la filosofía"" [Ander Alaña: "If Diarra is here he enters the philosophy"] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  94. ↑ "El juvenil Deiby Ochoa nuevo fichaje desde el Comillas CF" [The junior Deiby Ochia is a new signing from Comillas CF] (in Spanish). La Cantera De Lezama. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  95. ↑ "El Athletic hace saltar por los aires su centenaria filosofia trayendo a Lezama a jovenes de fuera de Euskal Herria" [Athletic throws out their centuary-old philosophy bringing youngsters to Lezama from outside the Basque Country] (in Spanish). Orain.eus. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  96. ↑ "Deiby Otxoa profile". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  97. ↑ "El Athletic expulsa a 150 canteranos por su procedencia riojana" [Athletic expels 150 canteranos for their Riojan origin]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 21 October 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  98. ↑ "El Athletic no admitirá a niños riojanos en su escuela alavesa de Oion" [Athletic will not admit children from La Rioja in their Alavese school at Oion]. El Correo (in Spanish). 21 October 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  99. ↑ "Cristian Ganea: Initial agreement with FC Viitorul". Athletic Bilbao. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  100. ↑ "El Athletic ficha a Cristian Ganea, el primer rumano de su historia" [Athletic sign Cristian Ganea, the first Romanian in their history]. ABC (in Spanish). 15 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  101. ↑ "El Athletic ficha al internacional rumano Cristian Ganea" [Athletic sign the Romanian international Cristian Ganea]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 15 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  102. ↑ "Matias Almeyda enjoying the challenge of managing Chivas' all-Mexican squad" (in Spanish). ESPN FC. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  103. ↑ "Todos las participaciones internacionales de El Nacional" [All the international participations of El Nacional]. El Blog de mi Futbol Ecuatoriano (in Spanish). 23 January 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.