THE leading clubs in major football nations like England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain have become hugely reliant on the effectiveness of their international scouting networks during the modern era.
If a recruitment department can identify a South American striker, an Asian centre-back, a European winger, an African playmaker or an Antipodean full-back who can be brought in for an affordable fee, it can transform their fortunes.
Having to unearth the next star signing from a far-flung corner of the globe is not a problem that anyone at Athletic Club Bilbao, who Rangers will meet in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final at Ibrox this evening, has ever needed to, or indeed will ever need to, concern themselves with.
“Athletic only play with players who come from the Basque Country or were, to use their words, formed in the Basque Country,” said Christopher Evans, the author of Los Leones, the first English language history of the club.
“But they're also the only club who have, along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, never been relegated from the top tier in Spain. That’s pretty amazing.”
Read more:
-
Did 'The Butcher of Bilbao' get a bad rap? Was Goikoetxea more 'hero' than 'killer'?
-
Scottish insider delivers Rangers vs Athletic Bilbao verdict
It certainly is. The size of an owner’s fortune is, even with the introduction of UEFA financial sustainability regulations three years ago, integral to how a leading European club fares domestically and in continental competition in 2025.
If an American billionaire or Middle East investment fund can bankroll a raft of multi-million pound signings in a transfer window it increases their chances of lifting silverware at home and abroad immeasurably.
But Athletic have only played footballers who were born or brought up from an early age in the Basque Country – an area of Spain with a population of little over two million – since way back in 1911 and there is no prospect whatsoever of them abandoning their ethos.
“But you can only play for Athletic if you have been born or ‘formed’ in the Basque Country. That means if somebody was brought up there since they were three or whatever then they qualify.
“How do they do it? They've just got a brilliant youth system. They make a lot of money from selling the players they have developed. They sold their goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to Chelsea for a world record €80 fee in 2018. I think Nico Williams will, unfortunately for their fans, be the next player they make a bit of cash on.
“But they take all of the money they make from transfers and put it into the youth academy at their training facility, Lezama. They can and do buy players who meet certain criteria. But they focus on bringing through kids and it works. But lots of their players don't want to leave because they're so proud to play for Athletic Club.
“There's an acceptance and a pride among the support about how they still do things. Their philosophy creates an incredible bond between the fans and the players, in the city of Bilbao, in the Basque Country as a whole. They talk about being ‘unique in the world’, that is their thing on social media and what have you. But I think they are.
“They'll never change it either. There have been rumblings about opening things up to the Basque diaspora in the rest of Spain and around the world. But everyone I spoke to when I was writing Los Leones, fans, former players, club officials, was against that. I can’t see it changing ever.”
Read more:
-
Dundee set to hold talks with Rangers over Cameron compensation
-
Top VAR official departs after huge Celtic and Rangers errors
-
Rice shines, Tierney plays role in Arsenal’s 3-0 Real Madrid win
Athletic Club Bilbao fans may be proud of the idiosyncratic way their heroes continue to operate in this commercialised era. But their unusual strategy does beg a few questions. Is it strictly legal in these politically correct times? Have they ever been put under pressure to scrap their approach by the authorities?
“There are certainly detractors,” said Evans. “There are those who think it is a very parochial and outdated way of doing things and can be quite brutal about them. I suppose it could be seen as xenophobic. But they don’t see it that way, it’s just what they do.
“In more recent times there has been a lot of immigration in Spain as there has been in other European countries. So they have lots of players now whose heritage is different. The Williams brothers, for example, are from Ghana. So there is a modern feel to the side now.”
Athletic’s traditional rivals are Real Sociedad – but the Basque Derby matches which they play against each other are unusually harmonious affairs due to their similar ideologies and shared siege mentalities.
“They’ve got their differences, but ultimately they're fighting for the same cause. Sociedad had the exact same signing policy as Athletic until they brought in the Republic of Ireland internationalist John Aldridge in 1989. But they are still very Basque. They have a brilliant youth system with a lot of local players as well.
“The passion of Athletic fans and the Basque people is incredible. They are proud to be Basque, they don’t want to be considered Spanish. Bilbao is a one club city and there is red and white everywhere. Even if you don’t like football you can’t avoid them. They sort of bleed into the city.”
Evans continued, “It’s definitely a special place to go and watch football and soak in the atmosphere. They're a great club with lots of myths surrounding them.
“When they won La Liga in 1983 the players got on board a barge called La Gabarra with the trophy and sailed up the Nervion estuary. When they won the Copa del Rey last year they did the same thing and a million people came out onto the streets to see them.”
Strangely for a club with such an insular set-up, Athletic are unashamed Anglophiles and Evans suspects the chance to play English giants Manchester United in the Europa League semi-final is as much of an incentive for them to beat Rangers as the final being held at their San Mames Stadium home in May.
“They were formed by British migrant workers and students back in 1898,” said Evans. “One of their first managers was an Englishman, a former prisoner of war called Fred Pentland. He won lots of trophies with them in the 1920s and 1930s. Howard Kendall was also their manager in the 1980s and was very popular with the fans. He is remembered as being an absolute gentleman.”
Read more:
-
Former Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew resigns from Kelty Hearts role
-
Was 'Butcher of Bilbao' Andoni Goikoetxea more 'hero' than 'killer'?
Evans feels their Ernesto Valverde, the former Espanyol, Villarreal, Olympiacos, Valencia and Barcelona manager who returned for a second spell in charge three years ago, has to take much of the credit for the position Athletic find themselves in at the moment.
“He is exceptional,” he said. “I think he goes under the radar a little bit. But he's a brilliant manager. His side is intense. All of his players have to run. If they don’t run they get taken off the pitch. He doesn’t strike people as the ruthless type, but he's definitely got that ruthlessness.
“But Unai Gomez, a young attacking midfielder, and Alex Berenguer, who can play out wide or through the middle, are brilliant as well. But the team is strong in every area of the pitch at the moment. There is some great talent throughout.”
Los Leones: the Unique Story of Athletic Club Bilbao by Christopher Evans is published by Pitch Publishing and is available to buy online.
