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The Basque club that basks in glory - A collectors item

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Girona. What is common among these 5 clubs. These are Spanish Clubs, they compete in La Liga, all of them finished within European Championships spots, all these clubs are well supported. They have a lot of silverware amongst themselves, most of the players are of Spanish nationality. One might conclude that these are the hallmarks of  your typical top end  LA Liga club but there is one major difference that separates Athletic Bilbao or Athletic Club from the rest of the pack and that makes their place within this elite club all the more special.

Nico(Left) Inaki(Right)  (Credits-ESPN)

Now 5th might not be a position that would set the world alight but one has to take into account that although they have not won a title since the 80s they have been in and around the big boys for almost their entire existence while only using homegrown or youth players. In an era where mega transfers are the norm, youth players are traded and treated like assets, the footballing world being more globalized than ever. In an era of multi clubs and state ownerships, they have managed to thrive by being primarily a community club which draws their talent from the Basque region. They have an ever so tiny pool of players to choose from which would logically be not sustainable but to not to only survive but to be the their most successful La Liga Club. And on top of that never being relegated from the top flight is nothing short of a miracle especially when the old school romantic idea of football being a community thing is followed to the core.

Laporte, the William brothers, Llorente, Unai Simon are some of the most high profile players to come out of the club in their recent history. With a lot of their current local players and many in the past having represented the La Roja at some point or the other, one cannot blame them for not fixing something that is not broken.

While some might point out the lack of diversity within the squad, that is more indicative of the general demographic makeup rather than it being something borne out of intent. As the Nico and Inaki are prime examples of the Basque claiming them as their own in fact by some accounts on the internet even helping them settle in the region a prime example of them being a tight knit community devoid of any malpractices for the most part. Though with rapid globalization that would also settle into place somewhere in the near future hopefully.

For now, one can only marvel at the anomaly that this club is and cherish their unique identity by tuning in to watch their matches and if possible, attend the spectacle in person.

Cover Credits - Football.com

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