Original subtitles

The connection we have with our

fans is one thing, it's a brutal thing. The

who has been in San

you have to live it to know what

it is.

Nico Williams turned down a big money

move to sign a brand new 10-year deal at

his Boyhood Club.

It's the ultimate proof of concept for

the club Basco only player policy where

from the academy to the first team, the

training pitch to the hallot turf of San

Mamz, the importance of Athletic Club is

woven into the players DNA at every

level. So how does the club create this?

The spirit of player loyalty? What part did

the city, the fans, even the wider area

Does the basketball region have to play in it? and

How have you kept them competitive at the level

top level throughout its history?

Welcome to Explore Soccer. this time

We are in Bill Baow where the Athletic Club

Forged the bond that money can't break

to produce the most loyal players in

world football.

For me to represent what Bilbao is and

Athletis worldwide is

incredible.

chance to join one of Europe's elite

it would be impossible to turn down. So the

Nico Williams decision did raise a few

eyebrows, but in all honesty, shouldn't

happen. Generation after generation

offers

and the last.

In eletic there is a chain, there is a

succession of captains, players,

icons that decided to stay there.

I'm from '91. So, my first big

reference in that sense is Julien

Warrior.

Julen Guerrero is many

interesting player was

player. I got Beckham befoream

is this blonde guys. He was a teenager

put his picture in their notebooks and

stuff.

when I had offers from Real Madrid, from

great teams from Italy, that the serious

At that time it was a big big league,

Julen decided to stay. Obviously, at

Just like in the case of Nico Williams,

there was a contract offer to match

of the quality of Julen Guerrero.

But the great reference here is José

Ángel Ivar, the goalkeeper who scored a

very long and very successful period and today

Today he is still linked to the club as

ambassador and is very present in everyone

the acts.

icons.

The same thing goes for Oscar de Marcos,

current number one unimon and Nico

Williams older brother Inaki.

This then begs the question, why do they

stick around? Long contracts, good

money, toplevel European football

something that loads of clubs can offer.

What is it with club and where does this

culture of loyalty begin?

There is a phrase in Basque that is

euskaldunen berb notarisoaren firmie

which comes to be something like the

Basque word is so important or

as reliable as a notary's signature.

comes from behind and

We want to think that it is for a reason.

When you become a youth, I think that

It is that moment that you already have to

take things seriously.

that there is a lot of closeness between the player

first team and player of the subsidiary or

the lower categories.

While the players make their trips here

others usually join the club after having played

for smaller local teams across the country

region from an early age. there is a

all network scanning configured to find

every potential diamond they

can. There is no other option. the

cantera is actually a Spanish word for

academies in general.

It may be a bit of a topic.

controversial, but oh well, meaningless

The history of the Basque country is difficult

understand philosophy and history

from Athletic. It's an option, one one

decision that has been made by a very

particular that it is to fight with the

ours, to be represented by the

ours, rural, different but

ours.

because of their politics. they are not

Allowed to get players from anywhere.

and they invest.

Development can go well in those clubs

also because they are financed by

Athletic does a great job.

This means there is common ground

between each player. Whether your

commitment in the field, whether

your values off the field, that's all

It is easier to pass if there is a red.

ribbon that unites their culture,

their identity and sporting ambition.

We are constantly talking about

values, identity. I would like

identify the player of the

Athletic as a proud person and

humble at the same time.

because they want it. they do it

the photos and post them. he

message behind that is that there is no

Football without your rivals. you need

the rivals, you need the referees and so on

on. So this is like the basic message.

they want to send. I respect.

And they also say that if you are in the

academy, you may leave at some point

obviously for football reasons

because you are not good enough or

whatever. within the time you have

been there, you must have become a

best player or best person or both

things that are even more important and

This is what they work for.

With so much talent nurtured for him

first team that we have rarely seen

They leave the club, what happens when

really do if you are not for a

required level or you just feel like going

somewhere else? What effect does it have?

Also on incoming transfers?

The Athletic Club is characterized by receiving

huge sums in the league of players. His

Top Five Record Sales Stretch From Del

in 2005 to 12 million euros through

Ander Herrera, Javi Martínez and Lapport

all the way to Keppa Arith Balaga in a

a whopping 80 million euros giving a huge

total of 253 million. players who

In reality you leave money are the players who

I don't want to leave. That is the paradox.

When someone lives, you need to give.

Good use for the money because if it's not you.

Just feel like you lost something.

Now, you think that with this big piece of

money wasted there, the club would leave

and spend all the replacement on the players

that they just lost. but the club

reinvest the money in something interesting

ways along with the daytime functioning of the

club. Much of that money goes to

infrastructure. They also invest in

The player salaries they offer are very uh.

competitive salaries. Actually, use

Loyalty is not a factor. you need

activate that loyalty through good

financial positions with an interesting

project and obviously you need money to

that.

That money has to be invested in the quarry,

in catchment networks, in Ojeo. Us

we absolutely depend on the level

football that exists in the Basque Country and

We also know that if the level

specifically in Vizcaya in our

agreed clubs is larger, the easier it is

for us to access those

potential players.

So after taking all of this into

account, the one big question still

remains. Does it actually work? Does

this club policy in places 1912 allow

the club not only to remain but to

compete at the top of Spanish and

European football?

yidar

the Copa del Rey after I don't know how many

years is incredible. That day for me was

the most important day of my life. They are

all my friends, my family, Bilbao

full, eh, overflowing with red t-shirts and

white. That feeling of the people of

Bilbao is incredible. And for me it was a

spectacular day.

Since the inception of La Liga in 1929, they have

They are one of the three clubs, the other two

being Barcelona and Real Madrid who have

has never been relegated. eight La Liga

titles, three Spanish Super Cups and one

incredible 24 victories of the King's Copper,

the last of which in 2024 brought

about one of the biggest celebrations

the city seen in recent years as

He ended 40 years for a big trophy.

The victory in 2024 in the cup, I don't know,

It was it was peace. It was peace. After the

match there was much more feeling of

relief and peace than euphoria, which is

something incredible after 40 years.

The barge is, what is it called? That guy

boat that was used for

transport material through the estuary when

This was all a very industrial area.

So it was something quite present in

the daily life of Biscayan society.

The joy is overflowing.

Where did so many people come from? The

radios speak of hundreds of thousands,

half a million, out of a million people

who hope to applaud the team today

champion.

The last time we celebrated titles in

On 83, on 84 it is said that the barge was taken out

and the players went up the entire estuary

from the sea on the barge

greeting all the towns and

cities from Vizcaya to here to

to Bilba. We spent 40 years with that

image here. So that's why the barge

that is stored here has been for

for many years a

maintenance so it could float.

Finally, finally. It was 40 years. They were

40 very long years of many doubts.

Then a release

and I believe that for the future it has been a

very important milestone because it has given

gasoline to the new generations.

But in the meantime, when titles aren't

on the line, there is always a match to

look forward to more than any other.

The B derby against the Real Sad.

And what makes this match interesting is

that on the pitch they're rivals, but

off the pitch they share a lot of things

in common, including the representation

of the basket.

The special derby is very important and

For us there is a lot of talk about partying

because the day before in the Basque Country

we like to eat, we like to drink and we

We like to get together to eat and drink.

So that happens and there are families, there are

couples, there are groups of friends where there are

diversity of Real shirts

Society, Athletic shirts, but

then in the hard field.

Atletic or the other way around. Beyond

that, those are teams that compete in a

very small space. Real Sociedad also

really values their academy players.

There's a competition in a small market

for the same players and that leads to

brances that leads to a little bit of

tension.

A big reason why this Darby is so

special is because of what it represents

to followers of both sides as part

of a constantly changing state of development

identity. The Williams Brothers

particular prominence represents the

modern face of the Bass Society. a tolerant,

accept and change the culture beyond

Only the world of football.

The Williams brothers are very special.

for the club for many reasons. the

First of all, and I'm sorry it's like this,

but it's the fact that there are two

black footballers who play

for Athletic, who were born in

Euscalerría. There has already been someone else

black footballer

previously, but hey the Williams have

been the most successful, those who during

more years they have been in the first

template and that alone was very

breaker Iñaki is the first captain

black in the history of Atletic.

If you look at the world outside in

Bilbao and the vast country as a whole,

It is a country of immigration and they

They are an image of that with their parents

Who took our chip to come here? a lot

of young people who are in the same

position really see them ass. so

They are truly invaluable to the club.

If you look at Williams and the Williams

family life story, I think they are

Really positive role models. are a

Example for new people.

For me there is no better

representation, there is no representation

more symbolic, that open door that

everyone has Euscalerría and

have a chance to be accepted, to

be one more of us and why not be

in the end the boys who score the goals

that so many people celebrate.

In modern football, the lines of loyalty

and identity are often blurred and

athletic club success exists when the

pride of a people collides with the

ambition and the philosophy of a foot

club.

For me, Athletic Club is everything, it is

family, that's it. He has given me everything

me, both me and my brother, me

family, then try to give everything

that they have given me because for me it is

everything and I love it with all my heart.

Oh, you've got the cat. Nice.