argh1 Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Here I go again proving I know close to nothing . I see Ismael is in second in La Liga scoring, playing on one of the (dare I say) lesser teams and that he his 33 years old . So how did he end up at Athletic de Bilboa . He must have played on giant teams at one time ? Any-one care to share their knowlege with a questioning soul. It's the combination of his age and the club he plays with that brings about the question. EDIT: He's been with Bilboa since 2000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canso Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Bilbao is a Basques only club, they only sign players who have a Basque heritage, most of whom come through the youth systems and very few leave the club. Uzaiz was a Spanish international and their first choice centre forward for a few years. He missed an open header in the last minute against France in the Euro 2000 quarterfinal and hasn't been seen much since. The emergence of Torres didn't help either. Basques rarely play abroad, and almost never for other Spanish clubs, especially ones from Bilbao. Xabi Alonso at Liverpool is a Basque, but from Sociedad. Lizarazu is also a Basque, but from the French side of the region. Basques and Catalans (Barcelona and surrounding areas)have long standing spearatist issues and tend to not play as well for Spain as they do for their clubs. A Basque signing for Madrid would be suicidal for all involved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim St.Pauli Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 In some sports they have already own national teams. The catalans won the B-Championship in what we call in German Rollhockey which is a bit different from field hockey. They are saying, that it is like this in Great Britain with the differnet national teams (SCO,NIR,WAL,ENG). There was a big controvery after the B-Championship, because they promote to the A-Championship where Spain is playing. The spain minister for sports said it is unthinkable for Spain to accept Catalunya as a rival in tournaments. It was seen as a political risk of separating the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted November 22, 2004 Share Posted November 22, 2004 Just a correction, Bilbao allows for some non-Basques to play for them if they have come through their youth ranks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim St.Pauli Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Oh, is that true? I never knew that. Interesting. What I always wondered about is that they quite regulary pick non-basque coaches like Jupp Heynckes twice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 I read about it in a Phill Ball article on Soccernet. He's the regular Spanish correspondant and his articles are always fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Urzaiz is actually from Navarra, also Basque culturally. He came I think up through the Osasuna system, but it could have been at Lezama with Bilbao. Remember he played with Espanyol, and was always a strong striker. Went back to Bilbao a few years back. For me a similar striker to Morientes, a good type to have on your team. By the way, it is totally wrong to say Basques don't play for other Spanish clubs, always have and always will. In the late 80s when I came to Spain it was the region with most players in top flight Spain. Result of the success of Real Sociedad in early 80s. Tradition of great keepers (Araconda, Zubizaretta) and strong feisty midfielders. I personally do not like the Basque only rule at Bilbao, I think it is a poor reflection of modern society to not let an immigrant play for you, in fact I think in their case there are racial overtones that I cannot admire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canso Posted November 25, 2004 Share Posted November 25, 2004 Too true, how could I forget about Zubi and that blunder against Nigeria in '98? But did he play for Madrid? Real had a defender named Karanka for a season who was Basque...but didn't they decide not to sign Julen Guerrero from Bilbao, back when he was hot stuff, because of political concerns? Just curious, what are you doing in Spain and how long have you lived there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim St.Pauli Posted November 27, 2004 Share Posted November 27, 2004 I think it was a patriotic statement from Guerrero himself not to leave the Basques. What is he doing now?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jeffery S. Posted November 28, 2004 Share Posted November 28, 2004 Julen Guerrero is a luxury sub at Bilbao still. His brother Javi at Santander is actually doing a lot better, rumour is that Benitez is interested in taking him to Liverpool. Zubi played for Barça, until recently was sports director at Bilbao. Literally there are probably 50 Basques on other Spanish teams outside the B-Country right now in Spanish top flight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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