Re: Athletic Bilbao - A Basque Institution

1

Smashing topic Rocko and well written

I wonder how long they can, or more importantly will, keep up the Basque only policy. It is a very noble tradition.

They splashed the cash on Roberto Rios because he was Basque. Was it 9m that they paid? I seem to remember them buying Lizarazu but he had Basque connections. They had some good players in the past - Guerrero (never did it on the big stage though) and Etxeberria who they bought of Sociedad as well for a pretty penny if memory serves me correctly

2

Thanks farmer - always interested me, that topic.

Lizarazu is from the French part of the Basque Country so he has the proper Basque heritage. They paid way over the odds for Roberto Rios which is well harsh on them but their transfer strategy is so obvious other clubs milk them.

Etxeberria came from Real Sociedad but I think he came as a youth player. They got some centre half from Sociedad 18 months ago but weren’t allowed play him for a year because he hadn’t finished his contract and it went to a long court case.

Urzaiz is a decent striker, I hoped Llorente would become a good striker too but he’s gone backwards a bit. Yeste, Orbaiz and Tiko are good players too but all have been inconsistent.

It’s tough on them when you consider that they only sign Basques and then gives like Mendieta, Xabi Alonso, del Horno, Campo, Ezquerro are all top class Basque players of recent teams who don’t play for them. Still they made good money from Del Horno anyway.

Baca raided them in the '80s for Bakero, Beguiristain, Zubizarreta, Julio Salinas and Goikoetxea but they were still an excellent Bilbao team. They produce some amount of players when you think about it.

3

Bilbao won the Basque derby 2-0 last weekend meaning local rivals Real Sociedad are now deep in relegation trouble. That’s 14 points from 21 now for Man since he took over.

4

I read Paddy Woodsworth’s book on the conflict a while back - decent read. Spanish Police were full of dirty tricks. I’ll swap you for the history one.

5

FC Barcelona defender loses sponsorship over support for Basque hunger striker

Thursday, February 8, 2007

FC Barcelona defender Oleguer Presas lost his sponsorship from a sports clothing company because of a newspaper article he wrote expressing sympathy for a jailed former leader of the armed Basque group ETA.

Alicante-based firm Kelme said it made the decision due to “recent comments by the soccer player in several media outlets,” according to Spanish news agency Efe on Thursday.

The company said it supported “the right to freedom of expression and free thought” but added “Kelme’s links with the player are solely based on sporting criteria, and therefore the decision was taken to rescind the contract unilaterally.”

No one at the company was immediately available for comment.

Writing in Basque newspaper Berria on Tuesday, Oleguer said the case of Jose Ignacio De Juana Chaos, who was on a hunger strike, compared with that of several prominent Spanish politicians and police officers who were imprisoned for their role in death squads that killed numerous Basque separatists in the 1980s. They were released without completing their sentences due to health concerns.

De Juana Chaos who has been in prison since 1987 for killing 25 people in a series of ETA attacks was close to being released from prison last year when new charges were brought against him for writing newspaper articles that were deemed terrorist threats.

He went on a hunger strike for several months, and resumed it in November when he was convicted over the articles and received another 13 years in prison.

Two weeks ago, a Spanish court rejected prosecutors’ request to let De Juana Chaos be placed under custody at home, a measure that would have allowed him to abandon the protest.

De Juana Chaos’ latest sentence is up for appeal before the Supreme Court.

Oleguer reportedly said in his article that Spanish law had “many dark areas” and “reeked of hypocrisy.”

The 27-year-old Barcelona-born defender, who made his debut for the European champion in 2003, has emerged as a vocal supporter of the independence of Spain’s semiautonomous Catalonia region.

Oleguer has aroused speculation about whether his political convictions would allow him to accept a call up for the Spain national team.