There's a reason behind the actual policy and why it is so critical to Athletic Club's history. Athletic Club is owned by its socios, and they are the ones that push for a policy of only Euskals in the club. There are so many other reasons as to why it is preferred over buying foreigners, some of them being:
- Athletic Club’s President is Josu Urrutia. In 2011 when the socios were voting for the new President of the club, it was Urrutia against Fernando García. It was Urrutia that claimed that he would sign manager Marcelo Bielsa and would place more importance on the cantera and the development of the facilities. Urrutia was a graduate of the Lezama, playing his entire football career for Athletic Club. With his promises he won by a margin of 2261 votes against García. His presence shows the Basque nature of the club as appointing a Euskal who was a former player for the club is a big step. García was a Euskal but he was a lawyer, never a footballer.
- It is a way to preserve the Euskadi ways since Euskal Herria is an autonomous province and self governed as it’s the best possible way to bring Basque football back onto the map as it always was. Unlike clubs who only care about wins and trophies, Athletic Club and the Basque policy as a whole try to promote Basque football by raising Basque youth trained in the methodology which defines their football. You think of how Barcelona play mostly with La Masia graduates, and it is because they are taught the Cruijff method. You look at their classes and almost all of them won their trophies because their style of football is the best in their region. Athletic Club on the other hand follow the same type of method, but instead of the Barça-way they do it the Basque-way because in the Lezama, they are taught a style of football that is unique in many ways. This not only emphasizes the difference between the Euskadi principles and the Catalonian, Galician, Andalusian, Valencian, and the other styles of football.
- There is a difference between Catalan, Euskal, Andalusian, Valencian, and any other type of football. Many managers from the past for Athletic Club have not used the style of football that is solely taught through their cantera. 2011/2012 showed the difference within playing by the Euskadi method and another way. Bielsa is the only coach that had the audacity to play fully using the Euskadi style since Luis Fernandez; the rest of the managers all chose a more conservative style. You look at Athletic Club this year and then you see a very, very different style of football. The way Athletic Club played this season reminds me of Athletic Club under Caparros - pragmatic, conservative, and basic. To any Germans reading, Marcelo Bielsa is like Felix Magath. Like Quälix, he drills the players into the ground and forces them to play his style or else they do not play at all. In 2012, at points it was beautiful with everyone playing their own fantastic way. Bielsa developed Aurtunexte into a great left back, unearthing his world class potential for everyone to see. Bielsa developed Iraola into an attacking wingback who was devastating when he attacked. Remember how Iraola left 3 Man United players on the ground but then missed his chance in the Europa League? Bielsa developed Iturraspe into a midfield general being able to spread play from the back. Bielsa changed Javi Martinez from a defensive midfielder into a center back and he was world-class in his position. He was one of the best center backs in La Liga and if you understand how Bielsa played with Athletic Club you will really understand how great of a recognitionthat is. Bielsa got De Marcos, a versatile midfielder, to play everywhere on the pitch from left back, attacking midfielder, right winger, and in the center and with his Euskadi principles he made it work very well. De Marcos would interchange with Herrera, giving space for Muniain and Susaeta who both had free roles on the left and right but with Susaeta playing with more width and Muniain coming inside. Llorente was shown to be more than a poacher, playing as a false 9 and dropping deep into midfield, creating chances, linking up play with the others, and dominating the opposing centerbacks. Bielsa got them to play a special way but now that he, Javi, and Llorente are gone, it might go to waste especially if the new manager is like the ones before him, like Caparros. The idea is that the coach needs to play the way they are taught in order to excel. Otherwise it will go to waste.
- In the late 1990s, there was a vote by the socios that was reported by El Mundo. It showed that 76% of the Athletic Club socios would rather see Athletic Club relegated to the Segunda than to see them cancel the Basque player policy. Athletic Club are one of the three clubs with Real Madrid and Barcelona that have never been relegated to the Segunda, and this is where they are very prideful, so the impact of that was very big. There is no way that Athletic Club would let the policy break because that would mean the failures of the second team and the feeder club (Bilbao B, Baskonia). There is no need for Athletic Club to break the policy because they already have a bright generation coming through.
I see some of you think it is a racist policy. As a matter of fact, it’s actually nationalistic and based on traditional Euskal values because as an autonomous country, Euskal Herria is the one with citizens who are most prideful regarding their past. Racism is when you are discriminating against a specific racial group. Athletic Club have recently promoted Jonas Ramalho, who is the first black Basque player to play for Athletic Club. Athletic Club’s club mission as per the socios is to promote the growth and progress of Basque football as a whole. It’s not even against discriminational policy in Spain, because the Spanish constitution has no ability to intervene because Euskal Herria is an autonomous country that is run by its own government. The key here is that unlike many other countries, in Spain each region understands the importance of preserving their own cultural identity. And this is what Athletic Club is about – the club identity is exactly related to their cultural background. If a player now has a direct link to Basque heritage, they will be welcomed, provided they have the talent. Are there any cases of foreigners going to Athletic Club, but then being denied the ability to play for them? Because it’s actually the opposite, you know. Athletic Club searches for players to play for them, and that is why their cantera has been so effective. For example, look at Ramalho. He is black, of Angolan descent, yet his mother is Basque. But the key factor in this is that Ramalho has lived in Euskal Herria since an early age, learned about the Basque culture, and even taught economics at the Universitad de Deusto. You look at a few of the players actually being Navarese, but then in general their group would identify themselves as pure Euskals.
It’s sort of playing a blind eye to things. Until 2011, the FIGC dictated that Italian clubs could only sign one non-EU player per year. Now, it is two. Is this not discrimination? In La Liga, you can only have 3 non-EU players in your squad. Recently, Diego Godin earned his Spanish citizenship so that Atlético can use another non-EU player. Is this not discrimination? People generally tend to look at things in a perspective that they want, regardless of the total picture. At the end of the day, you cannot impose a rule on one club but then have an even worse rule for the entire league. No double standards.
