The Pride of Vallekas

How do you qualify to play at Athletic? Cristian Ganea, a Romanian left-back who was born in Romania to Romanian parents, was recently being scouted by Athletic Club. How could they possible justify his signing? Well, at the age of 11, he was brought by his parents to the Basque Country and played for Basconia and Indartsu in his youth. The truth is, however, that Athletic Club's definition of who qualifies has always been open to interpretation, with presidents relaxing and tightening the rules as they saw fit. The definition, Basque players or players who trained in teams from Euskadi and Navarra, is not just vague by its definition of which players who have trained in teams from Euskadi and Navarra, but also has to do with the vagueness of the territorial limits of Euskadi and Navarra itself. And also to do with the fact that in the past Athletic Club were only recruiting players from the Biscay province surrounding Bilbao while the other leading clubs Real Sociedad and O...

Ahead of Rayo's game against Real Zaragoza, this is a quick piece on their tireless right winger "¡Ari, ari, ari, Toquero lehendakari!" It was the 2008-09 Copa del Rey semi-final against Sevilla. At the San Mamés, the old San Mamés, Bilbao were leading 2-0. But they were not safe - Sevilla had won the first leg 2-1, and a goal at Bilbao would keep them alive. Step forward, Gaizka Toquero. Fernando Llorente presses David Prieto and gets the ball off him, but the defender has blocked the only possible angle Llorente can exploit to score. Meanwhile, the other center back, Federico Fazio, is quickly moving towards him. He passes the ball into empty space. Halfway through the pass, Bilbao fans are already celebrating. Toquero made the lung bursting run from the halfway line and positioned himself perfectly for the pass. Fazio turns around and runs back to where he was - where he should have been - but it’s too late. Controlled with the left boot and finished with t...

Thomas is the founder of bilbaogroundguide.wordpress.com - a blog dedicated to the stadiums in the Bilbao (and surrounding) regions. You can follow Thomas himself on Twitter: @nousrembobinons A bit about yourself and your background I'm Thomas Sargent, I'm 31 and I'm originally from Ingoldmells in Lincolnshire. I am a Grimsby Town supporter but I have had the good fortune to live abroad in France, Ireland and the Basque Country where I have been able to follow some other sides. How long have you been a fan of Santutxu and what made you support them in the first place? I first went to a Santutxu game in the 2015/16 season when I first moved to Bilbao. Santutxu is the area of Bilbao I found a place to live and so I decided to support them as they were in the Spanish league's fourth tier. Describe your first experience of watching Santutxu play? I thought, during that first game, "oh dear, I've chosen the only long ball team in the S...

Welcome back! This is part 4 - the last installment - of a series on Cádiz by the founder of injuriesandmore.com , a website that focused on sports medicine and Spanish football. On Twitter, he is @Vam_os - go ahead and follow him! This part is about the state of Cádiz and their priorities for the upcoming season. And it hereby concludes The Cádiz Chronicles... Are Cádiz where you want them to be? Although everyone at the Ramón Carranza was up for promotion to the top league, I think personally that Cádiz’ main priority lies in establishing themselves as a strong second division club first and foremost before aiming any higher. That’s going to be the key. It’s not to say promotion to La Primera would be a bad thing; but the whole infrastructure at the club needs to be able to maintain that if and when that time comes. That’s the view also taken by the club president, Manuel Viscaino and it’s reassuring to know that he feels that way. In a recent interview he said that clubs wh...

This season, LaLiga TV has a new English commentator. This is an interview with him. You can follow Paul Giblin on Twitter here . A bit about yourself and your background I'm from Hull in the north of England and I moved to Spain in 1991 basically to work as a teacher (was out of work in UK and it seemed like a good idea, to do some work and learn a new language…). I got into journalism through luck, my aunt saw an advert in the local paper, I sent in a CV and the rest is history as they say… Actually David Beckham's arrival was a huge boost as there was more interest in Spanish football and I got into doing football commentary thanks to that…. That was with the production company Mediapro and they are linked to BeIN sports etc, so that's more or less where I am today…. Small issue of girlfriend etc apart.... How long have you been a fan of Athletic and what made you support them in the first place? I moved to Bilbao in 1992 and was sharing a flat with a bi...

My new series, called the Silly Season Accumulator, lists all the rumors that have ever been mentioned on the internet about Rayo. Yes - all of them. Just to show you how ridiculous this machine is - a machine that creates meaningless content masquerading as journalism. If that's harsh, that's because the irony is that more rumors gives me more material. And that material gets in the way of the stories that matter. Here's all the rumors for this week. It's less this time, because once again the actual news took precedent: Kakuta is interested in coming back to Madrid. Rayo, Leganés and Getafe have all been offered the player. Johan Mojica has been linked with a return to Columbia - Junior and Deportivo Calí are all interested. Numerous outlets reporting that Zé Castro has rescinded his contract - but no word from the club yet. 33-year-old Aitor Sanz has been linked to numerous Segunda clubs, including Rayo. He prefers to stay at Tenerife though. Manucho's...

It was the 31st of July, 2015, and Elche fans were outside the stadium. The season was long over but not for these fans. They had fireworks in their hand, but with every passing minute it looked like they would be unused. Elche had come 13th but for the first time in their 92-year history - in fact for the first time for any club in La Liga history - had been relegated for non-sporting reasons. The team was relegated for not paying their debts on time. So what were the fans waiting for? Elche had until midnight to pay €4 million, otherwise they would be relegated to the Segunda B - Spain’s amateur, third tier where automatic promotion doesn’t exist, money is scarce and newly-relegated clubs can go out of business. If Elche were to be gone, they would be gone forever. Many players tore their contracts and left the club, in effect waiving the unpaid wages Elche owed them. Some players delayed their payments. Fans were urged to buy season tickets and shirts and sponsors were desp...

Salamanca traveled to Albacete to compete for promotion to La Liga with an impossible task on their hands. They had to overturn a 2-0 deficit away from home, against a side that entered La Liga's relegation playoff spots on the final day, and who had scored 44 goals in the league - just four less than Salamanca themselves. As the clock ticked towards the 90th minute, Salamanca were winning 1-0 yet in danger of losing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Born in Tudela, Navarre, Urzaiz began his professional career at Real Madrid's B-side, making his debut in Segunda División in 1989. Despite being a successful youth international, he did not make any La Liga appearances for the first team (however, he did play one game against Odense BK, in the 1990–91 European Cup). Urzaiz spent the 1991–92 season on loan at Albacete Balompié, making his top flight debut when he came on as a substitute against Athletic Bilbao in October 1991. In early 1993, he was loaned to Celta de Vigo...

A player who we all love at the club. Fran has more maturity than his age says -Paco Jémez, in 2015 I was wrong. Fran Beltrán has been linked with Barcelona many times. His talent is unquestionable and his desire to make it at Rayo undeniable. But his desire to stay at Rayo was always in doubt. Despite signing a new contract that kept him at the club till 2020, a eight million euro release clause seemed like the board were looking to make a quick buck. It's important to know his history - at the tender age of 16, Fran made his Rayo B debut against CD San Fernando in December 2015. A tireless midfielder with excellent technique and ball-winning capabilities, he has also been called up for the U-17 Spanish national football team, and regularly plays for the first team. But in an interview with Marca this week, Fran said this: "I  was clear that if another team came, Madrid or Barça, I wanted to stay here. I can not think of a better place than Rayo" Obvio...

"It was an agreement between clubs. What happened was that I did not want to leave, I was very comfortable at Rayo; we were going to play in Europe and I wanted to stay in Vallecas. I identified with the club and I felt important inside. But they had already reached an agreement and I had to leave; The truth is that it was the saddest moment I had while at Rayo. " - Carlos Llorens It was a painful year for Atlético Madrid. The second top goalscorer in the league, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, belonged to the team second from bottom. Ranieri was dismissed after matchday 26 with the club in administration due to accumulated debts, Antić took over a squad that was already in a tailspin, sitting in 17th league spot and barely hovering above relegation zone. The team fell into the relegation zone and never came back, they were eliminated from the UEFA Cup in the quarterfinals by Lens, and Antić was fired after matchday 37 after Atlético was already mathematically relegated -...

Follow Javier on Twitter here . A bit about yourself and your background My name is Javier Larroda, I was born in Vitoria-Gasteiz and I am 35 years old. I teach English as a second language at a Vocational Training School in Vitoria-Gasteiz. I studied English Studies at the University of the Basque Country as well as the degree of Tourism at the University of Deusto (Bilbao). I have also lived in the United States for a short period of time (New Jersey and Colorado). How long have you been a fan of Alavés and what made you support them in the first place? I have been fan of Alavés since I was a child but I remember that I was not used to follow the games so much. My team was Alavés because my cousin “Santi” (Santiago Martínez) played for the team back in the 90s. Given the transfer windows and the squad that was assembled at the start of the season, is Alavés where you want it to be? What can I say, Alavés will play the ‘Copa del Rey’ final against Barcelona and we will pl...

You see that logo above this blog post? The one that looks amazing? It was designed by this guy, Ignasi Torné.  Aka Naxto, he is a blogger, writer, traveler...you name it. Check out his blog here , and follow him on Twitter here and on Instagram here . A bit about yourself and your background As I use to say, born and bred in Barcelona. I studied Marketing, Advertisement and Tourism Management. What I do? Travel, loving art in its several expressions, read fast literature and link my life with football. This is how I discovered my vision of life, travel for football. As easy as that. How long have you been a fan of Osasuna and what made you support them in the first place? It is not the first team I supported. Since 4 years ago, I can say that it currently is the team that I follow in Spain, because it’s interesting how passionate every game is for an Osasuna fan. Besides, I am very linked with Navarra, its traditions and people. I really love Iruña (Pamplona in Ba...

James Extegorri runs the website with the most up-to-date news on Athletic Club, insideathletic.com . You can follow it on Twitter here too. A bit about yourself and your background... My name is James Etxegorri. I am a Basque-Catalan who was born in the United States. I moved back to Bilbao when I was older to get close to my family and heritage. I grew up loving Athletic Club and the Basque Country. My heritage and family has shaped a lot of my identity. How long have you been a fan of Athletic Bilbao and what made you support them in the first place? I have been an Athletic Club supporter since I was a child. Being Basque, my entire family loved Athletic. Supporting Athletic isn’t just being a fan of a club; it is a way of life and an identity. I’ve seen the club’s ups and downs and have loved every moment. Given the transfer windows and the squad that was assembled at the start of the season, is Athletic Bilbao where you want it to be? Athletic’s Basque only policy do...

Euan McTear is a Scottish football journalist who focuses on LaLiga and who writes about Spanish football for MARCA In English and These Football Times. You can follow him on Twitter here  and buy his book on Eibar here . How long have you been a fan of Eibar and what made you support them in the first place? I first started following Eibar as a result of the Scottish links of their fan. I then wrote a book called ‘Eibar The Brave’ about their promotion as LaLiga’s smallest ever team and got to know the club and its supporters better and have followed them closely ever since. Given the transfer windows and the squad that was assembled at the start of the season, is Eibar where you want it to be? Eibar have far exceeded expectations in 2016-17. Although they no longer have the very smallest budget of the division, they are still one of the smallest teams in the transfer market. Yet their sporting director Fran Garagarza has an eye for a bargain and signed some excellent ...