The Pride of Vallekas

This picture below encapsulates Spanish football, and all its dichotomies, perfectly. The player on the left played for an Andalusian, is from Columbia, and cost 7 million euros. The one on the right played for a Basque club, is from the Basque Country, and cost nothing. Today's story, naturally, is about the story on the right. Txema Añibarro, a 6'2" rugged defensive midfielder, is very much the definition of the stereotypical Basque player....This is the story of a man who rose up the league system, from the fifth tier to the first, via only Basque clubs. He started out with the juvenil sides of Padura (1997-98) and Indartsu (1998-99), before making his first team debut with fifth tier (Preferente) side Galdakao. He would go on to play in the fifth tier for three seasons, one with Galdakao and two with Arratia (2000-02), before being signed by Tercera side Lemona in 2002, at the age of 23. After one season each with Lemona, Aurrerá Ondarroa and Gernika, he...

Sometimes, I have thoughts and snippets that don't always deserve a full article, but also don't deserve to go into the heap. In other words, welcome to my drafts folder. Watch out for this type of article occasionally - on Sundays (Sunday Snippets) and Thursdays (Thursday Thoughts). As is usual, I delved into the depths of the internet for something to write about, when I cam across this quote by Eibar's then coach Gaizka Garitano. When Eibar were eighth - the Basque country’s best team - Garitano had this to say: “It’s not shameful or problematic to feel inferior...I don’t think that’s anything to hide from. It’s good to know what you’re up against. The day that you play de tú a tú , as equals, you lose something. We can’t forget where we come from; the day we forget that, we’ll have a problem.” The problem was that they did. They ending up being relegated and needing a historic administrative relegation of Elche to the Segunda - the first in La Liga history - to...

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...