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...