When I decided to do this project there was one club that I was looking forward to more than any other. The club was Athletic Bilbao, one of the most famous clubs in Spain and one of undoubted uniqueness. Bilbao is situated in the Basque Country, perhaps the most controversial part of Spain. For some, the Basque Country is just another part of Spain, all be it with a different climate and a second language. For others, the Basque Country is a separate nation with its own traditions and a unique language. Well it´s certainly different, that´s for sure.
On the train up from Madrid you start to feel like you are entering a different country. First there is the change of landscapes as you leave the dry, arid landscape of Castilla y Leon and enter the green, mountainous lands of the Basque Country. With the change of land, comes a change in the houses. The Basque houses that start to spring up in the hills and valleys look more like Austrian or Swiss houses than Spanish ones. You could even get the impression you are in the Balkans or the Caucuses and this becomes more realistic when you start to read the names of the stations and hear the train announcements in Basque. The final sign you are not in just another part of Spain is a sudden ID check on the train by plain clothed police officers, perhaps from the anti-terrorist division.
Arriving in Bilbao on match day is also a unique experience. Bilbao is the Newcastle of Spain, in the sense that almost everyone from Bilbao supports Athletic. In my two days in Bilbao I can´t remember seeing one man, woman or child wearing a Real Madrid or Barça top. That is the equivalent of visiting an English city and not seeing a Manchester Utd top or a Scottish city and not seeing a Rangers or Celtic top. On match day in Bilbao, everyone knows there is a match on. Even the woman who worked in the hostel where we were staying, someone who didn´t seem that interested in football and was in fact a Real Sociedad fan (Athletics Basque rivals) knew there was a match and that it was against Sevilla. To be fair, knowing there is a match on isn´t difficult as so many of the bars have red and white Athletic flags set up on match day and every second person you pass in the street is wearing something red and white. Nevertheless, the city has the feeling of a football city where every man, boy, woman and girl is behind Athletic and is praying for a victory.
So why are Athletic so special? Well, like many things in Spanish football, it has a political edge. Athletic are best known for only playing Basque players, a policy they have stuck to throughout their entire 111 year existence. In the past, in the days before TV money and Bosman transfers, it was quite normal for teams to be made up of local players. Nowadays, it is unheard of for a team playing in one of Europe’s top leagues to be made up of entirely local players. Now, when I say local, I don´t mean entirely from Bilbao but rather from the Basque Country. This is what gives Athleitc an extra edge because as well as being the local team for people from Bilbao they are the de-facto national team of the Basque people who feel Basque and not Spanish. Unlike Scotland, the Basque Country doesn´t have an officially recognized national team. Basque players who want to play in World Cups and European Championships have to do so under the flag of Spain. For many Basques it´s not a problem but for others it is and it is those people who can look upon Athletic as their national team. This was the first ground so far where I haven´t seen anyone selling Spanish flags or the rather provocative scarf saying “Esto es España y el que no le guste que se vaya” which roughly translates as “This is Spain and he who doesn´t like it can leave”. Instead, you only see Basque flags and scarves saying “Euskadiko Selekzioa” which I think is Basque for “Basque national team”.
Whatever your political views on the Basque situation, it is admirable that Athletic continue to survive at the top level with only Basque players while others spend millions buying the best talent from around the world. In fact Athletic have never been relegated from La Primera División.
Another thing that makes Athletic special is their famous stadium, San Mamés; better known as the Cathedral. San Mamés is the oldest football stadium in Spain and you can feel it as soon as you enter. For the football traditionalist like myself, it trumps the Emirates any day of the week. It is one of those stadiums that still has pillars blocking some poor guy´s view and stands that come from different eras. The atmosphere of San Mamés on match day is also unique. If being at a Getafe match is like attending a Clyde match then being at an Athletic match is like attending a Scotland match. Unlike other teams in Spain, there are no easily identifiable Ultras but when a song starts everyone gets involved and the noise is incredible. Likewise, when the referee makes an unpopular decision, everyone joins in with the insults, whistles and boos. Unfortunately for Athletic there was much more of the latter in the match with Sevilla. Athletic had started this season very well with three straight wins but a midweek loss to Tenerife was followed by a 0-4 home loss to an unforgiving Sevilla. The loss was made worse by the fact it came from a combination of Athletic mistakes and bad refereeing. However, what made Athletic´s loss different was that the crowd didn´t turn on the team, manager or the board. There were no insults hurled at their own players. There was no one demanding they scrap their Basque only policy and go out and buy the type of foreign talent that Sevilla had. They crowd were visibly hurt at the defeat but you knew they would be back in numbers for the next match. In fact the next day the city’s main square was full of men, boys, women and girls wearing Athletic tops. Some had gathered to trade football stickers as they raced to complete their album. Others, the younger boys, were playing football, no doubt dreaming of playing for Athletic when they are older. The Athletic fans seem to have more patience and loyalty than average Spanish football fan. They seem to accept that their club´s uniqueness will prevent it from winning the Spanish league but that seems ok. Perhaps that is because here, more than anywhere else, the club is more than just a football team.
On the train up from Madrid you start to feel like you are entering a different country. First there is the change of landscapes as you leave the dry, arid landscape of Castilla y Leon and enter the green, mountainous lands of the Basque Country. With the change of land, comes a change in the houses. The Basque houses that start to spring up in the hills and valleys look more like Austrian or Swiss houses than Spanish ones. You could even get the impression you are in the Balkans or the Caucuses and this becomes more realistic when you start to read the names of the stations and hear the train announcements in Basque. The final sign you are not in just another part of Spain is a sudden ID check on the train by plain clothed police officers, perhaps from the anti-terrorist division.
Arriving in Bilbao on match day is also a unique experience. Bilbao is the Newcastle of Spain, in the sense that almost everyone from Bilbao supports Athletic. In my two days in Bilbao I can´t remember seeing one man, woman or child wearing a Real Madrid or Barça top. That is the equivalent of visiting an English city and not seeing a Manchester Utd top or a Scottish city and not seeing a Rangers or Celtic top. On match day in Bilbao, everyone knows there is a match on. Even the woman who worked in the hostel where we were staying, someone who didn´t seem that interested in football and was in fact a Real Sociedad fan (Athletics Basque rivals) knew there was a match and that it was against Sevilla. To be fair, knowing there is a match on isn´t difficult as so many of the bars have red and white Athletic flags set up on match day and every second person you pass in the street is wearing something red and white. Nevertheless, the city has the feeling of a football city where every man, boy, woman and girl is behind Athletic and is praying for a victory.
So why are Athletic so special? Well, like many things in Spanish football, it has a political edge. Athletic are best known for only playing Basque players, a policy they have stuck to throughout their entire 111 year existence. In the past, in the days before TV money and Bosman transfers, it was quite normal for teams to be made up of local players. Nowadays, it is unheard of for a team playing in one of Europe’s top leagues to be made up of entirely local players. Now, when I say local, I don´t mean entirely from Bilbao but rather from the Basque Country. This is what gives Athleitc an extra edge because as well as being the local team for people from Bilbao they are the de-facto national team of the Basque people who feel Basque and not Spanish. Unlike Scotland, the Basque Country doesn´t have an officially recognized national team. Basque players who want to play in World Cups and European Championships have to do so under the flag of Spain. For many Basques it´s not a problem but for others it is and it is those people who can look upon Athletic as their national team. This was the first ground so far where I haven´t seen anyone selling Spanish flags or the rather provocative scarf saying “Esto es España y el que no le guste que se vaya” which roughly translates as “This is Spain and he who doesn´t like it can leave”. Instead, you only see Basque flags and scarves saying “Euskadiko Selekzioa” which I think is Basque for “Basque national team”.
Whatever your political views on the Basque situation, it is admirable that Athletic continue to survive at the top level with only Basque players while others spend millions buying the best talent from around the world. In fact Athletic have never been relegated from La Primera División.
Another thing that makes Athletic special is their famous stadium, San Mamés; better known as the Cathedral. San Mamés is the oldest football stadium in Spain and you can feel it as soon as you enter. For the football traditionalist like myself, it trumps the Emirates any day of the week. It is one of those stadiums that still has pillars blocking some poor guy´s view and stands that come from different eras. The atmosphere of San Mamés on match day is also unique. If being at a Getafe match is like attending a Clyde match then being at an Athletic match is like attending a Scotland match. Unlike other teams in Spain, there are no easily identifiable Ultras but when a song starts everyone gets involved and the noise is incredible. Likewise, when the referee makes an unpopular decision, everyone joins in with the insults, whistles and boos. Unfortunately for Athletic there was much more of the latter in the match with Sevilla. Athletic had started this season very well with three straight wins but a midweek loss to Tenerife was followed by a 0-4 home loss to an unforgiving Sevilla. The loss was made worse by the fact it came from a combination of Athletic mistakes and bad refereeing. However, what made Athletic´s loss different was that the crowd didn´t turn on the team, manager or the board. There were no insults hurled at their own players. There was no one demanding they scrap their Basque only policy and go out and buy the type of foreign talent that Sevilla had. They crowd were visibly hurt at the defeat but you knew they would be back in numbers for the next match. In fact the next day the city’s main square was full of men, boys, women and girls wearing Athletic tops. Some had gathered to trade football stickers as they raced to complete their album. Others, the younger boys, were playing football, no doubt dreaming of playing for Athletic when they are older. The Athletic fans seem to have more patience and loyalty than average Spanish football fan. They seem to accept that their club´s uniqueness will prevent it from winning the Spanish league but that seems ok. Perhaps that is because here, more than anywhere else, the club is more than just a football team.
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Q pasa Jamie!!
ReplyDeleteGracias por este blog. Me encanta ver cómo es el punto de vista de alguien no español, de alguien más objetivo.
Me encanta leer tus crónicas, me recuerda a las crónicas marruecas o a David Attenborough observando especímenes raros de homo sapiens en un entorno hostil. Con frecuencia pienso que diseccionas nuestra realidad, y la verdad es que es divertido.
Lo dicho, sigue así porque tus artículos sobre realidad española son cojonudos y me lo paso genial leyéndolos.
Seguiremos el camino de la liga.
Un abrazo