How Basque Renaissance brought ‘La Roja’ to win Euro 2024
A journey started in Sevilla, 479 kilometers away from Madrid and 975 from Barcelona.
@rfef
The Precedent
When on April 3, 2021 Real Sociedad beat Athletic Club in a historic Basque Copa del Rey Final – two independentist clubs playing one against the other for a trophy named after the monarchy: football knows how to be magical and ironic at the same time – 18-year-old Nico Williams was supporting his elder brother Iñaki, Bilbao’s striker. At that time, Nico was leading Athletic Club’s second team in their struggle for promotion to LaLiga 2, which was eventually achieved, again by the ‘txuri-urdin’. Playing in a Copa del Rey final like his brother was still a dream for him. He would make his LaLiga debut 25 days later against Real Valladolid.
@sefutbol
Euskadi
During the final, many future European Champions were on the pitch. Unai Simón and Álex Remiro – De la Fuente’s first and second goalkeeper – were watching, from one’s own goal, a game governed by Real Sociedad in the same way Spain does with any of its opponents: with an oxymoronic vertical ball possession. No surprise, then, that their backbone comprised players who never miss a call from ‘La Roja’: center-back Robin Le Normand, midfield duo Zubimendi-Merino, and 23-year-old captain Mikel Oyarzabal, playing a modern Basque version of the falso nueve.
At the time, the game was considered one of the highest points in Basque football, certainly the most recent one. Real Sociedad’s last trophy had been the Segunda División title in 2009/10. The golden age of San Sebastián’s club, which saw them win LaLiga twice, a Copa del Rey, a Supercopa de España, and reach a Champions League semi-final in the 80s, seemed a distant memory.
The ‘80s were also the last golden age for Athletic Club de Bilbao, especially 1984 when they won their eighth and last LaLiga title, completing a national ‘Triplete’ with a Supercopa de España and a Copa del Rey.
@athleticclub
The Basque Renaissance
This made the 2021 final – the first hosted by the RFEF-owned Estádio de la Cartuja in Sevilla –significant for Basque people. It was seen as an all-or-nothing moment, a rare chance for happiness not expected to recur soon.
Instead, it marked the beginning of a renaissance for Basque football and, unexpectedly, for Spanish football as a whole.
It’s no secret that 8 out of the 26 European champions play in the Basque region during the regular season: three at Athletic Club – the same number as Real Madrid, one less than Barcelona – and five at Real Sociedad, the most represented club. The ‘rojiblanco’ Nico Williams was one of the best players of the tournament, while Mikel Oyarzabal from the bench scored a historic winner in the last minutes of a thrilling final in Berlin.
@20m
In the 2023/24 season, Basque football achieved significant success in club competitions too. The Champions League’s round of 16 returned to San Sebastián’s Anoeta – now renamed Reale Arena – 20 years after the last time, and Athletic Club ended a 40-year drought by winning the Copa del Rey.
It all started that 3rd of April 2021, with Real Sociedad win 1-0 over Athletic Club in Sevilla. No need to ask who scored the decisive goal: captain Mikel Oyarzabal, of course.
