Real Sociedad ‘Basque’ in the sunshine of derby glory

I had the privilege this week of attending the Basque derby between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao, a game that in an age of often ridiculously lavish spending, is surely Europe’s most wholesome derby, if not the world’s.

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Both Sociedad and Athletic club are proud examples of what can be achieved with an almost laser-like focus on youth development.

This La Liga derby at the Reale Arena saw 21 players on the field, either from the start or off the bench, that came through the Sociedad or Bilbao youth systems.

Athletic have a policy that has been in place since 1912 of not allowing anyone to play for them that was not born in the Basque region, and given the way this limits their selection capacity, it is quite staggering that they are the only team, apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona, never to have been relegated from La Liga.

Interestingly, a Ghanaian international is currently the star player for Bilbao. Inaki Williams’ parents went from West Africa to Spain on foot, in search of a better life, and Inaki was born in the Basque country, hence his eligibility to play for Athletic.

His younger brother, Neco Williams, also plays for Athletic, and has chosen to represent Spain, while his brother picked the Black Stars.

Sociedad operate on a model that is based on 80% of their players coming from the Basque region and 20% from outside, still an enormous lean towards youth development.

Their Zubieta academy is something to behold, with tier upon tier of training pitches, to fit into San Sebastian’s hilly surroundings.

Bilbao and San Sebastian are about an hour apart by car, and plenty of Athletic supporters made the trip to Sociedad’s home town.

There was none of the heated animosity that comes with some derbies as fans of both teams mingled near the stadium hours before kick-off to enjoy a pre-match beer or two.

Also notable was the amount of women and children in attendance, with a visit to the football in these parts clearly very much a family occasion. One such family just in front of us in the stadium saw a father with his two young sons, one of whom was in full Sociedad kit and the other in Athletic’s colours.

Sociedad smiles

And it was the Sociedad lad who was all smiles, while his brother had his head buried in his hands, as Real took the match 3-1, remaining in third place on La Liga’s standings, and well in the hunt for a Uefa Champions League spot next season.

Sociedad’s “20%” from outside the Basque country were at the fore on Saturday, with Norway’s Alexander Sorloth getting the opener, and Japan’s Takefusa Kubo grabbing the second, and winning a dubious penalty from which Sociedad sealed the win.

That penalty was slotted in by Mikel Oyarzabal, very much from the Basque region and one of Sociedad’s favourite sons.

The noise at the Reale Arena as the goals went in was amazing, a beautiful burst of blue and white song and dance.

At this rate, come the end of the season, Sociedad fans are likely to have plenty more to sing about.