Nico Williams: The rise of athletic Bilbao and Spain, which could be set up on the Premier League | Football news

Nico Williams wasn’t even a teenager when Athletic Bilbao realized he would be a big star.

“When he was a child, he was different,” says Andoni Bombin, a former Scout of Athletic and the head of the methodology, says Sky Sports. “Although he was in U12, everyone always thought he was one of the other stars of the club.”

It certainly happened, but perhaps on a larger scale than first predicted. Williams is not only a key jewel of Athletic, but also a national hero for Spain. England found it in the Euro 2024 final, with Williams scored the first goal of La Roja in Berlin.

This is probably the top of the promising and flowering career-Williams is not yet 23 and has the title of the euro for its name, plus the iconic Hero Status, which helps to supply Copa del Rey for Athletic after a 40-year waiting for the trophy.

Although with the possibility to continue the dream to obtain the title of the European League for Athletic with the final in Bilbau and the interest of the Premier League, which will come this summer, it could be many more moments.

The bombin was in charge of promoting the best Athletic talents through their youth structure and playing a key role in moving Williams through age groups.

He came from Osasuna as a U11S player and was immediately placed one age group higher. When he was 16, he played with U19s. Two years later he played for Basconia, the third team Athletic, before the plan. His athletic debut of the first team would come the following season.

“Even though he was in U18, he had a personality to play, a personality who could perform in this category that is not easy,” adds Bombin.

“So everyone, we had the same opinion on him: that he would become the highest level player.”

There was also a huge motivation that Williamsa was driving, and it was a dream to imitate his brother Inaki.

For eight years, Nico’s Senior, Inai broke through ten years ago into the first Athletic team and has since become an icon in the club and closed 500 performances.

Inaki has “Williams” on the back of the shirt, while Nico adopts’ Williams jr’-triggers respect for his brother, but also dynamics similar to the father-syn between them.

And the brothers dominate the athletic wing. They sit side by side in key attacking metric statistics this season as a dangerous store. Nico on the left, inaki on the right side – although sometimes they are confused, such as children playing on the playground.

However, the dream of this partnership began at Athletic Academy, and Nico looked up at his older brother in the first team.

“For Nico, the legacy must have been his brother – to try to get his level and then, when he got there, try to be better than that,” says Bombin.

“Now that you ask Inaki, I think he says the same: Nico is more complete than him.

“When both of them are on the same level, of course I would play both. But if I have to decide between them, I think Nico. Because in one -time situations, I think it is better than inaki, but it’s just a small difference.”

But it wasn’t a direct story for Williams’ brothers in Bilbau. The document was published last year, Williamsrevealed a negative perception of the performance.

The Athletic Recruitment Structure, which uses only players in Basque, led to the primarily white demographic group in their team for generations. Multiple players of ethnic minorities appeared, but Athletic became the last Laliga club to build a black player in 2011. Inki became the first black goalkeeper of Athletic in 2015.

The Williams brothers were brought up in the Basque region after their parents left Ghana and were looking for a better life. Athletic fans have always taken two of their own pair. But the color of their skin in the context of this demographic group has become the goal of competing fans and adopted treatment to not resemble the recent racist struggle of Real Madrid Winger Vinicius JR in Spanish football.

For Nico, who watched his brother got abuse when he first broke, Athletic wanted to emphasize that his younger brother had a home.

“We always say the same: a sense of belonging is one of the keys of the athletic club project,” says Bombin.

“Providing all the players of the Academy that makes this sense of belonging is better players. When you combine them with your abilities, you can go forward as fast as you can.

“And Nico has understood it perfectly. It does it as,” Okay, I’m an athletic club. This is my club. I want to be an athletic club footballer. “”

This happened last summer for players and club when Barcelona approached Nico. The player had a choice, but he decided to stay – partly because of the connection he had with Athletic, and how a direct opponent would perceive to a historic opponent.

“I think it was really useful to have his brother in the life of his brother, because he perfectly understands what this club means,” Bombin says.

“So it will be a perfect combination of how to get what you want. And now I think it’s a good example: Nico Williams is in the first team and doesn’t think where he could go in the future.

“He just enjoys what he does, enjoys the club, wins titles and is happy where he plays.”

This season, the waves of the transmission saga also encountered, while the young wing started the campaign slowly. The emotional summer of the Spanish euro has impact, but it is also proposed by aggressive persecution of 22 -year -old.

This season has nine goals, but seven of them came since the turn of the year – although this term was relatively without injury. It is for a rich vein forms when preparing for Rangers in the quarterfinals of Europa League, its double in the last 16 victories over Roma suggests that he is now during his season.

And Athletic’s – and possibly the player’s determination – will be tested again this summer, with more transmission attention. Sky Sports News He understands that Arsenal is very interested in the wing, and Barcelona is likely to revive his long -term approach.

Will the player marry with athletic and Spanish football, which will be able to reduce it in the Premier League?

“Premier League plays really quickly with direct attacks, long balls, always has a lot of situation with one versus-one, the possibilities of counterattack,” says Bombin.

“I think it will be ready if it happens in the future, because its qualities are, I think the best for this kind of football.”