This article was translated by John R. Bopp
Journalist Ian Hawkey has published an interesting article in the Irish daily The National in which he states that not all Basque soccer is limited to Athletic Bilbao.
In this article, he discusses how there are four Basque teams in the Spanish Premier League this season: Alavés, Athletic, Eibar, and Real Sociedad. He also explains that this is the first time in the more than 80 years of the league’s existence that there has been such a concentration of Basque clubs.
And that’s what grabbed our attention. He says there are four clubs, leaving out the one club in all of the Premier League whose name is in the language of the Basques: Osasuna.
It’s clear that the many years of insistence on the part of some to make “Basque” synonymous only with the extension of the Basque Autonomous Community is bearing fruit.
As we write this, we’re sure that we’ll get some negative, or even threatening or insulting, comments from those offended by the thought that Navarre isn’t Basque. Not that we’re terribly worried, we know that idea sits poorly with some, and we’re over it.
So, we’re going to head off the offended at the pass, to save time with sterile debates in the comments section. The idea that the Navarrese are not Basque was invented at the end of the 1970s by the heirs of the Francoist governors of Navarre. The real story is quite different.
The National – 9/12/2016 – Irlanda
Not just Athletic Bilbao anymore: Basque Country clubs are boldly buoyant in Spain
For motorists, days like Sunday in the town of Eibar, northern Spain, are a long grumble. Getting in and out of town when there’s a big game means traffic gridlocks way beyond the municipal borders. For the local minority not in proud wonder at the fact that little Eibar are playing in the top flight of Spanish football, there have been mutterings that drivers would be better off if the club got relegated.
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Last Updated on Dec 20, 2020 by About Basque Country
