Athletic Club Mallorca

COLUMN: Unique in the world, Nico Williams and the new Lionel Messi finally lifts a major trophy

“Unique in the world,” it read. The Athleticzales at La Cartuja wanted the globe to know, on the day of their club’s most important game in a generation, that Athletic Club is an institution which has no exact analogue in football – a club that exclusively signs players of Basque origin or, more recently, honed their skills at another team in the Basque Country. 

It took 120 grueling minutes against a well-drilled Mallorca, and a penalty shootout thereafter. Dani Rodriguez opened the scoring for the men from the island; Oihan Sancet equalised five minutes after halftime. But Athletic’s uniqueness triumphed on Saturday night’s exercise in endurance, and Los Leones lifted the Copa del Rey after spot kicks – their first major trophy since 1984, capping one of the single best Spanish cup finals in recent memory

Before we peel back a few layers to Athletic’s biggest win in four decades, let’s spare a thought for Mallorca. Javier Aguirre, unfancied and willing to put 10 players behind the ball if it helped his team win, nearly guided his men to a cup win for the ages. Mallorca survived Tenerife in the round of 16 and cut the wings of high-flying Girona a round later before denying Real Sociedad an all-Basque final by winning a shootout in Donostia-San Sebastian. But in the end, Athletic – superior over 120 minutes, the team that knocked out Barcelona and Atletico Madrid – had just a little bit more.

 

Nico’s star showing

Nico Williams used to be a pretty well-kept secret. Not anymore. For nearly two years now, Nico hasn’t just been one of Spain’s brightest young attackers; he is one of the country’s best attacking players, period. The Copa del Rey final merely confirmed his stardom.

Nico won back the ball from Dani Rodriguez in midfield and provided the assist for Oihan Sancet’s 50th-minute equalizer, one of six chances he created over the 120 minutes. The 21-year-old completed nine dribbles, drew three fouls, and was dispossessed only twice. He’s up to 13 assists in 30 games across all competitions, and it is scary to think he might reach another level yet if he improves his composure when presented with goal-scoring chances.

In league play, Nico’s 11 goal contributions in 24 games are one more than he provided all of last season, and many have assumed throughout 2023/24 that this would be his last in La Liga. Although he agreed a new contract four months ago, Nico’s €50m release clause stayed the same even as he extended to 2027. To many, that screams sale, as did Athletic’s €15m signing of Alvaro Djalo from Braga, confirmed last month. 

Djalo’s arrival this summer marks only the second time this decade that Athletic have paid a transfer fee – as well as the third-largest fee the club has ever spent. It couldn’t be ignored that Djalo plays the same position as Nico, and it’s easy to think of this transfer as Athletic spending one-third of Nico’s €50m clause on his direct replacement. The Basque side has to hope the highly-rated Djalo (6 goals/3 assists in Portugal this season) has close to the same impact.

 

Valverde’s validation

Really, this whole column could be on Valverde and his last laugh, his redemption following the end of his ill-fated stint at Barcelona. First, the guy masterminds the elimination of his old team, a pulsating quarterfinal at San Mames that ended 4-2 after extra time. And then he ends the trophy drought, all while implementing one of the more attractive playing styles in the country and challenging for a place in next season’s zombie Champions League.

It has been so fun to watch Valverde pen this redemption tale, after his tenure at Camp Nou ended in arguably the most ignominious way it possibly could: sacked with Barca top of the league, a scapegoat for the escalating chaos inside Josep Maria Bartomeu’s boardroom. One of only seven men ever to coach 500 games in Spain’s top-flight, the guitar-playing, photo-snapping Valverde has seen his legacy move from Athletic icon to Athletic legend this season, a reputation forged over three stints as manager and one as a player.

Consider that under Valverde’s tutelage, Sancet has become one of the country’s best midfielders. Gorka Guruzeta was relegated from Segunda sides in consecutive seasons; now, he’s firmly in the hunt for top scorer in the most fascinating Pichichi race in years. Valverde maintained confidence in cup keeper Julen Agirrezabala through this run; the 23-year-old stopped Manu Morlanes in the shootout, and captain Iker Muniain gave Athletic the advantage with the next kick. Benat Prados, another 23-year-old back from a loan spell at Mirandes, has become a vital defensive presence in Valverde’s double pivot.

This is the 11th trophy of Valverde’s managerial career. I’ll bet you anything he treasures this one above all others.

 

Muniain’s moment

They used to call him a ‘new Messi,’ or the ‘Spanish Messi.’ Once upon a time, Iker Muniain was a phenomenon; he made his official debut for Athletic in 2009 and became its youngest-ever goalscorer in European competition at 16 years and seven months old. By the age of 20, he had started a Europa League final and his first Copa del Rey final, part of a season in which he made an incredible 58 appearances. The Pamplona-born playmaker made two appearances for Spain’s national team and played in the Summer Olympics that year, too – many declared that he was ticketed for the top of the game.

Then the injuries came. It’s been nine years – nearly to the day – since the first one, an ACL tear in his left knee on 4 April 2015. Less than 18 months later, the second one happened, an ACL tear in his right knee that limited Muniain to 14 games in 2017/18. He hasn’t been a big part of Valverde’s plans this season, with 431 minutes spread across his 16 appearances, and his contract expires in a little less than three months.

But by any metric, Muniain has had a fantastic career in La Liga – his 430 league games rank third all-time in Athletic’s history, and only the legendary Jose Angel Iribar has played in more games across all competitions for the club. And after five years as the skipper, he gets to be the one to lift the trophy that ends a drought which began seven years before he was born. This is his moment, too, the culmination of everything he was worked toward after nearly two decades at Athletic.

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Tags Athletic Club Copa del Rey Ernesto Valverde Iker Muniain Nico Williams RCD Mallorca
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