FMBase Lost Talents 3.0 - Rising from the Basque
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There's excitement brewing from northern part of Spain. It is said that, while Spain has been basking in the glory of their recent achievements, the Basque has been going to war behind closed doors. The football fans might not realize this due to being fixed to the beautiful football being played around the world, but the truth is, to find, create and help shape those talents, it takes years of hard work from both players and clubs. We have all seen was Spain has been dishing out the past decade and it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
The talk as of late though, while Madrid and Barcelona battle it out on the field, the giants from the Basque have been going out it behind closed doors with papers and pens. The fight on the field might be a no contest in many eyes, but from resources close to both clubs, it seems that the future of both clubs, and indeed Spain for that matter, will be rising from the Basque Country after all.
So I headed down to Spain myself to get a closer look at both teams' eagerness to sign the young talent that seems to spur them on sign them at an age as young as 14 years old. Athletic Bilbao are known for their talent scouting of the area. Most notably as of late, the superstar that is Llorente and the future of the team Muniain. There is also the likes of Javi Martinez. What makes Athletic Bilbao so unique is their law of signing only Basque players. Some think its hindering them, but you would be surprised at the support they get to keep this law in place. It has proven to work too. They have been in La Liga since its inception and it doesn't seem to be in danger anytime soon.
On the other hand, we have Real Sociedad who have been on a roller coaster ride as of late. They made their way back to La Liga only a few years back and are now on the verge on becoming the team to reckoned with. But they are clearly a team for the future and now for the now. With Jose Angel and Inigo Martinez holding the backline for the coming years, Real Sociedad will now be focusing on the attacking half of the team. Unlike Bilbao, Sociedad looked outside Spain. The dipped into France and signed Antoine Greizmann. Born in France to Basque ancestry, he was the perfect match for Real's title hunt. Or is it too much to ask for?
So here we are. 2 teams from the same area of the country, battling it for the future. So we made our way to both teams to check out the 5 players with the brightest futures within both clubs. So here are the players.
Athletic Bilbao - Top 5 Hot Prospects
View attachment 271278View attachment 271279View attachment 271280View attachment 271283View attachment 271284
Real Sociedad - Top 5 Hot Prospects
View attachment 271281View attachment 271282View attachment 271285View attachment 271286View attachment 271287
The question we have on our minds is, what will the future hold for those 10 fine young talents? Time will tell how far they will go with their careers. As mentioned before, as big clubs battled their hearts and souls to get trophies, Bilbao and Sociedad have been battling it out in their backyards to find that next star. Now they both have 5 young prospects that could just be the turning point of their fortunes.
There's excitement brewing from northern part of Spain. It is said that, while Spain has been basking in the glory of their recent achievements, the Basque has been going to war behind closed doors. The football fans might not realize this due to being fixed to the beautiful football being played around the world, but the truth is, to find, create and help shape those talents, it takes years of hard work from both players and clubs. We have all seen was Spain has been dishing out the past decade and it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
The talk as of late though, while Madrid and Barcelona battle it out on the field, the giants from the Basque have been going out it behind closed doors with papers and pens. The fight on the field might be a no contest in many eyes, but from resources close to both clubs, it seems that the future of both clubs, and indeed Spain for that matter, will be rising from the Basque Country after all.
So I headed down to Spain myself to get a closer look at both teams' eagerness to sign the young talent that seems to spur them on sign them at an age as young as 14 years old. Athletic Bilbao are known for their talent scouting of the area. Most notably as of late, the superstar that is Llorente and the future of the team Muniain. There is also the likes of Javi Martinez. What makes Athletic Bilbao so unique is their law of signing only Basque players. Some think its hindering them, but you would be surprised at the support they get to keep this law in place. It has proven to work too. They have been in La Liga since its inception and it doesn't seem to be in danger anytime soon.
On the other hand, we have Real Sociedad who have been on a roller coaster ride as of late. They made their way back to La Liga only a few years back and are now on the verge on becoming the team to reckoned with. But they are clearly a team for the future and now for the now. With Jose Angel and Inigo Martinez holding the backline for the coming years, Real Sociedad will now be focusing on the attacking half of the team. Unlike Bilbao, Sociedad looked outside Spain. The dipped into France and signed Antoine Greizmann. Born in France to Basque ancestry, he was the perfect match for Real's title hunt. Or is it too much to ask for?
So here we are. 2 teams from the same area of the country, battling it for the future. So we made our way to both teams to check out the 5 players with the brightest futures within both clubs. So here are the players.
Athletic Bilbao - Top 5 Hot Prospects
View attachment 271278View attachment 271279View attachment 271280View attachment 271283View attachment 271284
Real Sociedad - Top 5 Hot Prospects
View attachment 271281View attachment 271282View attachment 271285View attachment 271286View attachment 271287
The question we have on our minds is, what will the future hold for those 10 fine young talents? Time will tell how far they will go with their careers. As mentioned before, as big clubs battled their hearts and souls to get trophies, Bilbao and Sociedad have been battling it out in their backyards to find that next star. Now they both have 5 young prospects that could just be the turning point of their fortunes.
