19-year-old Norwegian starlet Jo Inge Berget is contracted to Udinese Calcio, but would rather be anywhere else than in Udine.

After a loan spell at his home club in Norway, the striker was expected by Norwegian media to get a call-up to the senior national team in November, alongside players such as Aston Villas John Carew and Le Mans Club’s Thorstein Helstad.

In contrast, at Udinese he plays for the Under 20s team. Is he an example of a curious collection of talented footballers to fall victim to a Serie A cultural barrier? The nature of the reception committee in Italian clubs requires another look.

Sometimes talented footballers do not fit in a particular footballing culture. Level of talent, personal motivation or outside factors can determine if a player manages to break through at a foreign club. Norwegian players do not have significant track records in Italy.

Apart from Per Bredesen, at Lazio, Milan and Bari, and Ragnar Larsen, at Lazio and Genoa, both in the 1950s, only two of the ten Norwegians ever to play in the Serie A lasted as much as two seasons. 19-year old Jo Inge Berget at Udinese is facing a similar situation – but it could be avoided.

Signed for about EUR 700 000 as a 17-year-old from FC Lyn Oslo in summer 2008, Berget was meant to quickly go the grades through the U20s team into first team training. Although the youth coaches at Udinese have been happy with his efforts in training, the progress did not go as planned.

Berget was often second choice for the Udinese U20s behind Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo, who was also signed from Lyn. He quickly became disillusioned with the situation. Already in April the next year Berget was allowed to return to his home club on a 5-month loan deal.

The young striker, who has been described by skysports.com as ‘one to watch’, showed great maturity to earn a regular spot in the top division team in Norway. Europa League-qualified Molde FK attempted to buy him from Udinese, but upon failing his medical he was due back in Udine. Berget refused to go back, publicly stating he had no intention to do so. He was allowed a loan extension in Norway until the end of the season. With the end-of-season break beginning in November for the Norwegian professionals, Berget’s situation is still not in the clear.

There is no doubt about the reasons for his strong desire not to return to Udinese at this stage in his career – language barrier, homesickness, feeling of social exclusion, and promises of his footballing chances not being fulfilled. Berget has made this clear to Norwegian media. However, Udinese insist he comes back.

In this situation no one is happy – not Berget, Lyn or Udinese. It can be questioned whether anyone is at fault for creating this situation, and Berget’s situation indicates that someone is. Berget’s situation is just like that of hundreds of other talented youngsters who go abroad to try to make it in a bigger league. In Berget’s case, the situation could be solved with such ease. When the club is happy with his progress, at 19 he could be in line to make the Zebrette’s first team soon.

What Berget seems to need is someone who is present in his everyday life, helping him link up with the club community and the local culture. In the world of football, perhaps a man is expected to hold the traditional machismo stereotype of not needing help – but for young boys who travel abroad to play football a little help is sometimes all it takes. Football author Simon Kuper writes in Why England Lose that such ‘relocation agents’ make a huge difference in the experience of new players when they are used.

Jo Inge Berget has admitted that in his first month in Italy he only ate food with chicken, because the word for chicken, ‘pollo’, was the only word he knew. He felt excluded from the banter of the dressing room of the youth team, because no one helped him get included in the social life. His own social life consists of some contact with Swedish fellow youth player Gustav Hellman, and his mother who visits him every three weeks.

Even though Berget is happy with the football education he is getting, and Udinese strongly want him back, there is no wonder he is dreading a return to such a limited life.

If Udinese had used a relocation agent, someone connected to the club who eased Berget’s transition to life in a foreign country and at a big club, it would probably have been easier for Berget to justify the 700 000 EUR price tag, and to progress quickly into the first team as he was expected to.

Life as a talented footballer has a very strong psychological side to it. Evidence for that is provided every year – from Adriano refusing to travel back to Inter, now scoring for fun in the Brazilian championship, through Martin Bengtsson, the Swedish youngster at Inter who attempted suicide in Inter’s youth team residence in 2004, to the failures of Florent Sinama Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec at Liverpool, now both successful players.

Pressure is especially hard on players who have not yet had their breakthrough and live in uncertainty in a foreign country. The reflections of Jo Inge Berget to Norwegian press over that lacking component is perhaps a lesson for all top Italian clubs who want to convert foreign talent into Serie A-class players.

Argentinean and Uruguayan players adjust more easily to Italian life, but there is a steady stream of Swedish and other Northern European youngsters who travel to Italy and fail. Perhaps an analysis of the psychological side of youth transfers is necessary for Italian clubs, who are often dominated by ageing players.

This seems to be one aspect Italian top clubs can improve to help bring the Serie A forward again to be the most attractive league for talented footballers. Along with new stadiums and widened audience appeal, there are some steps Italian football can take to improve. Focusing on the psychological barriers in youngsters’ daily life can be a huge asset to the players and to the clubs in the future.

The former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o promised his fellow countrymen that he will buy each of his teammates a £30,000 watch should they qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Last weekend after their 2-0 win over Morocco, Eto’o made good on his promise and gifted the same watch to all of his teammates.

Considering the striker’s history of giving things away to other Cameroon players; four years ago he gave out a £60,000 offer, promising that he will pay £2,000 each should they beat Ivory Coast in the upcoming match.

That’s not it! Tales of his charity were told in the Football Italia:

Eto’o is not shy of making a bet, as long as the proceeds go to charity. Three years ago, he did a deal with Ford whereby they would send an ambulance to Cameroon for every goal he scored above a certain quota.

He is now in the process of recycling Europe’s unwanted shoes, installing special bins in Spanish department store El Corte Ingles where people can donate them to charity.

Source

36 year old Alexandre da Silva Mariano, a.k.a. Amaral, is not one player that you would expect to be the (unofficially) most polite footballer.

Previously playing in footballing danger zones such as Italy (Parma; AC Fiorentina) and Turkey (Besiktas), representing Brazil 31 times, and winning an Olympic Bronze medal (Atlanta 1996), nobody anticipated that the former grave digger would have written a thank you note to his most recent club, Perth Glory.

The Glory’s fan favourite only played 8 matches in his first stint, mostly off the bench, with most of it ruled out due to a hamstring injury. After being released by Perth on the 2^nd May 2009, he brought back his wealth of experience to Perth, signing onto a 9 match guest stint, despite only playing 3 matches. Amaral, understandably thanked the club for the second chance, but then, did something quite out of the ordinary. The fan favourite then turned to popular Australian sporting magazine ALPHA, and sent his fans and all A-League followers a message.

Just looking at this message, it really does seem sincere. How many former Brazilian international players take time out of their busy schedule to write a letter praising the growing A-League and Australian football scene? None, if I can remember, but we are all hoping that Carlos Hernandez will do the same. Amaral, from me, thank YOU, for showing me that football players are actually real people, and thank you also for your praise. Yes, you have contributed, not in some way, but a lot to the development to Australian football, and I hope that you will continue to play your best at your future clubs.

From me, at Soccerlens, Thank You Amaral, and as ALPHA put it, you’re all class!

Carlo Cudicini the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper has suffered ‘potentially life-changing injuries’ as the result of crashing his motorbike early this morning.

The crash occurred at 10:30am GMT on Forest Road in Walthamstow – East London. The collision involved a Ford Fiesta containing a female driver and a child, both of whom walked away from the incident and did not require hospital treatment.

The incident adds to an already tragic week in the world of football when considered alongside the untimely death of German and Hanover 96 keeper Robert Enke earlier this week.

The precise extent of the injuries sustained by Cudicni are as yet unsubstantiated, however it underlines the fragile nature of a professional sportspersons existence. To a mitigated extent, on field injuries and those sustained during training are considered part of the game and a occupational hazard. Career threatening injuries as a result of an everyday activity is something that must be much harder to swallow.

Cudicini (36) rose to fame after a number of solid performances for Chelsea during almost 10 years at the west London club, until being displaced following the arrival of Petr Čech. He previously enjoyed spells at AC Milan and Lazio. Cudicini completed a Bosman free transfer move to Spurs in January of this year and has made eight appearances under manager Harry Redknapp standing in for the injured Heurelho Gomes. His father Fabio was AC Milan’s goalkeeper in the 1960s.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “A 36-year-old male suffered injuries described by the London Ambulance Service as possibly life-changing and was taken to an east London hospital for further assessment and treatment. No arrests have been made.”

A statement on Tottenham’s website said: “Carlo Cudicini has fractured his wrists and injured his pelvis after being involved in a road accident this morning. The 36-year-old Italian goalkeeper has been admitted to hospital and undergone scans under the supervision of club medical staff.”

When I heard the news, although sympathising with Cudicini’s situation, I am forced to ask myself why he was riding a motorbike anyway. It is no coincidence the other parties involved in the crash walked away unscathed…because they were in a car. Cristiano Ronaldo famously planted his brand new Ferrari into the wall of a tunnel on his way to training with Manchester United on the 8^thof January this year. He and a team mate got out of the car and then got a lift with Edwin van der Sar to Carrington and played a full part in training later that morning. The car was a mess, its inhabitants were fine.

There is lesson to be learned here, in particular if you are an athlete and your livelihood depends on the elite use of your extremities. It’s called risk management, or common sense, or the more wheels the better. Most professionals in Cudicini’s position have clauses in their contracts forbidding them to participate in potentially dangerous activities. There is good reason for this and perhaps the use of motorbikes as a method of transportation should be added to the list of don’ts. Harsh but True.

February 7th 2009, and “moneybags” Manchester City play a televised match against Gareth Southgates Middlesborough. City needed to bounce back after a 1-0 loss to stoke, and they very nearly lost it had it not been for one of Mark Hughes’ shrewdest of signings.

Irish international Shay Given was making his first appearance for the Blues. It was a crisp, light, winter’s day which the former Newcastle United man might have been enjoying until half an hour in where he made an exquisite save from Brazilian Alfonso Alves. Two more followed and City played out a nervy one goal win.

Then he was wearing number 37, now he wears the number 1 for City with pride. Considering some of the astronomical amount of money spent on some players joining Hughes’ new look City side, 6 million for arguably their most important and influential player seems ridiculous, not even thinkable for any football fan who has seen the Lifford born shot stopper.

But alas he week in week out puts in performances and saves that have gifted him 100 caps for his national side. One excellent save from a high curler by Matt Jarvis in city’s first home game of the season brought yet more acclaim for Given who it is joked is keeping Manchester City out of the relegation zone. While this may be a slight exaggeration, Given’s penalty save at Birmingham showed yet again why Mark Hughes brought the 33 year old to Eastlands.

Here are arguably his five best saves of the season:

1. Matt Jarvis-Wolves- after a succession of City chances, Wolves attack towards the north stand and Matt Jarvis comes in from the left onto his favoured right foot, charges away from Richard Dunne and curls a perfectly placed shot towards the top right hand corner.

For all the world it looked like it would go in but for a flying left hand from City’s number one, diverting the ball around the post, earning him a huge round of applause from the City faithful.

2. Freddie Sears-Crystal Palace- a potential banana skin tie for City after two embarrassing cup exits the season before to Brighton and Nottingham Forest. Not this year with a point blank save by given after on loan striker Freddie Sears was put through on goal.

Not a fashionable save from a tight angle, with the ball ballooning off his chest, but another valuable stop preventing another lower league team boasting about beating the world’s richest club. City went on to win  2-0 with Given making a few more excellent saves just for good measure.

3. Ryan Giggs-Manchester United- with United on a high after just going ahead 2-1 from a Darren Fletcher header City were stretched and unorganised. Wayne Rooney found himself holding the ball up on the edge of the penalty area, he fed it to the evergreen Welshman who’s shot was saved by the legs of given. It is possible that City would have been taken to the sword had it not been for Given’s heroics that day.

4. Dimitar Berbatov-Manchester United- after a close range save from the Bulgarian a few minutes before, Given had to be on his toes again the former Tottenham man placed a header towards goal. Given dived across and not only kept the ball from going over the line but also pushed it away from goal, Just like he’ll have been taught as a youngster.

5. James Mcfadden-Birmingham city- a lacklustre performance from City probably deserved a defeat, especially with Birmingham showing real promise and desire in an overcast Sunday kick-off at St Andrews.

A handball from Dutchmen Nigel De Jong gave the Scotsman a golden opportunity. Perhaps the penalty wasn’t as good as it could have been but Given went the right way and won his team a point.

Brazilian journalist Fernando Duarte (a future guest on the Soccerlens Podcast, once we can track him down) interviewed Brazil and Real Madrid star Kaka in Doha this week, ahead of Brazil’s friendly against England.

The full interview can be read on the Guardian – here are a few excerpts:

Kaka on…England:

I don’t think anybody expected them to go through [qualification] so strongly, especially with the two emphatic defeats of Croatia. It’s not to say England weren’t a dangerous team before, but there is something different now. They look much sharper collectively, like Mr Capello’s sides are known to be.”

“England have always had individually strong players … but what seems to have changed is the arrival of a better collective awareness. The players look much more aware with regards to movements and positioning. The attitude is also stronger. They are definitely one of the teams to consider for the trophy in South Africa.”

Kaka on…comparisons between the 2006 and 2010 Brazil teams:

“People have to understand generations come and go. A whole era ended in 2006 but I don’t really think the lads were unaware of what was at stake in Germany. But I agree that a lot of players in the current squad have more reason to be hungry for World Cup success.”

Kaka on … Real Madrid:

“The media and public created the idealisation that you would immediately reap the benefits of all the signings, mine and Cristiano’s included, while the people who live football know that it takes time to get things going. Expectations will always be high and obviously it is not normal for Real to be hammered by a lower league team.

“But to expect us to win all games 4-0 or start talking about a crisis and sacking the manager [Manuel Pellegrini] when we are only one point behind Barcelona in La Liga and joint top with Milan in our Champions League group is a bit ludicrous.”

Kaka on … Cristiano Ronaldo:

“We hit it off from the start. Cristiano and I speak the same language so it was quite natural that I looked for him and other Portuguese speakers to settle in. People see him as this big kid, but the lad is quite mature for his age. As different as our lifestyles are, we often have dinner and talk about things.”

The full interview can be read on the Guardian.

Major League Soccer is growing and improving but outsiders often criticise the league for having a lack of quality. It is a relatively fast football played in the US, with plenty of big, athletic players of the kind which is becoming so important in so many footballing countries across the world.

The league has a lot of players who possess technical skill but relatively few whose most important attribute is a range of tricks and flicks allied to incisive vision and killer technique.

Jaime Moreno at DC United doesn’t quite have the trickery but his touch and technique have been a joy to behold – not to mention his goals. More recently, Seattle Sounders’ young Colombian forward Fredy Montero has excited supporters with his pace and footwork in his debut season.

But flying the flag for wizardry in MLS over the last couple of years has been Chicago Fire’s Mexican international Cuauhtémoc Blanco, a player of worldwide renown whose signing in 2007 was overshadowed by LA Galaxy’s move for David Beckham, a player whose career path in MLS has been remarkably similar to Blanco’s.

On 29th October, Blanco announced that he is leaving Major League Soccer to return to Mexico and Veracruz, where he spent time on loan in 2004. At the age of 36, Blanco’s career is winding down and a trip home is understandable. But his ability will be missed by MLS, even if his presence is largely unpopular outside Chicago. The rivalry between the United States and Mexico puts him at an automatic disadvantage, but he has several traits which inspire distaste in football supporters. He is certainly not universally popular, and it’s not surprising that many are toasting his departure.

Regardless, Blanco is a superb footballer and an asset on the field. He has one or two tricks up his sleeve, most famously the brilliant Blanco Hop which became so well-known after its use during the World Cup in France in 1998. He has earned over 100 caps for his country, played and scored in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and has winner’s medals from the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 1996 and 1998 and the 1999 Confederations Cup, where he also won the Golden Boot. Despite only briefly playing club football in Europe, Blanco has had an impact on world football.

Kid América

Blanco spent no fewer than 15 years at Club América, the giant club from his home town, Mexico City. He spent much of that time on loan, but was back at Estadio Azteca in time to play an important part in two successful years for the club. In 2005, América won their tenth domestic title, (the 2005 Clausura) and a Mexican Super Cup. The following year they won the CONCACAF Champions Cup and took an impressive fourth place in the World Club Cup. Egypt’s Al-Ahly beat them to third in a tournament won by Brazil’s Internacional.

The aforementioned loan spells weaved through his career at América. In 1997 he moved for a short time to Necaxa – now playing in Aguascalientes – also in Azteca, and he played a handful of matches for Veracruz in 2004. Between 2000 and 2002 he spent his only time in Europe, playing just over 20 games for La Liga side Real Valladolid.

Upon his return, Blanco starred for América and helped them embark upon their mid-2000s purple patch. In 2007, the decorated and experienced midfielder headed to the United States to join Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire.

Blanco hops to MLS

Like his fellow big 2007 signing Beckham, Blanco’s popularity is far from pristine. His contributions to Chicago have been tainted by aspects of his play and also by off-field factors. Chicago Fire contributes over $2.5 million to his designated player salary, supplemented by the $415,000 he receives from Major League Soccer and the Fire’s wage cap. Only Beckham earns more and, like Beckham, Blanco has played a loan spell abroad during his MLS contract.

While playing for AC Milan or, in Blanco’s case, Santos Laguna may not be hugely problematic, it is an implicit slight to Major League Soccer that its two highest-paid stars feel the need to test themselves elsewhere in the off-season and feel they can play all year round despite being comfortably into their 30s. Blanco also has a reputation as a diver and has a habit of play-acting and getting involved in unnecessary controversy, as demonstrated by his gift to referee Jair Marrufo earlier in the season.

Beckham had to deal with the burden of his side failing to make the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, but Blanco has helped the Fire reach the playoffs in ‘07 and ‘08, though they ultimately stumbled. They have again qualified in 2009 and are 2-1 down to New England Revolution heading into their conference semi-final second leg at Toyota Park.

Veracruz 2010

A dramatic turnaround would help Blanco’s legacy at Chicago no end. Mexican club Veracruz announced last week that they will be signing Blanco, who has decided not to re-sign with MLS. Blanco’s departing statement indicates a great deal of fondness for MLS and Chicago Fire, and suggests that several clubs were offering the player a chance to return home. He claims that he promised fans of the Red Sharks in 2004 that he would return to the club, and is happy to be keeping that promise.

Despite talk of an opt-out clause in his Veracruz contract, it seems Cuauhtémoc Blanco’s time in the USA is at an end upon completion of the 2009 season. And while his cheeky eye for a pass and deftness of finishing will be missed, his cost and histrionics will not.

You can read more about Cuauhtémoc Blanco here, and read Soccerlens’ interview with Blanco here.

Chris Nee writes at twofootedtackle and co-hosts the twofootedtackle Podcast.

The 30 name shortlist for the 2009 Ballon d’Or nominees has been announced, a formality they may well have dispensed with as we all know Lionel Messi will walk away with the trophy. I did note however, one glaring fact when scrolling down the list of the largely usual suspects – not a single Italian is to be found. That is quite staggering when you consider Italy go into this year’s World Cup as reigning Champions, but if based solely on the last 12 months performances – can or should anyone really be surprised?

There can be no doubt that Serie A suffered tremendously as a result of the Calciopoli scandal, and with the exception of Inter, the top teams are still trying to get back to their level of 5 years ago. The era of Italian dominance in Europe seems a distant memory, replaced with the big four EPL clubs along with Barcelona, battling it out over the recent past for the right to hold the biggest prize in European club football. It would seem that the honours list of the world’s brightest and best talent reflects this tidal shift.

Ironically I would have to argue that Italy’s most consistent performer over the last year has been a man who has yet to be called up to the national team squad by Marcello Lippi, namely one Antonio Cassano. As Italy have failed to live up to their billing as World Champions, with a frankly embarrassing showing at the Confederations Cup and a stop-start qualification campaign for next year’s tournament, there has been an ever increasing pressure of public opinion to include Cassano in proceedings to give Italy a much needed boost of creativity, goal threat and general X factor in their play, but Lippi has to this point bee consistent in his refusal to even acknowledge the possibility.

At 27 the notoriously famous flake seems to have finally turned the corner mentally this season and has certainly been the stellar performer from an Italian perspective so far this term. In reality Lippi’s stubborn stance leads me to believe the odds are much higher that Totti will come out of International retirement and join the squad before Fantantonio ever gets a look-in.

It’s a shame really as the game sorely lacks people like Cassano today. Despite his reformed character he is essentially still the same man, a hint of the Cantona’s is probably the best way to put it and King Eric was another to be largely overlooked by his country. At the moment it seems Cassano will be made to regret his volatile past by an artificially enforced absence from the biggest stage, I for one just hope we are all not left feeling we missed out on something as well.

Situated in the heart of every great team is always a truly special central midfielder who is capable of taking matches by the scruff of their neck and dominating them.

Some midfielders are specialists in the holding role, others have an uncanny knack of scoring goals but every so often a player comes along that can excel in all areas. A prime example of this particular species has to be this week’s ArsenalFCBlog’s interviewee Cesc Fabregas.

To accompany this excellent exclusive interview I thought it would be fun to run the rule over the game’s finest all-round midfielders. Here’s my personal top five, as of today…

1 – Andres Iniesta

Suddenly the apple of everyone’s eye after a number of years striving to impress the masses, Barcelona’s wonderfully gifted midfielder is now a complete player. Strictly speaking he’s not utilised as a straight forward central midfielder too often by club or country but that doesn’t mean he’s not the best in the business.

When utilised as a holding player for Barca, Iniesta’s anticipation and awareness allowed him to win possession of the ball more than any other player in La Liga. The statistics proved it. When deployed as a free spirit in the centre of the park the diminutive 25-year-old uses his slight frame, fluid movement, skill, poise and passing ability to destroy the opposition to great effect.

Iniesta is the quiet man of Spanish football but he knits everything together perfectly. He can score goals, he keeps possession better than anyone else and he can also defend. It’s criminal that Andres Iniesta isn’t widely regarded as the world’s best midfielder, because that’s exactly what he is.

2 – Steven Gerrard

A better talisman you will not find on the planet. It’s not easy to find any faults in Gerrard’s make up as he is strictly speaking a perfect specimen of the modern day footballer; tall, powerful, fast, a fine tackler, hard working, technically brilliant and a scorer of goals. On top of all that he also happens to be one of the most inspirational players of his generation.

The only fault I can see is Gerrard’s perceived lack of application towards international football. He seems all too happy to take a back seat at times for his country, playing with a slight inhibition compared to when he’s wearing the red shirt of Liverpool. He’s still one of the most dangerous players in the world though, whoever he’s playing for.

3 – Xavi

A big game playmaker who rises to the occasion every time he needs to. Essentially a holding midfielder Xavi is actually much more than that. His movement and passing are so slick that he’s almost untouchable in possession. He’s even better than Paul Scholes was at his peak and that is some accolade, as I was a massive Scholesy fan!

At 29, he is now a mature footballer but there are no signs of him being on the slide. This guy treats the ball as if it’s his friend and you have to put him up there with the world’s best.

4 – Cesc Fabregas

It shows how good Spain are for Cesc to be ranked their third best midfielder! He would be number one in almost every other country. I’ve seen this guy play numerous times in the flesh and he rarely fails to shine.

What impresses me most about the Gunners skipper is his mature decision making and effortless movement. Always moving, always wanting the ball, and always looking to create a goalscoring opportunity, he makes things happen all the time. Luis Aragones’ deployment of Fabregas as a second striker also proved that the youngster can every bit as good in the final third as he is in the middle.

5 – Daniele de Rossi

The Italian ‘Gerrard’ is a player that’s about to become a world famous name in my opinion. The 2010 World Cup will be his big chance to shine and I fully expect him to be one of the stars of the tournament.

He’s only 26 but has already amassed 50 international caps and he is the main man for the Azzuri. Freed from the defensive duties that restrict him at Roma, De Rossi is a much more potent attacking force at international level. His drive and all-round ability mark him out for me as the next big thing.

Also I’d like to give special mentions to Lampard, Essien, Alonso, Pirlo, Dzagoev, Senna, Cambiasso, Sneijder, Mascherano, Schweinsteiger and Lucas (sorry, I’m kidding there!).

That’s my view but feel free to disagree and suggest your own alternatives! Let’s discuss…

Athletic Bilbao have enjoyed a notable start to the season, sitting in eighth place in La Liga following the weekend’s 2-2 draw away at Real Valladolid, as Joaquin Caparros has led the team to one of their brighter La Liga starts in recent years.

Caparros, who made his name as Sevilla manager, has constructed a team that is certainly not lacking in quality. Striker Fernando Llorente has been capped by Spain (scoring against England), and has scored seven goals in all competitions this season. Javi Martinez has shown why Rafa Benitez is such a fan, and Andoni Iraola remains one of Spain’s best full backs.

Perhaps the most exciting name to emerge in the Bilbao team is that of a sixteen-year old who is enjoying a dazzling start to his footballing career, Iker Muniain.

Muniain has been breaking records here there and everywhere this season. He became Bilbao’s youngest ever player when he featured against Swiss club, the appropriately named, Young Boys. Then in the return leg a week later, he became, at 16, the club’s youngest ever goal-scorer.

This weekend Muniain managed to break another record, becoming the youngest ever goal-scorer in La Liga as he scored Athletic’s equaliser in their 2-2 draw away at Valladolid, breaking the record, previously held by Xisco Nadal, by 64 days.

Muniain’s arrival has not gone unheralded, recently his team-mate Joseba Etxeberria, himself a teenage star at Bilbao’s rivals Real Sociedad said: “Muniain will certainly be a quality player, not just for this team. If he continues along this path, I believe he will become a world class player.” While the likes of FC Barcelona, Liverpool and Real Madrid are believed to have been tracking him since he was twelve.

Yet the emergence of “the Spanish Messi”, named both for his diminutive stature and similarity in style to the Barcelona star, is further proof of the quality of the Athletic Bilbao cantera. Muniain may be one of the brightest prospects to emerge from their academy, but he is by no means the only player to emerge from the academy in recent years.

The aforementioned Martinez and Iraola have both graduated from the same scheme as Muniain, Francisco Yeste, a Bilbao stalwart for years who featured in the Spain squad in 04/05 did similarly. While the likes of Etxeberria, Urzaiz and Ezquerro, despite being signed from other youth teams, all featured for Spain during their time at San Mames.

While Muniain has a long way to go before he can hope to match some of their illustrious feats, his record-breaking start at Bilbao marks him out as something very special, and demonstrates the quality of player which Athletic Bilbao continue to produce.