Volume 14 Issue 4 2013 GyÅ Ri SzabÃ, Robert - Basque Identity and Soccer

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Basque identity and soccer

a
Robert Gyri Szab
a
Department of International and Theoretical Economics, Kautz
Gyula Economics Faculty , Szchenyi Istvn University , Gyr ,
Hungary
Published online: 11 Jul 2013.
To cite this article: Robert Gyri Szab (2013) Basque identity and soccer, Soccer & Society, 14:4,
525-547, DOI: 10.1080/14660970.2013.810434
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Soccer & Society, 2013
Vol. 14, No. 4, 525547, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2013.810434
Basque identity and soccer

Robert Gyri Szab*
Department of International and Theoretical Economics, Kautz Gyula Economics Faculty,

Szchenyi Istvn University, Gyr, Hungary
Downloaded by [Istanbul Universitesi Kutuphane ve Dok] at 01:13 09 August 2013
Football is regarded as one of the dening elements of the local national identity
in Spain a country with diverse historical nationalities. The game serves as
the means for a nationality to dissociate from the majority-controlled state. The
importance of national identities to be found on the territory of Spain is central
to any worthy understanding of the history of football up to the present day,
and it is especially true in the case of Basque football. Sport, and especially
football, plays an important role in emphasizing the Basque national identity in
all the Basque regions, and it is a special manifestation of their political beliefs.
As this essay tries to argue, the game has become an integral part of Basque
national culture while the football clubs and national teams have assumed politi-
cal importance. The Basques have their own national teams, i.e. clubs, whose
teams represent the Basque nation as also the country Euskadi. Thus, the essay
aims to examine the relationships between football and Basque national identity
in a historical perspective.
Introduction
It is well known that Spain is not homogeneous ethnically; besides the Spanish
majority, the country comprises several other historical nationalities too. Football in
Spain is often considered as one of the dening elements of the local national iden-
tity as it serves as the means for a nationality in its minority context to dissociate
from the majority-controlled state. The importance of national identity, or rather of
the identities having a national character, to be found on the territory of Spain, is
central to the history of football in Spain from its beginnings up to the present
day,1 and it is especially true in the case of Basque football. The present essay
attempts to understand the relations between football and Basque national identity
in a historical perspective.
Almost one-third of the inhabitants of Spain claim a different national identity
from Castilian. Among them, there are seven million Catalans, two million Basques
and two million Galicians. The ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity of the country
has been recognized by the constitution, adopted more than 30 years ago. The coun-
try is divided into 17 autonomous communities, of which the Basque Country, Cata-
lonia and Galicia have been provided with extensive internal self-government, and
the local national language is ofcially used in three further provinces (Catalan on
the Balearic Islands and Valencia, Basque in Navarra). The extent of the autonomy
varies. It is the widest in the Basque Country and Catalonia due to their historical
*Email: rszaboka@chello.hu
2013 Taylor & Francis

526 R. Gyri Szab
independence and considerable economic development as well as to their strong

national consciousness in political, linguistic and cultural matters. The majority of
the 2.3 million Basque inhabitants are living in the Spanish Basque Country (Eusca-
di in Basque, Pas Vasco in Spanish), smaller communities in Navarra and even
smaller ones at the northern foot of the Pyrenees in France. The size of the territory
of Euskal Herria inhabited by Basques is some 20,000 km2 of which 90% lies in
Spain.2 Though there are various theories about the origin of the Basques, it has not
been established with certainty. Probably, they are the descendants of the Iberians,
the original inhabitants of the peninsula. What is certain is that they have been living
in the same area for thousands of years, and thus, they are the most ancient people
in Europe occupying the same territory for the longest period of time.
The territory of the Basque Country is 7300 km2 with 2.1 million inhabitants; it
consists of three provinces: Bizkaia/Vizcaya, Gipuzkoa/Guipzcoa and Araba/Alava
(in Basque and Spanish respectively). It enjoys the widest autonomy as well. The
autonomy of Navarra with its half million inhabitants is more limited since most of
the inhabitants of the region were assimilated and at present Basques live only in
the northern part of the area. Due to the different nature of developments in the two
areas that resulted from differing political approaches, the cultural and linguistic
relationships became remote though strongly nationalist Basques stress the unity of
the Basque territories in the Basque Country, Navarra and those in France as well.
The Basques regard themselves as an independent nation, the major elements of
their consciousness being their language, culture, history, territory as well as their
historic privileges (fueros). Basque identity, the attachment to the language and cul-
ture, the wish for independence has always been extremely strong and was further
strengthened by the attempts of various dictators aiming at their assimilation.
Sport, and especially football, plays an important role in emphasizing the Bas-
que national identity in all the Basque regions but especially in the Basque Country.
It is a special manifestation of their political beliefs. On the one hand, it is a part of
Basque national culture; on the other, the football clubs and national teams have
political signicance too. The Basques (like the Catalans) have their own national
teams (seleccin), i.e. clubs whose teams represent the whole nation, viz. the coun-
try Euskadi, as, for example, Athletic Bilbao does.
The essay will examine the relationship between Basque national consciousness
and Basque football in three periodic sections from the beginnings to the time of
the Civil War, during the era of the Franco regime, and nally the developments
since the democratization of the country. All the sections briey describe the histori-
cal, political and social background of the football scenario. Then, they highlight
the Basque football teams with special reference to the Basque national team.
Alternative periodization was also offered a few years back by Ramn Llopis Goig,
who divided the development of football in Spain into four periods: 1. regional, 2.
Spanish assimilation, 3. strengthening of regional nationalism and 4. post-national
period.3 My periodization thus differs from the above in the belief that the Spanish
football has not left its national stage in recent times.
From the beginnings to the Spanish civil war

Historical, cultural and social background
Basques had always been known for their striving for independence, their constant
defence against external conquerors ever since ancient times; and they could not be
Soccer & Society 527
subjugated. In the Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Navarra in the territory of the
Basques gained its independence and managed to preserve it for centuries. It was in
the sixteenth century that the Basque provinces came under Castilian rule. However,
the Basque Country was not completely integrated into the Spanish state. Its social
development was unrivalled in the country: in the nineteenth century, crime was the
lowest, the local infrastructure was well developed, and it had many schools and a
university, too.4
Thanks to its isolation the Basque Country could preserve its independent
identity and the principle of self-government, and modernization, instead of assimi-
lation, even strengthened the wish for national independence. European national
movements of the nineteenth century left their mark on the Basques too. Sabino
Arana, the father of Basque nationalism, organized his movement at the end of the
nineteenth century to regain the widest possible independence. He was of the opin-
ion that there had never been political union between the Basque Country and
Spain as they only shared their rulers. He dened the Basque characteristics in
terms of ve aspects: origin, language, administration, customs and historical
personality. The dilemma that Arana left behind as a legacy was whether to strive
for independence or be more realistic and try to achieve a wider autonomy within
Spain. In 1895, the Basque Nationalist Party was founded and soon became the
agship of the national movement. Its most important goal was to achieve indepen-
dence or at least a wide-ranging autonomy as well as to make Spanish settlement
impossible.5
In the 1920s, the restrictive policy of Primo de Riveras dictatorship strength-
ened Basque national consciousness and unied the nationalist movement. During
the second Spanish republic, the goals of the Basque nationalists were partially
realized. It is true that when the country was divided into 13 regions, the Basques
were not declared as a separate nation; they nevertheless received considerable
powers in their statute of autonomy: Basque was accepted as an ofcial language
and the region enjoyed self-government in law enforcement, legislation and eco-
nomic policy. The Basque Country was given wider autonomy, while Navarra also
obtained special, though more limited, rights. Thus, the Basque Country together
with Navarra became autonomous territories. General Francos army, however, soon
occupied the region.6
The beginnings of the game

As in other parts of Europe, it was the British who introduced football in Spain.
The game became popular in the large commercial cities and ports widely fre-
quented by the British. The rst football club was founded in a port in Andalucia
by the British managers of a nearby copper mine in 1878. Originally, the players of
the Huelva Recreation Club (later Recreativo de Huelva) were only British. It took
two decades for the game to reach the northern region. In the Basque and Catalan
provinces, the rst clubs were formed by foreigners, mainly the British, around the
turn of the century, but local citizens also joined them. In the Basque regions, foot-
ball appeared simultaneously with Basque nationalism. In 1898, the rst Basque
football club, Athletic Club Bilbao, was founded with British participation. The
venue was justied by the fact that the city was a commercial centre and many
British settled down there. The citizens of Bilbao were open to Western and
especially to British inuence.7 In the seaside towns of the neighbouring Basque
528 R. Gyri Szab
province, Gipuzkoa, it was introduced some years later, again by young British peo-
ple who lived there. Recreation Club, the forerunner of the later Real Sociedad, the
rst football club of the port of San Sebastian was founded in 1903 as well as the
one in Irn.8 It is interesting to note in this context that the famous Spanish football
club in the capital, Atletico de Madrid, was established in 1903 as a branch of the
Athletic Bilbao by three Basque students for representing the Basque identity in the
city and became independent of the Bilbao parent club in 1921.9
The Basque club teams

In Spain, football was mainly organized on a regional basis till the beginning of the
twentieth century, and national leagues started only at the end of the 1920s. Within
the country, soccer was especially popular in the Basque Country and Catalonia
where there were cup matches and championships earlier than in any other parts of
Spain. The Basques successfully participated in national competitions, too. The
Basque teams played in the championships of the northern regions (Campeonato de
Norte). Soon, Athletic Bilbao (and for a while Arenas Getxo too) became the deni-
tive team of the historic Basque region Bizkaia, while in neighbouring Gipuzkoa
Sociedad and Irn were prominent and in the Araba region Deportivo Alavs and
somewhat later Osasuna of Pamplona in Navarra.
Already at the turn of the nineteenth century, there were sporting connections
between the Basque regions of Spain and France. In 1912, the team representing
the French league played against Irn in the Basque region of Spain. In the follow-
ing years, the major Basque teams played against several European teams, some-
times even abroad.10 Though in Spain, the rst national league was organized about
50 years after the foundation of the rst clubs, there were occasions where the
teams could compete at the national level. The rst Spanish national tournament
was held in 1902. It was actually a Madrid event organized as part of the festivities
at the coronation of King Alfons XIII. The event grew into tradition and was
repeated every year under the title of the Kings Cup (Copa del Rey). Up to the
1930s, the Basque teams, especially Athletic Bilbao, were mostly victorious; but
Real Sociedad, Arenas de Getxo and Real Unin de Irn also won the cup at least
once each.11
During this time, Basque football was dominated by two teams Sociedad and
Athletic with the matches between the two teams becoming memorable derby. Their
meeting in February 1918 was recorded as a historic event. The play was erce
followed by ghts among the fans, creating the image that the style of Basque soc-
cer was exceptionally hard and aggressive, the players ercely motivated and the
supporters fanatics. Basque football has been given the epithet of furia.12 It is no
wonder since there were two styles forming the key characteristics of Basque
football. The British origins of the game dened the way the Basque players played
for a long time. In the 1920s, the aggressive style of Bilbao was greatly admired,
which owed its origins to Great Britain.13 On the other hand, the Basques consid-
ered themselves a hard ghting nation and claimed that the same characteristic
appeared in their games, too.
The rst national championship in Spain was organized in 19281929 with the
participation of 10 teams. Those six teams that had already won the Spanish Cup as
well as three other runners-up automatically qualied. These included four Basque
teams: Athletic Bilbao, Arenas Getxo, Real Sociedad and Real Union de Irn; three
from Catalonia: FC Barcelona, RCD Espanol and Europa de Barcelona; and two
from the capital: Real Madrid and Athletic Club Madrid. After winning a test match
Racing Santander, the club of the port city, Cantabria, the neighbouring province to
the Basque Country, was also included.14 The dominance of Basque and Catalan
clubs and also those of the northern regions under heavier British inuence was
noticeable, and the results of the early tournaments justied the selection. The foun-
dation of the National League opened the way for professionalism in Spanish soccer
as the players of the leading clubs began to receive basic payment and bonuses for
the victories. At this juncture, international interest also turned to Basque football.
Half of the members of the silver medallist Spanish team of the 1920 Antwerp
Olympics came from Bilbao and Real Sociedad. The furia style was used in the
1920s referring to the Spanish team too a team understandably dominated by

Basque players.
The pride of Bizkaia: Athletic Bilbao

In the 1910s, Athletic Bilbao outgrew its Basque rivals, overcame even the team of
Sociedad and regularly won regional championships.15 Not only was Bilbao the
leading Basque team, but also soon it became the best team of the whole country
thanks to the excellent British trainers it employed. Till the Civil War, the team
won 14 times, almost half of the matches of Copa Real.16 While the rst Spanish
league of 1929 was won by FC Barcelona, till the middle of the 1930s, Bilbao
emerged champions four times and runner-ups twice, thus undoubtedly leading the
eld. During their rst two years at the head of the league table, they won the Cup
too, doubling the doubles. The team of the 1930s was an extremely powerful one
among the most successful Spanish soccer teams. It was an all-Basque team under
a British trainer. The successes of Bilbao came to a halt with the outbreak of the
Civil War which stopped the major tournaments for quite some time. The Civil War
also disrupted club life all over Spain as many of the players became soldiers,
allowing only some friendly matches within the ranks of the army.
The leading team of Gipuzkoa: Real Sociedad

Till 1909, the Recreation Club of San Sebastian was not an ofcially registered
club; but that year its team won the Spanish Cup. After this success, an independent
football club was founded as Sociedad de Ftbol. Next year the clubs name got an
epithet, as the king, Alfons XIII, bestowed the title of Real to the team, and it was
impossible to refuse the same even for Basque sportsmen. However, Sociedad was
not the only royal soccer team; FC Madrid and several country clubs such as
Espanol in Barcelona and Betis in Sevilla also distinguished themselves. The play-
ers, trainers and supporters of these teams were mainly Spanish and hence consid-
ered a solid base for the unity of the country.17 The title Real was meant to
strengthen the Spanish national character of the teams in contrast to local rivals rep-
resenting the regional identity more strongly (e.g. FC Barcelona, FC Sevilla). It is
no wonder that regional clubs that stress local characteristics usually have the
names of their location while those adhering to the Spanish Kingdom less
frequently do so. Despite its name, Sociedad remained the odd man out among the
royal teams due to its weaker adherence to Spain and strong Basque national
characteristics.
530 R. Gyri Szab
The club was one of the founders of the La Liga. The team suffered from the
confusion of the 1930s. After the Spanish Republic had been decreed in 1930, the
club dropped the title Real and changed its name to Donostia Club de Ftbol. In
19341935, it was relegated from the rst league to the second and continued to
play there in the following year till the Civil War stopped the national
tournaments.18
Representing Araba: Deportivo Alavs

In contrast to two other Basque provinces, the football life in Araba was less
successful. The most inuential soccer club Deportivo Alavs was founded in 1921
with a fairly good team. During the rst national championship, it was in the sec-
ond league but was able to start the 19301931 season in the rst. However, it
could not hold this position for long and after three years was again relegated to
the second league where it remained (sometimes even dropping into the third) in
the following decades.19 At the beginning of the 1930s, one or two teams represent-
ing all three Basque provinces used to dominate Spanish championships as well as
Spanish football life.
Icon of Navarra: Osasuna

Navarra (Basque: Nafarroa; 10,500 km2, 500,000 inhabitants) has a glorious past,
and similar to the Basque Country, it enjoyed special privileges. Basques look upon
Navarra as a sacred place, i.e. their birthplace, a nation without a state, long before
the Roman times. The origin of the people of Navarra is ambiguous. It is not cer-
tain whether they are a part of the Basque nation or rather have a special Navarese
identity.
Basque national identity has been alive for centuries only in the northern, moun-
tainous areas of the province; the inhabitants of the southern at area have been
assimilated into the Spanish and have traditionally good relations with other parts
of Spain while the majority of the provinces Spanish inhabitants live in the area.
Between the northern Basque and southern Spanish-dominated areas, there is a
region with mixed BasqueSpanish inhabitants with Pamplona (Basque: Irunea) as
its capital, where about 10% of the inhabitants speak Basque.20
It was in the 1920s when soccer became truly popular in Navarra. With the
fusion of two clubs of Pamplona (Societad Sportiva and the New Club), a soccer
club Club Atltico Osasuna was founded in 1920. It has been the icon of the prov-
ince ever since. Osasuna means health, vitality, and Osasuna is the only club
that has a Basque name of all the clubs entering the rst league. The clubs
red-and-blue colours reect the ag of Navarra and its coat of arms the motives of
the provincial crown.21 When the national league was divided into three divisions,
Osasuna got into the third league. In 1935, it got to the top, but soon to suffer set
back.22
The Basque national team

About 20 years after the foundation of the rst club, the Basque national soccer
team was formed comprising the best Basque players as an occasional team in
1915. The province, not being an independent country, could participate only in
friendly matches. The name Basque national team evolved only gradually as it
had several names before the Civil War. First, it was ofcially called the Team of
the Northern Region (Seleccin Regional del Norte, in short Seleccin Norte), and
then in 1916, it was renamed as Seleccin del Pas Vasco, and nally in 1930
1931, it became Vasconia. These rst names tried to hide the national character of
the team while all of the players were Basques.23 The Basque Seleccin played its
rst match against the Catalonian team in 1915, which ended in a Basque victory.
In the following 15 years, Catalonia remained their major opponent and their
friendly matches became a kind of a tradition. The Spanish press usually did not
advertise these meetings as they were contrary to Spanish assimilative aspirations.24
Meanwhile, the players of Basque clubs also toured South America.
The Basque team during the civil war

Though the ofcial championships were stopped in 1936, Basque football contin-
ued. Organized by various nationalist political groups, the Basque clubs and the
Basque provincial teams participated in several friendly matches with the intention
to use the income for nancing their tour to foreign countries planned for 1937.
Because of the political turmoil in Spain, the Basque team could only play abroad.
During the time of the Civil War, the team adopted the name Euskadi. The
19371938 tour in Europe and South America had double aims, nancial and
national-image building propaganda. In other words, the team was considered to be
a travelling ambassador of the Basque Country. It is noteworthy that they could also
go to the Soviet Union, otherwise strictly closed to foreigners, and the communist
state was glad to receive the Basques who supported the republican side during the
Civil War. The Soviet newspapers praised them too.25 In 19381939, the Basque
team participated in the Mexican championship which it won. After the war ended,
the victory of Franco deprived the team of its regional support and was disbanded
against its intents.
The Franco era

Political and social background
The time of dictatorship brought about a most terrible period of Basque history.
During the Civil War Guernica was destroyed, as the ancient Basque capital was
bombed by the Germans. There were 20,000 dead and about 100,000 who emi-
grated; the old privileges and any form of independence were completely abolished.
The Franco regime declared the ideology of a unied Spain with the slogan one
state, one language striving for a centralized homogeneous Spanish nation state,
ruthlessly oppressing the Basque people. Every expression of national identity the
use of the Basque language, symbols, dance, songs, customs or political movements
was most gruesomely retorted by prison, torture and death. Every Basque cultural
activity was forbidden, the university in Bilbao was closed, the teaching language
of formerly Basque schools was changed to Spanish (not even in the pauses was
allowed to use Basque); with the exception of the home, the prohibition of the use
of the nationality language was extended to the whole public sphere (press, radio,
television, publishing); the use of the Basque language was also forbidden in the
churches, and children could not be given Basque names.26
532 R. Gyri Szab
There was a nation-wide Basque resistance for the cause of independence, and
separatist movements were organized. At the same time, an emigrant Basque gov-
ernment was formed in Western Europe, while a Basque World Conference was
held in 1956, where a programme was laid out to support Basque language and ille-
gal Basque schools. At home, the political resistance was led by the underground
Basque Nationalist Party. The party organized illegal schools with Basque as the
teaching language (ikastola), supported the families of those imprisoned and the
priests who in spite of the ban used Basque in church service.
The oppression triggered an extreme emphasis of identity of the Basque people,
many of whom became ultra-radical, turning to violence. That was nothing new
since all through their history violence was an accepted means to preserve their
freedom and independence. In 1959, the most violent separatist movement, Basque
Country and Liberty (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, ETA), was founded. It wanted to
reach its goals through violence. The aims were the preservation of the Basque lan-
guage, the liberation of the Basque nation and the formation of an independent state
based on the seven historical provinces (Navarra and the French territories
included). Though ETA never had more than a thousand members, its inuence and
effectiveness were considerable, sometimes decisive. ETA proclaimed revolutionary
war that in practice meant actions of sabotage to provoke the dictatorship. Their
rst attack occurred in 1961 against Spanish symbols (monuments, banners). The
real sequence of terror attacks started in 1968 with the rst lynching that ended in
death. This was the beginning of armed terror attacks, mutual scorings, totalling
119 casualties till the end of the regime. ETA considered as its major feat the mur-
der of the Spanish prime minister who was Francos chosen successor. It played a
major role in the decline of the regime. The regime retorted by manhunt. Anybody
could be arrested without due process, while many of those arrested were exe-
cuted.27 There was a vicious circle developing out of fear and oppression all
through the Franco regime and its effects are felt even today.
After the 1950s, the oppression lessened somewhat, while the use of Basque
was allowed in certain elds. Similarly, the Day of the Nation, an illegal mass
demonstration tolerated by the regime, was organized every year. By the beginning
of the 1970s, the national movement broke out of illegality.28 During the Franco
era, the economy developed quickly, but it went hand in hand with immigration
causing considerable changes in the ethnic composition of the Basque Country. By
the 1970s, only two-thirds of the inhabitants of the Basque country were born Bas-
ques. Centralization forced by Madrid and strong migration left their mark on Bas-
que identity. In trying to withstand the process, a certain Hispanic identity has also
developed. A majority of the Basques accept now the existence of the province as
part of the Spanish state.29
Basque club teams

National tournaments started again in 1938, rst the Spanish Cup (Copa del Rey)
was announced with a changed name: Copa del Generalsimo (Generals Cup),
which clearly indicates the impact of Francos dictatorship on society and sport.
The national championship began the following year. During the 39 years of the
Franco regime, the dominance of Basque teams ended: centralization and Spanish
assimilation were extended to soccer too. As a result, Madrid-based clubs became
prominent. Real Madrid became the most successful club followed by Atletico
Madrid (the Basque characteristics of the club were wiped out by the Franco dicta-
torship). For 40 years, Madrid clubs remained at the top of the league table.
Basque football markedly declined during the Franco regime, there was no
chance allowed for the Basque teams to regain their force after the disrupting years
of the civil war. During the time of nationalist assimilation, any special mention of
Basque or Catalan football was not tolerated. As the slogan was one nation, one
language, one culture, only one kind of football was acceptable: Spanish. There
were brief mentions of the Basque matches devoid of any political or national-
ethnic remarks. However, the characteristic style appeared through epithets like
brave, daring, hard, determined, energetic.30 Interestingly enough, Basque football
achieved considerable success during the dictatorship, as in the early years the State
propaganda brought into vogue furia espaola, i.e. Spanish determination as the
most important characteristic of New Spain. It also became the ofcial character-
istic of Spanish soccer despite the fact that the game was still mainly based on the
Basque style. In the 1940s, the team of Bilbao provided to Spanish teams the model
of authentic furia.31 During the decades of the dictatorship, Basque national
feelings were increasingly connected to soccer in reaction to the oppression. The
stadiums of the Basque clubs were the only places where the Basques could pub-
licly confess their national identity even if in a disguised way without being in
the danger of being imprisoned.
Atltico Bilbao
The name of the club, Athletic Bilbao, had foreign origins, and yet, it had to
change its English name into Atltico Bilbao. It was not only the Basque team that
had to omit English words from their names and vocabulary. Franco also asked the
clubs to politically cleanse their teams, especially the regional ones. In Bilbao, the
Falangist manager allowed Basque players to play only if they were not separat-
ists.32 The major asset of the club was its ability to reorganize the team fairly
quickly. As the outstanding players of the original team had dispersed, new ones
had to be recruited, and the team was successful in employing talented teenagers,
leading to a quick rise in membership roll.33 Though Atltico Bilbao ceased to be
the leading team of Spanish soccer, it could still keep its place in the vanguard and
could win two championships and nine cup victories during this period; only the
two Madrid teams and the Catalan FC Barcelona were able to win more gold
medals.
Real Sociedad
After the Civil War, the team got into the second league and played there all
through the 1940s, while in the 1950s it managed to ascend to the rst league. The
1960s were not entirely successful and again the team fell out. In 1968, it again
came back among the top teams and remained there for 40 years. During the Franco
regime, it was a second league team for 12 years.
Deportivo Alavs
After the Civil War, Deportivo Alavs did not succeed to reach top level, and it
belonged to the third league in the 1940s. In 1954, it was promoted to the rst
534 R. Gyri Szab
league only for two seasons. In the following 20 years, it was either in the second
or the third league. It is interesting to note that for one season at the end of the
1960s the Hungarian football legend, Ferenc Pusks was its trainer.34
Osasuna of Navarra
The deeply Catholic inhabitants of Navarra supported Franco during the Civil War.
As a result, the province was spared of the reprisals meted out to the Basque
Country. However, any expression of Basque identity was prohibited. After the
Civil War, Osasuna continued in the second league, but dropped out some years
later. By the end of the 1940s, it became more successful and got into the vanguard
without being able to retain that level for long. After 1963, it again slipped back to
the second league and during the next 20 years it commuted between the second
and the third league.35

During the Franco era, it was impossible to form a Basque national team and the
possibility of a BasqueCatalan match also belonged to the world of dreams. The
rst such match was organized in 1971 together with a return match. It is interest-
ing that this was the rst time the Catalan team could win in Bilbao, the result
being 2:1. There was no repetition of the success by the Catalan team over the
Basques who have kept the leading position in the national matches of the two
nations without states.
The years of democracy

Political and social background
After Francos death, Spain chose the road of democratization. The Basque politi-
cians wanted the recognition of their political, economic, cultural and linguistic
autonomy, as also the acceptance of independent national existence. Total indepen-
dence was the aim of ETA only. The new Spanish constitution guaranteed a
somewhat wider autonomy for Euskadi, i.e. the Basque Country uniting three of the
four Basque provinces, in contrast to other autonomous communities; the fourth,
Navarra, was not included, despite the efforts of the Basque National Party. The
Basques were against a new constitutional provision of the unbreakable unity of
the Spanish nation, and many of them did not participate in the referendum on it.
The reference to Spanish unity was simply left out from the Basque statute of
autonomy adopted in 1979 while the so-called Guernica Law received 80% support.
Since then the Basque language has become an ofcial language and can be used
in education and administration; the national symbols like the ag can also be used.
The Basque Country has exclusive powers in 39 elds including education, indus-
try, environmental protection, housing, but also social welfare, regional develop-
ment, tourism, sports and local media. Financial independence is also considerable:
the majority of taxes are locally collected, and only about 15% of the income has
to be transferred to the treasury to nance common expenditure such as defence,
the maintenance of the monarchy, postal services and foreign affairs. The amount of
the tax to be paid by individuals and companies could be dissimilar to those of
Spain. Since 1996, the Basque government is authorized to collect special taxes on
alcoholic drinks, tobacco and fuel. Another spectacular feature of the autonomous
government was the establishment of the Basque police (Ertzantza, numbering 7000
red hats) in 1994. The state has kept strategic organizational functions: defence, for-
eign affairs, social security, etc. in its own hands. It also has several controlling
functions in the region prescribed by the constitution. Jurisdiction over conicts of
competence between the Basque Country and the state is in the hands of the Consti-
tutional Court. The three historic Basque provinces form a kind of confederation,
and each sends 25 members to the regional parliament of 75 members. The Basque
parliament is responsible for adopting local laws, controls the Basque government
and elects the president of the government (lendakari) who is appointed by the
king. The so-called governmental council is responsible for executive and adminis-
trative tasks. The capital of the region, Vitoria Gazteiz, is the seat of the parliament
and government, while the Basque ministries and the faculties of the Basque Uni-
versity are divided between the capitals of the three provinces, the other two being
Bilbao and San Sebastian.36
Basque political thinking has been dened by the problem of nationality. The
Basque nationalist parties have usually won the local elections, but all the other par-
ties, too, emphasize their Basque characteristics. Among the national parties, there
are moderate and radical parties. While the latter are striving for independence, their
support has become weaker over time as the majority of the Basque inhabitants
support the idea of widening national autonomy within the Spanish state. Most of
them denounce radical terrorist actions and increasingly feel that ETA and terrorism
are slurring their image. Since the development of autonomy, the moderate Basque
National Party has remained the dening party of the Basque Country.37 The power
of the Basque national identity is marked by the striving for independence that is
manifest in the amendments attached to the statute declaring that the acceptance of
autonomy does not mean that the Basque nation renounces the rights that are due
to them by its history and that it can be actuated through legal regulation. The
regions parliament declared the national self-determination of the Basque nation
including the right to independence. The Basque national efforts claim historical
rights that are older than those of Spanish statehood; thus, the Spanish constitution
cannot restrict it. They are convinced that time is on their side and sooner or later
Basque independence will be realized.38
The Basque language does not belong to any of the known language families.
Since the awakening of modern national feeling, it remained the symbol of Basque
identity. The persecution of the Basque language and identity during the Franco
regime resulted in certain assimilation, which along with inland emigration, caused
a continuous decrease in the number of Basque speakers. At present, 30% f
Euskaldis inhabitants speak the Basque language, about 20% understand it, but
about half of the citizens of the community have no knowledge of it. Those who
use the language possess strong national identity; but it is not the language itself
that holds the nation together, as those who changed their language still strongly
claim their Basque identity. The Basque language is an ofcial language in the
autonomous community and is considered to be the fundamental element in Basque
identity and community integration. Everyone has the right to use their mother
tongue be it Basque or Spanish. The knowledge of the Basque language is
compulsory in every local institution of the province, in administration, in the civil
service as also in many rms.
536 R. Gyri Szab
In the past years, Basque politics reopened the question of independence. In

2005, the region introduced a bill to the Spanish parliament on the plan to form a
federation between Euskadi and Spain. According to it, the Basque Country would
share sovereignty with Madrid, only defence remaining within the competence of
the central authorities. The constitution would accept the Basque Country as an
independent nation, it would be given the right of external self-determination, even
allowing the possibility of the Basque Country departing the federation and becom-
ing an independent state. After its rejection by the Spanish parliament, the Basque
government, led by moderate nationalists, planned a referendum about the right of
free decision about the future of the region including the possibility of secession.
However, the Spanish state thwarted the referendum. The result would not have
been unambiguous, anyway, since it was assumed that about 50% of the inhabitants
were in support of the widening of the autonomy, about 30% were for federation
and 20% for secession. It might not be an impossibility that the majority of the
Basques could be won over to the idea of a peacefully achieved independence in
the long run. In the near future, independence is impossible; there is no willingness
on the Spanish side to let the Basque territories secede, neither the EU is in favour
of such aspirations.
The lasting solution of the Basque problem might be possible by compromise
since the announcement of ETA about a long-term armistice showed the willingness
to start negotiations with the Spanish government to end the war. The reason is
partly the weakening of the movement owing to the blows delivered upon ETA by
Spanish and French authorities; the Basque community has also become increas-
ingly opposed to the terror, and there has been left very few of those who would
support a violent achievement of independence. The increasing autonomy of the
Basque Country could also be a factor in this process proving that the Basque peo-
ple can gain considerable self-governance by peaceful means too. Democratic Spain
has apparently abandoned Castilian centralism and has tried to combine the idea of
a uniform Spanish nation state with the self-government of the various regions and
nationalities. That, however, does not full all the claims of the Basque (and
Catalan) autonomous communities with independent national consciousness. Both
the Basque Country and Catalonia have continuously tried to widen their autonomy
with success and the Basques have not abandoned their wish for independence.
Their special national identity and aspiration for independence has found eloquent
expression in their football, too.
The Basque football clubs

The period of democratic changes
After the death of Franco, the Basque soccer teams stood up for autonomy in an
unequivocal manner. In 1975, the three leading regional clubs, Athletic Bilbao, Real
Sociedad and Deportivo Alavs, uniformly demanded the use of Basque national
symbols and especially the ag, the Ikurrina, an important symbol of Basque iden-
tity. At the match of the two rst-league Basque teams, Sociedad and Bilbao, both
captains entered the stadium with the ag in their hands at the end of 1976. In
1977, the Basque ag was already regularly present in the Bilbao stadium.39 The
same year the captains of the Basque and Catalan teams entered the stadium with
the Basque and Catalan ags, respectively. The Catalan team was led by the iconic
Johan Cruyff from the Netherlands and the Basque team by Iribar, the legendary
goalkeeper and both joined the campaign in favour of freeing the political prisoners.
All the supporters were waving Basque and Catalan ags, prohibited during the
Franco regime.40 The years of democratization, more precisely 1977, saw the most
glorious success of the history of Basque soccer with Bilbao playing in the UEFA
Cup nals.
The second golden age of Basque soccer: the rst half of the 1980s
At the end of the Franco era, important decisions were made modifying the rules of
Spanish soccer, the inuence of which was felt only later, after the change of
regime. Since 1972, two foreign players per teams were allowed to play at a match.
That was the thin edge of the wedge, the employment of foreign players became
more and more frequent. The Basque clubs, priding in their all-Basque membership,
had not taken recourse to employing foreigners into their ranks, thus getting into
disadvantageous position that, however, did not impair their results at rst. The
UEFA success of Bilbao clearly showed its potentials, and there were further
Basque successes at the beginning of the 1980s, with outstanding achievements of
two Basque teams at that time. In the years following liberation from dictatorship,
Basque football again reached its apex while national feeling that was formerly
suppressed came to the surface. Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad broke the hege-
mony of Madrid and Barcelona and shared four championships among themselves
in a row. Thus, Basque teams managed to get back to the top after 25 years lack
of success and outdo the two giant teams of Real Madrid and Barcelona. The
1980s was a golden period for Real Sociedad as it won the championship twice in
the decade.
The team of Bilbao was led to victory by its trainer Xavier Clemente who based
his strict hard style on Basque traditions. The style paid rich dividends, though
those defeated by the team became critical and complained about it. For example,
Csar Menotti, the trainer of Barcelona, who led the Argentine team to victory in
1978, was very critical of the style. He had a long and severe debate with the
Basque trainer defending creative football against the defensive, destructive and
rough play of the Bilbao team. The relationship between the two clubs was aggra-
vated, as the rivalry was greatly motivated by nationalist feelings of both sides.
Their match at the Barcelona championship of 1983 provided a dramatic demonstra-
tion of it. Goikoetxea, the notoriously rough defender, tripped Diego Maradona
from behind as the latter had a chance of scoring a goal. The young forward broke
his ankle in such a bad way that for a while his career was at jeopardy. Luckily,
several complicated operations could put the foot right. Goikoetxeas act was
deemed to be one of the most brutal fouls in the history of Spanish football, and its
perpetrator earned the name of the Butcher of Bilbao.41 After six months of recov-
ery, Maradona returned at the beginning of 1984 and soon could take his revenge
at the championship match where his two goals led the Catalan team to victory over
Athletic Bilbao in its home town. The two trainers admitted that it was war and it
had a third battle too. In May, the two teams played for the Royal Cup. The teams
insulted each other in press releases, the Basques tried to wind up especially
Maradona; the tactic continued during the match too, it was more of a battle than a
game in the stadium. When after numerous faults, one of the defenders made a sign
to Maradona, the forward lost his self-control and retaliated. The referee sent him
538 R. Gyri Szab
off, the quarrel among the players developed into a ght and the supporters joined
in. The police could stop the ghting with difculty and all this happened in the
presence of King Juan Carlos I. In the end, the rough play brought the victory of
the Basque team resulting in 10 and the winning of the Cup.42 A couple of weeks
later the team Bilbao defended the title of champion too, thus achieving double
victory.43
The Basque teams under changed conditions

The easier the employment of foreign players increasingly became, the more the sit-
uation of the Basque soccer clubs grew difcult. It was even more so after the
introduction of the Bosman-rule, when practically all obstacles were removed from
the participation of foreigners, allowing the citizens of an EU state to play within
the EU without restriction. Since the 1990s, the only restriction left was that only
four non-EU citizens were allowed to play at a time in the Spanish elds. It greatly
inuenced the countrys soccer life. The standard of the Primera Division was ele-
vated by the participation of the many rst-rate foreign players. Similar to the
developments of other leading countries of football, Spanish soccer too had radi-
cally changed by the turn of the millennium. The leading clubs were turned into
prot-orientated economic partnerships; possibly leading to the most radical change
in the history of Spanish football. This may be even more important than the
change from amateurism to professionalism in the 1920s.
In the new situation, the Basque teams found it increasingly difcult to adhere
to their traditional philosophy, i.e. to employ Basque nationals only and the inux
of foreign players created a dilemma for every Basque club. During the summer of
1989, Real Sociedad decided to abandon the earlier policy and, after long delibera-
tion, employed their rst foreign player. However, it was decided that non-Basque
Spanish citizens remained excluded; this resolution was nally changed only a few
years ago.44 Bilbao, however, remained true to the traditions even though it meant
to give away the advantage to its rivals. It became a middle team without trophies,
and sometimes, it had to ght hard to avoid relegation. Certainly, it must have been
hard for the supporters to accept the changed situation but they accepted the
unsuccessfulness for the preservation of the clubs Basque identity intact.
Rivalry inside, unity outside: representing the Basque nation

By the end of the Franco era, national feeling and soccer had interlocked at club
level more closely than ever. In the case of Basques, soccer and the clubs had an
inevitable role in preserving the national identity. The Basque soccer clubs were
more than mere sports associations, and maybe, it was more so than in the case of
FC Barcelona of Catalonia.45 In contrast to the Catalan situation, there are several
clubs in the Basque Country to represent the region and the Basque nation. The
plurality had its origins in the traditional historical-territorial make-up of the area,
in various local identities within the Basque national identity; each of the clubs rep-
resents an ancient Basque territory. The three historical regions of the Basque Coun-
try have been represented by one of the teams for a long time. The teams of
Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad and Deportivo Alavs built a strong afnity between
soccer and Basque identity while the rst two teams came to be regarded as the
representatives of the entire Basque nation.
During the Franco dictatorship, the Basque teams, competing eagerly with one
another in the arena of football, joined forces against external pressure. Although
there was strong rivalry and also political disagreement among them, they turned
united in face of external danger. This kind of unity is more important than local
rivalry, thereby strengthening the unity of the Basque nation in addition to their
local regional attachments.46 One of the representatives of the Basque nation,
Athletico Bilbao, is the rst among equals, a veritable national symbol. Opinion
has it that every Basque citizen is a Bilbao fan, not only the confessed football
supporters but also those who otherwise are not interested in football. The Bilbao
team is a public matter, an important element of national identity.47 The denitive
team of the Basque Country takes its role so seriously that as has already been
mentioned it does not accept players from outside the seven Basque territories
and only Basques can join the team. It is an exceptional phenomenon in the time of
globalization and the clubs adherence to its all-Basque players-policy for patriotic
reasons is internationally regarded as something unique. The actual management of
the club is proudly admitting their philosophy to be completely differing from the
current practice of the worlds football but they stress the importance of the protec-
tion of their traditional values and the ethnicity of the team.48 It is expressed in the
symbols of the club and the appearance of the players, too. The words of the of-
cial anthem of the Club are of course in Basque praising the Basque Country and
the Basque people. The red and white of the strip represent the two colours of the
Basque tricoloured ag.
Athletic Bilbao, similar to the Catalan Barcelona, does not carry advertisements
on the strips. The club representing a national symbol cannot serve any particular
economic interests. In 2004, a change occurred when the name of one sponsor
appeared on the gear: the club received half a million euros from the Basque
government, and with the logo Euskadi, the players are advertising the Basque
Country itself. Basque identity could not have been expressed more impressively.
Real Sociedad represents similar ideas. Their blue and white colours reect the
colours of the province. They too refuse to wear advertising emblems; only the
name of the province, Gipuzkoa, appears on the strips. The strong Basque identity
is justied by the fact that the province has the largest Basque population both in
language and identity. However, the club has not adhered so strictly to the Basque
traditions and adapted to spirit of the time by changing its policy 20 years ago.
Separatist Basques are of course supporting the clubs emphasizing their Basque
identity; especially, the fans of Athletic Bilbao express moderate or radical national-
ist views. For them, and also for the majority of the Basques, Real Madrid, the arch
enemy, is the symbol of Spanish assimilation. The matches between Real Madrid
and the Basque icon of Bilbao have been more than just sports events, rather a kind
of SpanishBasque battle. The feeling has been shared in Madrid too, with the Real
Madrid fans strongly in opposition to Basque separatism. There are usually much
more Spanish ags sold at matches against Basque teams; whistle concerts and
cursing greet the Basque teams in Barnabu stadium. Even lower league Basque
teams too are insulted while playing against Castilian teams at Cup matches. The
independent style of Basque soccer has lost its prominence since it has become part
of Spanish soccer in general; but the passion of Basque players and their fans is as
constant as ever. Together with Osasuna of Navarra, there are three Basque teams
playing constantly in the Spanish rst league in the past decade, thereby ensuring
stable representation of Basque clubs in Spanish football thanks to the economic
540 R. Gyri Szab
development of their provinces, the stable material background as well as the out-
standing local popularity of soccer.
Athletic Bilbao: 25 years without success

Since the middle of the 1980s, there has been a continuously rise in the number of
foreign players in Spain thanks to the countrys new football policy, allowing more
foreigners in club football, which got Bilbao into a lastingly rough patch. In spite
of its excellent education of young bloods, it is always difcult to produce enough
players to match the rival teams strengthened by international players. The club has
not achieved much in the past 25 years: since 1984 they were not at the top of the
league table, and they won a silver medal only once in 1997/98, the year of the
clubs centenary.49 It was difcult to accept the lack of good results and today it
counts as a success if the team nishes the season at the rst half of the league
table. Cup events have brought similar results as it was in 1984 that Bilbao last
time won the Cup. The team got into the nals twice, most recently in 2009. The
nals brought about a special event between the Catalan and Basque icons: Athletic
Bilbao and FC Barcelona ghting for the Cup. Joan Laporta, the manager of Barca,
grabbed the occasion to explain that actually it was the match between two
countries playing for the cup. The supporters of the two teams sported their national
colours waving Catalan and Basque ags (and also a placard with Good Bye
Spain on it). As if in agreement, the 70,000 strong fans booed during the Spanish
national anthem in unison; in anticipation of such an event the public TV
broadcasting the match live blocked the sound so that the TV viewers did not hear
the racket. The incident had its consequences; one of the Spanish nationalist
foundations raised the issue at the national security court claiming that the whistling
outraged the two symbols of the Spanish nation: the anthem and the king who was
present and that was a crime to be punished with imprisonment. However, the court
judged the whistling within the right to freedom of speech.50
Real Sociedad: some modest years

Real Sociedad has not been very successful either in the past 25 years. It could not
achieve as it had done in its golden years and had its ups and downs; though in
general it performed better than in its earliest years. In 1987, they won the Spanish
Cup and won one silver and one bronze medal. After 40 years, it was eliminated
from the rst league in 2007. It took three years to get back and the team could
start the 2010/2011 season in the vanguard.51
The feat of Deportivo Alavs

After more than 40 years, Alavs managed to get into the rst league for the third
time in its history and soon achieved great international success. First, it became
entitled to play for the UEFA Cup and in 2001 became a nalist of the European
Cup to everybodys surprise.52 Though it had several foreign players, the majority
of the club players were Basques. The success, however, had nothing to do with
the nationality of the team; it was rather like a fairy tale in which miracles could
happen. The event proved to be a nine day wonder as the team fell out of the rst
league a couple of years later and ended up in the third league.
Osasuna: the successful decades of Navarra

Since the process of democratization began, the autonomous community of Navarra
has been able to stand by its Basque identity. In the zone where Basques are in a
majority, the province claimed the Basque language its ofcial language and the
regional government supports the Basque language and culture. Navarra is assisted
in its national striving by its oldest and most popular soccer club, Osasuna. The
club, being a representative of Basque culture and cultural identity, supported the
activity of the Basque language academy. Their website homepage features special
sections on Navarra, the history and culture of the province.53 However, Osasuna is
keen in not meddling into politics. When the Basque national team played against
Ireland, Osasuna did not allow one of its players to participate. They argued that
the team playing under the name of Euskadi represented the Basque Country and
the Club of Navarra felt it to be an ambiguous political act to send a player to the
team advertising it.54 A sizeable section from among the supporters of the club pro-
fesses Basque identity. The extremist Osasuna fans are staunch nationalists believ-
ing in an independent Basque Country, and their belief that Real Madrid supporters
are fascists coincide with those of Basque political extremists. As to the history of
the team, the previous three decades were successful. In 1980, Osasuna got into the
rst league and stayed there for about 15 years. The beginning of the 1990s was its
golden age, the fourth position in the 1990/91 season being its peak. It was fol-
lowed by ascos with relegation from the rst league for six years. In the 2000s, it
was successful anew, and in 2005, it became the nalist in the Spanish Cup. A year
later it nished at the fourth place, and the following year got into the semi-nals
of the UEFA Cup.55 Nowadays, the team is based on players from the province and
compared to other rst league clubs they are in a leading position with regard to
the proportion of local players. The results of the team are remarkable considering
its nancial situation: it has the third smallest budget among the rst leaguers.

The reorganization of the Basque team
The Basque national team was reorganized under the name Euskadi in 1979. The
team was an instrument of creating Basque unity in national matters and also had
an important role in Basque national, political and cultural reorganization. During
the matches of the Seleccin, the team led a campaign for the rights of the Basque
language. The proceeds from match tickets were given to Basque language schools
(ikastolas). Such matches included the match in August 1979 against Ireland and
the same year in December against Bulgaria.56 Sports and culture thus became clo-
sely connected, and soccer and the Basque language served to protect and
strengthen Basque identity. The 1979 friendly match against Ireland had great
importance since that was the rst time the Basque national team played at home
against the team of a sovereign country. The democratic change was still fresh in
the minds, the new constitution was only a year old and it was anticipated that
long-suppressed Basque national feelings would erupt during the match. It was
unimaginable that the match would proceed without any political implications. Nei-
ther was it by mere chance that the Irish national team, Ireland being involved in
the Northern Ireland question, was the opponent; a common interest brought
together the two nations subjugated for a long time. The Spanish national press did
542 R. Gyri Szab
not make any political comments and tried to diminish the political implications
and treated the event as a simple sports event. The Madrid newspaper El Pas
opined that the political motivation was marginal for the supporters too. This state-
ment, however, was far from the truth, all through the match there were politically
loaded momentums. There were placards demanding amnesty and free return for
those Basque persons who emigrated during the dictatorship. The political demands
were based on old Basque rights and required the complete autonomy of the prov-
inces. For the supporters, the match raised nostalgic feelings for the short-lived
independence during the times of the republic and the successful period of Basque
soccer. The goalkeeper Jos Angel Iribar received the greatest ovation; he was one
of the most popular gures in the history of Basque football because he had always
carried the Basque ag even defying the ban during the dictatorship. At the begin-
ning, neither anthem was played for fear of the Basque audience who might boo it
off. The Basque team added its share to the spirit wearing stripes in the colours of
the ag. During that match and the further matches of the Basque team, the audi-
ence greeted the goals shouting Euskadi, Euskadi! The atmosphere during matches
of the Basque seleccin developed into real Basque national festivities till the
1980s.57
Further matches of the Basque national team

The Basque team continued to play against the teams of sovereign countries. Their
greatest asco was the match against Hungary in 1980 when they lost 1-5 to the
Hungarian team. The team has played matches against a variety of opponents after
the beginning of the millennium Ghana, Cameroun, Morocco, Uruguay, Honduras,
Macedonia and France, and won three out of the six matches.58 Interestingly, after
the change of regime, there was no match between the Basque and Catalan teams for
decades, though in principle no obstacles whatsoever remain in its way. They met in
2006 again after 35 years in the Nou Camp stadium with a drawn 2-2. In December
2007, the two teams played their 11th match against each other that again was drawn
1-1. Both matches were loaded with political undertones the teams advocated their
independent international position. In total, there was only one Catalan victory, four
matches were drawn, the rest were won by the Basques.
Composition of the Basque team

The Basque team has not only players from the Basque Country itself but also from
all the historic Basque territories, from Navarra and the region in France too. In
other words, it represents the whole Basque nation. The idea is stressed by the
teams motto: One nation, one national team. Thus, Bixente Lizarazu, the many-
time member of the French team that won the world championship in 1998, played
several times in the Basque team too.
The situation of the Basque team

Regional soccer associations play an important role in the organization and structure of
Spanish football. Moreover, it is not only the Basque Country and Catalonia that would
be able to have their own teams but in principle every other autonomous community
too, with the approval of the Spanish Soccer Association. FIFA, however, would not
accept them as members enjoying equal rights. As a result, they would not be able to
participate in international events such as European Cup or World Cup, but only play
in friendly matches. Since the beginning of the 1980s, there have been heated debates
about the international status of both the Basque and Catalan teams. Both have been
striving for the status of such national teams that would share the rights with the teams
of sovereign states. Special organizations have been established to work on these aims
(Esait and Catalunya Acci, respectively). The claims are based on the conviction that
both the Basques and Catalans consider themselves independent nations. During the
1982 World Cup held in Spain, it was for the rst time that the question was considered
whether the Basque and Catalan teams should be allowed to play at international
matches or participate in the European and world championships.59
In principle, the Spanish constitution would allow such a step, but there have
been several political and administrative considerations against the Basques partici-
pating in international soccer events. FIFA has the exclusive right to decide which
countries could participate and it has ruled that Euskadi could claim ofcial status
if the country would become a sovereign state or the Spanish association would
consent to it. UEFA has aggravated the situation by amending its statute in 2001
that only independent states recognized by the United Nations could be accepted as
new members.60 Basques, however, have been unrelenting in their struggle for
winning international status for their team. The Basque Country initiated special
programmes in the eld of sports since the Basque Sports Law came into force in
1988. The Basque Soccer Association was organized in the same year and started
its activity in 1992. Since then the Basque parliament raised the demand that FIFA
and the Spanish government should give consent to according the Basque team
international status. In 2007, the Basques together with the Catalans and Galicians
presented a bill on the participation of their teams at international events. The
Spanish government and parliament turned down the bill, since both the ruling
socialists and the members of the peoples party were against it.61 A year later
several thousand people demonstrated in the streets of Bilbao demanding that the
Basque team should be given the right to play title matches.
In case, the Basque team is granted international status, it would have to leave
the Spanish championship and start its own league structure. It would most proba-
bly affect the standard of Basque soccer since the players would become conned
to lesser grade championships. Independence would not serve Basque football well
economically either, as the leading clubs would suffer considerable nancial loss if
they would cease to participate in championships that are economically of high
value enjoying the greatest viewer numbers. In addition, they could come to grief at
the qualifying matches too; small countries seldom get qualied. Leaving the Span-
ish championship would not be necessary. There are several examples of other
games in Europe where teams of a given country participate in an important cham-
pionship of a neighbouring country (e.g. ice hockey, team handball); such a model
could be adopted in soccer too in such special cases like that of the Basques, espe-
cially if the Basque Country would remain under the authority of the Spanish state.
Closing remarks: what next after Spain having become world champion?
The big question of the years to come is whether the victory of the Spanish team at
the World Championship would strengthen Basque attachment to Spain. That
victory, just two years after winning the European Championship, has elevated
544 R. Gyri Szab
Spanish football to heights never experienced before. Though the Basques had little
to do for the victory as there was only one Basque player in the team, the result
was an all-Spanish success. On the day of the nal, six of the starting 11 had Cata-
lan origins. It was different from that of the 1964 European championship when
Franco had monopolized the victory of the team, based practically on players from
Real Madrid, and gloried Spanish values. It did not help the Basques to emotion-
ally come closer to Spain and the Spanish.
What about now? Soccer is extremely popular among both the Spanish and the
Basque people. The international victories might strengthen the Hispanic feelings of
Basque citizens and lessen their striving for secession and independence both in
politics and sports diplomacy. It is less rewarding to leave Spain and its soccer
when it is at the top of the worlds football, and in those circumstances, Basques
might think twice how steadfastly they stick to their vision of the future.
Longstanding wishes and dreams would not disappear from one day to the other.
After the Spanish national teams winning the world championship, Senator Inaki
Anasagasti, a senator of the Basque national party, PNV, argued that even the
Basque or Catalan teams could have been able to achieve such a victory if only the
Spanish would allow them to go their own way.62 This is undoubtedly an overstate-
ment: a Catalan national football team could be as successful on the pitch, but it is
not probable that a Basque national team could be similarly strong. The unlikeli-
hood to succeed at the top level as an independent nation should serve to moderate
the secessionist aspirations. Several decades of stable well-being and democracy
going hand in hand with the widening of autonomy might have alleviated the wish
for independence, while the football success achieved together could strengthen the
tendency and contribute to the reconciliation between Spanish and Basques to live
in harmony together within one state.
Notes
1. Llopis Goig, Identity, Nation-State and Football in Spain, 56.
2. Ruiz Vieytez, A baszkok s a baszk nyelv jogi s politikai helyzete, 119. Etnikumok
enciklopdija.
3. Llopis Goig, Identity, Nation-State and Football in Spain, 5663. He discusses briey
the role of the Spanish national team Real Madrid, the Catalan FC Barcelona and the
Basque Athletic Bilbao in the various periods he set up.
4. Sipos, A regionalizmus trtneti s jogi aspektusai, 3637, Kasper, Baskische
Geschichte, 51124.
5. Klein, A baszk nemzeti kzdelem a Franco-korszakban, 58; Kasper, Baskische
Geschichte, 125131.
6. Kasper, Baskische Geschichte, 143152.
7. It was only in 1901 that the soccer association founded by 33 sportsmen became legal
and ofcial. www.athletic-club.net,/The Club/ History.
8. www.realsociedad.com/Historia/Histria del Club: Antecedentes.
9. http://www.atleticomadrid.azplayers.com/history.html
10. Crolley and Hand, One Nation, One Team, One Image, 128.
11. Burns, Beckham s Spanyolorszg, 124. Also see www.athletic-club.net/The Club/History
12. Martialay, Amberes: All naci la furia espaola, 168; Crolley and Hand, One Nation,
One Team, One Image, 128.
13. Burns, Beckham s Spanyolorszg, 150.
14. www.realsociedad.com/Historia/Histria del Club; www.athletic-club.net/The Club/
History
15. www.athletic-club.net/The Club/Honours
16. www.athletic-club.net/The Club/Honours

18. www.realsociedad.com/Historia/Histria del Club
19. http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportivo_Alav%C3%A9s. The Clubs own homepage is
not informative enough.
20. Ruiz Vieytez, A baszkok s a baszk nyelv jogi s politikai helyzete, 127.
21. www.osasuna.es/dev/historia/hitos/The birth of Osasuna
22. www.osasuna.es/dev/historia/hitos/inicios
23. Gotzon divides the history of the Basque team into three periods: 1. 19151931, 2. The
years of the Spanish Civil War: 19361939, 3. Democracy from 1979 on. Gotzon, Histo-
ria de la seleccin de Euskadi de ftbol.
25. Ibid.
26. Klein, A baszk nemzeti kzdelem a Franco-korszakban, 59; Kasper, Baskische
Geschichte, 16570.
27. ETA has not been a single group; it has many splinter groups with somewhat different
ideologies. Tihanyi, Az ETA baszk terrorszervezet trtnete, 517.
28. Klein, A baszk nemzeti kzdelem a Franco-korszakban, 6061., Mez, A politikai
regionalizmus Spanyolorszgban, 8586., Tihanyi, Az ETA baszk terrorszervezet
trtnete, 59., Kasper, Baskische Geschichte, 17479.
29. Kasper, Baskische Geschichte, 17074.
30. Crolley and Hand, One nation, one team, one image, 129.
32. Ibid., 151.
33. www.athletic-club.net,The ClubHistory
34. http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportivo_Alav%C3%A9s
35. http://www.osasuna.es/dev/historia/hitos/transformacion
36. Mez, A politikai regionalizmus Spanyolorszgban, 88., Kasper, Baskische Geschichte,
18493.
37. Ruiz Vieytez, A baszkok s a baszk nyelv jogi s politikai helyzete, 12021.
38. Ibid., 122; Mez, A politikai regionalizmus Spanyolorszgban, 90.
41. Burns, Barca, 25456.
42. As a result, Barcelona not only lost the championship but also Maradona, who left Bar-
celona for Napoli where he became the one of the best ever soccer players of the world.
43. Bilbao achieved double victory, i.e. winning both the title of the championship and the
Cup for ve times: in 1930, 1931, 1943, 1956 and 1984.
44. www.realsociedad.com/ Historia/ Histria del Club
45. The slogan of FC Barcelona is more than a club
46. Walton, John. Football and Identities. In Guerras danzadas. Ftbol e identidades
locales y regionales en Europa, ed. Capistegui and Walton, 25; Crolley and Hand, One
Nation, One Team, One Image, 130.
47. Bahamonde, El Real Madrid en la historia de Espaa, 147.
48. Shulman, The Last Genuine Local Team, 70; Ball, Morbo, 72. Also see www.athletic-
club.net, the Club
49. They won a silver medal seven times: in 1932, 1933, 1941, 1947, 1952, 1970 and 1998.
50. http://www.mno.hu/portal/651445
51. www.realsociedad.com/ Historia/Histria del Club
52. http://www.terra.es/personal2/marueda/alaves/indexeng.htm
53. www.osasuna.es
55. http://www.osasuna.es/dev/historia/hitos/sanjuan, http://www.osasuna.es/dev/historia/hitos/
champions
56. Gotzon, Historia de la seleccin de Euskadi de ftbol, 129; Crolley and Hand, One
Nation, One Team, One Image, 130.
57. Gotzon, Historia de la seleccin de Euskadi de ftbol; Crolley and Hand, One Nation,
One Team, One Image, 131.
58. http://www.origo.hu/sport/focivilag/20061201valsagban.html
546 R. Gyri Szab
59. Gotzon, Historia de la seleccin de Euskadi de ftbol.

61. http://www.origo.hu/sport/focivilag/20070919-nem-jatszhat-tetmeccset-a-katalan-es-baszk-
futballvalogatott.html
62. http://www.nol.hu/lap/vilag/20100713egysegben_unnepeltek_a_spanyolok
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Soccer & Society

Basque identity and soccer

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Basque identity and soccer

Department of International and Theoretical Economics, Kautz Gyula Economics Faculty,

2013 Taylor & Francis

independence and considerable economic development as well as to their strong

From the beginnings to the Spanish civil war

The beginnings of the game

The Basque club teams

1920s referring to the Spanish team too a team understandably dominated by

The pride of Bizkaia: Athletic Bilbao

The leading team of Gipuzkoa: Real Sociedad

Representing Araba: Deportivo Alavs

Icon of Navarra: Osasuna

The Basque national team

The Basque team during the civil war

The Franco era

Basque club teams

The Basque national team

The years of democracy

In the past years, Basque politics reopened the question of independence. In

The Basque football clubs

The Basque teams under changed conditions

Rivalry inside, unity outside: representing the Basque nation

Athletic Bilbao: 25 years without success

Real Sociedad: some modest years

The feat of Deportivo Alavs

Osasuna: the successful decades of Navarra

The Basque national team

Further matches of the Basque national team

Composition of the Basque team

The situation of the Basque team

17. Burns, Beckham s Spanyolorszg, 125.

59. Gotzon, Historia de la seleccin de Euskadi de ftbol.

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