The Eternal City, Origin of Athletic's European Dream

More than half a decade later, the red-and-whites will parade their badge across the Old Continent after a fantastic week in the League

Isaac Asenjo

Madrid

Miércoles, 25 de septiembre 2024, 14:05

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“I want to be a champion with Athletic, and if I were offered another destination that guarantees titles, I’m not interested. My ambition is to be a champion here, to bring out the gabarra, to experience something that only a few have lived.” For Nico Williams, the King's Cup is not enough, and he aims to repeat last season's success, but this time on European soil. The Europa League, with its revolutionary new format, is the great challenge for the red-and-white star, whose sentiment played a decisive role in continuing to score goals at San Mamés—where the tournament final will be held—instead of packing his bags for Can Barça, where his account would have had a few million more.

The last time Athletic Bilbao paraded their badge across the Old Continent, the swift Navarrese winger was a teenager playing in Athletic’s Cadete A and wanted to follow in his brother Iñaki’s footsteps, who scored the goal in their sad farewell (3-1) against Marseille in March 2018. After years without touring Europe, Rome's Eternal City will be the origin of the dream for the red-and-whites, who retain only six of those lions from that Vélodrome match in their squad. Of the 26 players working in the first team, only 12 know what it is like to play a European match.

The Bilbao entity does so after closing a fantastic week in the League with three consecutive wins thanks to an excellent offensive arsenal and good squad depth. A sweet moment that contrasts with the perspective of their opponent for the match. The 'giallorossi,' one of the competition favorites and accustomed in recent seasons to going far in Europe, arrive at the Olympic Stadium after a tumultuous week in which they dismissed coach Daniele de Rossi, one of the great symbols of a club where he played seventeen seasons.

Their new coach, Ivan Juric, calmed the storm by debuting with a 3-0 win against an Udinese that came as Serie A leaders, marking the team's first victory in a season featuring bold proposals and direct play. This takes advantage of young talent like Niccolò Pisilli, one of the great sensations at the start of the season, alongside the offensive capabilities of El Shaarawy, Paulo Dybala or Artem Dovbyk, last season’s top scorer in LaLiga.