Interview: Ander Herrera explains what makes Athletic Club special and

Football has never been knocked off top spot as the favourite soap opera of the masses, or opiate depending upon who you’re reading, since its rise to prominence throughout the 20th century. Yet one substantial shift in the game itself over the last number of decades is the increase of the spin-off show: the transfer market. A way of turning a 90-minute game into a 24-hour news cycle.And for the

last 2 summers, Athletic Club have actually become a leading character in the summer season soaps, despite their Basque-only policy. On both events, the lead character, Nico Williams, has given Barcelona the slip, and sent the narrative skidding into a left turn. At the end of everything, Athletic Club kept their finest player, one of Spain’s a lot of gifted forwards, and a star with a worldwide profile that Athletic have not had this century.A goal and 2 assists on in the number 10 t-shirt at San Mames in the La Liga opener were sufficient proof in the dessert. There is no lack of cynicism and points-scoring connected to how Williams’summertime unfolded, but it is inarguable that his decision to remain in Bilbao was the most recent proof that times are changing in the Basque Country.Athletic Club’s Nico Williams on the standing ovation he got from the fans:”This fanbase is incredible, for me it’s like a household. There’s a factor I stayed here, I’m very proud of our people.”” I’m really delighted, I want to keep making history here”– Monday, 18 August 2025″Going back, there was Javi Martinez, Fernando Llorente, Aymeric Laporte, and myself– we all left,” Ander Herrera tells Football España

. “And they were not able to keep

us. I remember, I was in my 3rd year, and I did not have an agreement offer. So when it came to the end of the season, I left.

And I think that now, they are doing things in the proper way.” Just 12 hours after the very first reports of Williams ‘thinking about taking out of a move to Barcelona emerged, the younger brother of the renowned duo appeared on social networks smiling with a new ten-year agreement.”I’m not criticising the past, and now they are doing things in a different way, and they are so quick. Oihan Sancet, Dani Vivian, they are on long agreements, and the club already understand the crucial players and when to use them a contract. So I think that keeping these players, is what is getting Athletic closer to the top.”‘ Nico Williams believes he can take Athletic to the next level'< img alt=" Short article image: Interview: Ander Herrera describes what makes Athletic Club unique and how they kept Nico Williams"height="186.66666666666666"

src=” https://image-service.onefootball.com/transform?w=280&h=187&dpr=2&image=https%3A%2F%2Ficdn.football-espana.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2025%2F07%2Fnico-inaki-williams.jpeg”width=” 280″/ > Both Sancet and Vivian are on agreements till 2032 themselves, the former revealed to basic surprise to on the San Mames pitch two seasons earlier. The best players at Athletic Club are choosing to commit themselves to the club on deals that for those without an understanding of what Athletic suggests to them, are head-scratchingly long. Knowing Williams though, Herrera states that the platform remains in place for him to become an Athletic fantastic.”For me, he believes he can defend prizes in Bilbao. They can fight for Europe every year, he feels important. It’s also crucial that you seem like an essential player there. You have responsibility not just in the game, however also to represent your club.””I think he feels he can be the best player at the club for the next ten years, however I will say this: he is starving. I understand him well, and he wishes to achieve things. So I believe that he seems like he can take Athletic to the next level. It will not be simple, but I believe he believes he can do it.”

‘Football modifications, however Athletic Club are still romantic ‘– Herrera There is no escaping the truth that Williams’decision to stay is impossible to understand without an appreciation for Athletic’s special relationship with the Basque Nation though. For their 125th anniversary in 2023, the club sent every infant born in the area an Athletic bib. The city of Bilbao itself has a population of 350,000, and yet a million individuals lined the streets to celebrate their Copa del Rey win last year.Somewhere in those streets, the Williams brothers were discovered leading unscripted celebrations the night before their parade, and walked home with the fans that collected. What Athletic Club can provide its players, in an increasingly cold and callous business, is romance. “I have actually been there twice, for three years between 2011 to 2014, and after that from 2021 to 2024. What I like from Athletic, is the viewpoint, the method they promote from the youth team, the regard they have for senior players, for the organization, and they constantly put the club initially. “”Football changes, but Athletic don’t alter that much, it’s still romantic, they offer so much importance to the fans, and the respect they have for the fans that go to Lezama. Everybody stops to give the kids a picture or a sign.”The popular motto popularised by Narcis de Carreras in 1968 explains that the club Williams might have joined this summertime are’more than a club’. Herrera, speaking more typically about Athletic, unintentionally stumbles into the contrast. “There are some individuals that do not like football, that if you ask them, do you enjoy football, they say no. However if you ask them if they enjoy Athletic, they say yes. If you go to your neighbours they are Athletic fans. What it suggests to the Basque Country, is that everybody supports Athletic, and it is more than club– more than simply a football club,” he fixes, understanding he is at threat of an undesirable headline. “It goes method beyond that.” View publisher imprint Share this article