As with so many of his compatriots, Rafa Benitez likes nothing more than unwinding over a game of 'mus', a traditional Spanish card game devised in the Basque country, which pits teams of two in a battle of tactics, concentration and collaboration. To the uninformed, mus sounds similar to the sedate, cerebral game of 'bridge'. Click to continue reading...

As much as I love doing the English non-league stuff, this site isn't called 'European Football Weekends' for nothing. As such, I'm off to Spain for 10 (ten) days from today. Hopefully I will return home with tales of mirth and hilarity from far flung places and teams such as UB Conquense, Barakaldo CF, SD Eibar and maybe some on the pitch antics at Athletic Bilbao. Click to continue reading...

Throughout football's long and patterned history there has always been drama, excitement, heartbreak and jubilation. The Uefa Cup Final in 1995 when Nayim ridiculously scored from the half-way line past a disbelieving David Seaman; the 1999 Champions League Final where Ole Gunnar Solskjær's right foot will forever be etched into the memory of Manchester United fans.

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Liverpool fans, it's time to be honest – Xabi Alonso is all but on his way to Real Madrid. You didn't want it to happen, he (initially) didn't want it to happen, and perhaps even Rafael Benitez didn't want it to happen, despite his previous attempts to sell off his fellow Spaniard.
Considering that the boy from the Basque Country has just come off a season in which he displayed the sort of composure, consistency and class that even Steven Gerrard never could in a central playmaking role, it would be sheer madness to even consider selling him. Click to continue reading...

Iñigo Díaz de Cerio was unveiled as a Athletic Bilbao player today after his Real Sociedad contract officially ended yesterday and has signed on for 4 years with a 50 million euro buy out clause. The player thanked Athletic Club for trusting him after having been sidelined for most of the 2008-9 season due to an injury. Click to continue reading...

The following comes to us from an Athletic Bilboa and Toronto FC fan:
Hi,
I found this article in a Spanish website:
The Basque striker says:
"Nada más volver de Holanda, tuve una oferta de Toronto, pero tenía tantas ganas de estar en casa... Llevaba como unos diez días y no pude ni hacer la primera maleta. Click to continue reading...

The long story short: Athletic Bilbao [shameless advertisement: AB needs a blogger] and Barcelona are from Basque Country and Catalonia, respectively. Both would like independence, Spain would like to hold them close to its bosom for as long as possible. So when King Juan Carlos showed up as the national anthem was bellowing out of [. Click to continue reading...

From a foreigner's perspective, Spain is truly an interesting county. For those of you that don't remember my previous post on Spanish Football and Basque Nationalism Spain has a 'central' culture, but most Spainards feel more of a cultural tie to the region where they are from. Ask someone from Barcelona where they are [. Click to continue reading...