A new generation emerges in the Athletic, who begins to enjoy several young people of excellent soccer depth. For a club that always lives with anguish the decline of veterans, the impact of Nick Williams (19 years), sancet (twenty-one), Victor (twenty-one), They lived (22), Zarraga (23), Nico Serrano (18) and the goalkeeper aguirrezabala (21) -under 21 international- is news full of hope. Athletic, a club that chose the delicatessen route in soccer on large surfaces, will defend against Real Madrid his championship title Super Cup. It will be the fourth final – two of Cup, two Super Cups- played in the last 12 months, with a substantial contribution from players that were barely known until recently.
A more promising collection of youngsters cannot be remembered since the group that played against the Barca the youth final of 1987. In that team, led by Nico Stefano, they played Alkorta, Garitano, Mendiguren, Aguirretxu Y Uribarrena. Almost all stood out in the Athletic Bilbao, installed in second a Xabi Eskurza, the youngest of all, and Yosu Urrutia, who over the years would be elected president of the club, were part of the same cycle.
That compact batch broke out immediately after the biggest crisis in the history of Athletic. The dismissal of Xavier Clement in 1985, in the midst of the very serious social fracture that occurred after winning two Suspenders and a cup, he thrust upon them a responsibility difficult to bear.
Athletic’s latest performances have confirmed the good state of health of its factory in Lezama. Of the team’s last eight goals, Sancet has scored four – one against Real Madrid, three against Osasuna-, and Nico Williams has added three (two in the Cup against royal stain and the winning goal in the Super Cup semifinal).
Although the goal count registers an appreciable statistical value, the characteristics of the shots offer superior reasons for confidence. Sancet nailed a spectacular right hand into the goal of Courtois, anticipated his marker to head in the first goal in the sadar, He placed the delicate half-volley that made it 1-2 one touch away and closed the match with perfect timing in his appearance to take advantage of a serve from Berenguer.
Nico Williams took advantage of a rebound in the area to score Athletic’s first goal against Mancha Real. It was a shot with the left foot, placed and low, similar to his magnificent goal in Riyadh. The second reached a high degree of difficulty: in full takeoff, he controlled with his left, almost as a spur, a pass from vega, the ball was perfect for the run and he beat the goalkeeper in one-on-one: a fine touch with the right, after impeccable driving.
The variety of actions in goals invites one to think of a considerable range of qualities in Sancet – a powerful player, reliable in control, capable of playing with his back to goal and taking advantage of his ease to turn before taking advantage of his instinct to filtering short passes – and Nico Williams, who adds to his explosiveness, has convincing peripheral vision and is very difficult to spot when dribbling. It is ambidextrous in the manner of Dembele. It goes out through the two profiles and hits hard with both the right and the left. Although he has not turned 20, he plays with ease, relaxed, unusual characteristics in such young footballers.
Sancet and Williams are the most eye-catching players in a group that includes youngsters of character like Vencedor and Vivian, footballers who don’t make noise or make headlines in the press, but with the ability to drag their teammates along. The lefty Nico Serrano begins to appear. International in all youth categories, he is a fine striker, fast, technical, with an exquisite strike. Together with the midfielder Zárraga they make up the more than promising new wave of Athletic.
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