In an era when we seem to spend more time talking about money than we do about the actual game of football, it’s refreshing to know that not everyone in the beautiful game is motivated entirely by their bank balance.

With his current contract due to expire at the end of this season, the former Spain international, Joseba Etxeberria has signed a one-year contract extension with Athletic Bilbao which will see him play the final season of his career for nothing. That’s right. A top flight professional footballer playing, for the club he loves, for free.

Midfielder Etxeberria, 31, joined Athletic from Real Sociedad aged 17 and went on to become a talismanic figure for the Basque club. I caught up with Joseba, for an interview broadcast on Revista de la Liga, and I started off by asking him to look back upon his career at Athletic…
 

Joseba Etxeberria:   The time I have spent here has been marvelous. I was very young when I arrived, aged 17, and everything was very new, but the people here really helped me to feel at home and settle in: from the very beginning it was a great experience. I have been at Athletic Bilbao for fourteen years and there have been ups and downs, but I’ve been able to play in the UEFA Cup and the Champions League for Athletic and it has been very special.

Guillem:    At Athletic Bilbao, you’re almost like a spiritual leader both on and off the pitch. Do you feel a certain pressure with the younger players looking up to you?

Etxeberria:    I think you’re right. The  younger players coming up through the ranks do look up to the older players who have been at the club for a while. It was the same for me when I arrived. As a veteran you try to help the younger players as much as you can. You also have to be a leader on the pitch, you have to make sure that you are performing to the best of your ability.  We have to work together to help Athletic Bilbao be great.

Guillem:     Do you ever get the impression that, because of the Athletic Bilbao’s proud Basque identity, the fans are more concerned with keeping their identity than actually getting relegated?

Etxeberria:     Athletic Bilbao is a great source of pride for everyone involved. All of our players come from the Basque Country and we have spent more than one hundred years playing at the highest level in the top division. Athletic Bilbao is a feeling and a state of mind. As a player here you are part of something that is more than just a club.  This is where we are all from and we are all part of a big family. The fact we are all Basque also brings us closer to the fans that come to support us, it is almost as if we were their sons. We are all proud to play for this club.

Guillem:     Regarding the debate about bringing foreigners and players from other parts of Spain? How do you see it from inside the club?

Etxeberria:     There has always been debate surrounding this issue.  But Athletic Bilbao belongs to its members and, so far, in internal elections no candidate has come forward with the intention of signing foreign players. It is a simple as that; someone has to step forward and put themselves up for election with the intention of changing things by brining in foreign players, then if they were to win the election things would change. But we are talking about changing our philosophy as a club and altering the spirit that motivates us.

There are examples of very good clubs that had very strong youth systems that decided to change this and bring in foreign players who in theory would allow a step up in quality. They can now be found in the second division or even lower than that. That is why in my opinion in it not a question of changing your philosophy but working with what you have.

Guillem:     The gesture of playing for Athletic Bilbao without taking a salary, from a player of your standing, could only really happen at a club like this. Tell us about why you made your decision. 

Etxeberria:      Well my contract comes to an end to an end this year. I had always intended to end my career here and to make a gesture like this. For this reason I got together with the President last season and told him that after so many great years here I wanted to work for free. I wanted to make a gesture like this to say thank those involved with Athletic Bilbao for the support that they have given me over the years.

Guillem:     And it is defiantly going to be your last year?

Etxeberria:    Yes this is going to be my last year in football. I know that I will be thirty two at the end of the season and I will still be fairly young in playing terms, but I think that fifteen years are enough to live a good cycle in football and that is why I have made my decision.

Guillem:    What have your teammates made of your decision? I know you had to explain your decision to them. Did any of them complain? “Hey! Now they are going to try and reduce our wages!”

Etxeberria :    No not at all, quite the opposite actually. I spoke to my teammates about my decision because they are the most important thing. I told them why I had decided to do this and they understood my reasons for making this gesture. I know that we are working in a professional world and everyone should honour their contracts, just have I have done over all these years. This is a special case though as my gesture is one of thanks and appreciation. I came here at a very young age. The club played a large amount of money for a youth player and after everything that has happened since then and the way that everyone involved with this club has treated me I wanted to repay them with this gesture.

Guillem:      Picture this situation: it’s winter, cold and raining, and you are on the bench, injured. When you come here for treatment do you think; “Hang on, I’m not even getting paid!”

Etxeberria:    No way. This is a question of principles. I have said before in the press that even though I am not charging the club anything I will be just as angry if I find myself on the bench. It has nothing to do with it. This has been a personal decision. My drive to succeed as a player is a strong as ever and, especially given the fact that it is my last season, I am extremely motivated to do my best for Athletic Bilbao.

Guillem:     And you are not getting a bonus or incentives…nothing?

Etxeberria:    Nothing, nothing, zero.

Guillem:      What is the target for Athletic Bilbao this season? You have some quality players coming through….

Etxeberria:      I think that we have a good team this season. We have a good balance. The more experienced players are able to help the younger guys along. I think that our objective for this has to be to continue developing. Last year we had some good runs of form in the league and I think we need to try and build on that. We have not had the best start but the objective for this season has to be to fight for the higher places in the league. We need to keep progressing and fight for a place in Europe.

Guillem:      People in England are interested in your decision because with the arrival of rich foreign owners all the talk is about money and its role in the game. Have you proved that there are still people in football for whom money is not the be all and end all?

Etxeberria:     I think that money is an important part of life because it gives you security and allows you to do many things. But I believe that the richest man is not the man who has the most, but the man who needs the least.  I think that we are talking in quite materialistic terms here, and as I said earlier football is a professional business and everyone should defend their own interests as I have done until now.

The thing is that I very much aware of the fact that this club has changed my life and that of my family. This club has made sure that I have been happy in this team and we have been happy in this city. I know that if I had been at any other club I would not have done this.

Guillem:   What do you think of the flow of players leaving Spain to play in England? Is it now something that you talk about amongst yourselves as a positive idea?

Etxeberria:     I think that the idea of playing in the Premier League is attractive to a lot of players because the football that is played there is very high quality and the atmosphere is very similar to here in Bilbao. The fans in England are very passionate. Players appreciate it when fans live and breathe every moment of every game, it is something that makes the football experience complete.

English football is ahead of the game economically speaking; in terms of the level of football that is being played; and as a consequence the borders have opened for Spanish players and managers. I think that this exchange is beneficial for Spanish football and in particular the Spanish national team. 

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