The Football Weekend23 Elo 2024

The Nico Williams Derby (Feat. Graham Hunter)

La Liga is back and so is one of its true classics. BARCELONA and ATHLETIC CLUB have been duking it out in this division for as long as it's been around. Along with Real Madrid, they're the only clubs who've never been relegated.

Like Barça, Athletic represents a part of Spain—the Basque region—with a serious independent streak, but that hasn't always made them allies off or on the pitch. In the 1980s, especially, these two clubs entered an explosive feud, one that culminated with none other than Diego Maradona launching into a flying kick at an Athletic player in the final of the Copa del Rey. That's the competition that has revived this rivalry more recently, too, as these two clubs have a habit of running into each other in the king's cup final.

But the biggest story going into this league fixture might just be Nico Williams, the electric winger who starred for Spain at EURO 2024 this summer, who appears to have turned down a move to Barcelona to stay in Bilbao. What does that say about the state of the Blaugrana at the moment, about Athletic, and about Williams?

Here to offer some insight is Graham Hunter, who's covered Spanish football for decades and now does so for ESPN. He also hosts a podcast of his own, The Big Interview. He helps us trace the history of this fixture and its politics, explains the origins and consequences of Athletic's policy of only fielding Basque players, and offers a look behind the scenes of Spain's camp at EURO 2024. He followed the champions up close throughout the tournament.

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