ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATHLETIC SCHOOL Lezama, cradle of lions

Lezama, the complex that has served as inspiration for other great football facilities such as Mareo at Sporting, today reaches half a century of life. On January 27, 1971, the first training session took place at the Biscayan Dream Factory. Athletic would not be understood without this string of fields located almost 15 kilometers from Bilbao. We are talking about the cradle in which future lions are formed.

A series of technicians from half a century ago, led by the then Athletic manager and great visionary, José Ignacio Zarza, came up with the idea of ​​quarry work. The first model they copied was the Vichy school, which they happened upon after a trip to Lyon to visit Javier Clemente, who had undergone surgery in that French town for a serious leg injury that made him abandon football practice. The facilities were inaugurated under the presidency of Félix Oraá with three fields, and a building that housed a residence hall and changing rooms. The first session in Lezama half a century ago did not have any official opening ceremony, and it did not even merit the attendance of the then president. However, in April of that distant 1971, the first Easter week school tournament was held, from which Santi Urkiaga, one of the components of the Athletic League and Cup champion, would come out a decade later.

Under the mandate of José Antonio Eguidazu, the facilities were expanded to four other fields and a covered sports hall. The complex is a living element and continued to grow. The 80s were the years of Lezama's stability, under the coordination of Iñaki Sáez. But, in the 90s, a series of big changes undermined the club's youth policy. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Bosman Law made its appearance, which modified the structure of world football and was a strong blow to the philosophy of the rojiblanco club. With José María Arrate in 1995 a parking lot and new entry and exit roads were built. A covered tribune was also set up to witness some base games. With the demolition of the old San Mamés in 2013, it was decided to incorporate the iconic arch that crowned it into the facilities. During this time 10,000 players have passed through its lawn.

Andoni Aiarza (technical secretary), Andoni Bombín (responsible for the methodology) and Raúl Loroño (player service department) are now in charge. The fact that Biscayan children have felt Athletic since they were little is a great reinforcement towards the centenary philosophy of the entity. “When this club calls you, it is like a dream come true. It is something general and that is one of the great strengths of Athletic. Children are born here and want to be Athletic, regardless of whether other clubs have more media strength or win titles, Biscayan children want to be from Athletic and for us that is a great strength “explains Aiarza.

There are dozens and dozens of first-team candidates each year, but only the chosen ones arrive. In Athletic, a lot of emphasis is placed on the educational aspect, to train people as well as footballers. “We give a lot of value, not only to sports, but also to education. In the end we know, from statistics, that reaching the first team is very difficult and we have to train people who is also our role. Who know how to respect, who have recorded Athletic and above all those values ​​of life, that they leave here with things that serve them for life, “says Loroño.

Rafa Alkorta, as sports director, coordinates all areas. Notifying the puppies that they have to leave Lezama is one of the bitter drinks that technicians have to face. “One of the most difficult moments is when you have to make the decision that a boy leave the structure so that another enters. It is difficult because there we do not talk about contracts, we talk about illusions”, says the technical secretary, Aiarza.

With Josu Urrutia, the so-called 'Lezama Master Plan' was given the green light, which was born with the purpose of modernizing the structure of grassroots football, as well as that of the professional team. A modern and functional building for the first team has recently been completed and inaugurated. The new infrastructure that has swimming pools, saunas, a cryotherapy area, gym, sports center, games room, dining room and large terraces. It has 3,956 square meters of built area, 2,220 below ground and 1,736 above it. The building has three floors useful for players. They will develop most of their sporting activities in the basement, they will have their life together on the ground floor and they will rest on the first floor.

The club bought adjacent land to carry out its plans. A covered car park was built months ago. And now the reform of the main building will be undertaken, where the residence for homegrown workers from outside of Bizkaia will be built, thus leaving the current location of the Derio Seminary and the Mañarikua residence. The youngest, cadets and children aged 11 and 15, live in hamlets with families because they are better off in a more protected environment. The family is now meeting in a modernized house. In the cradle of the Athletic movement.

There are many clubs that have opted for the formation of young values ​​in their facilities. La Masía is an example throughout Europe. Lezama is one of the most prestigious homegrown factories in the world, rubbing shoulders with other large institutes. Let's review the main ones.

The farmhouse

If there is something that has managed to make Barcelona great in the 21st century, it has been the power of its quarry. La Masía is one of the most imitated models in the world. Join the vast network of scouts spread across the planet. Just saying that Messi came from there, it's all said. The litter that Guardiola produced will go down in history. Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Busquets, Valdés, Piqué, Pedro… they have been very prosperous years. A large part of the European leagues are nourished by their values ​​With globalization, many clubs have emerged that raise their 'pearls' on them.

Factory

Always in competition with La Masía, the Factory has also been a much admired nursery. There is practically no league in Europe that does not have or has had a player from the quarry of the merengue team. Since 2014, a total of 69 players have reached the top. The new batch of young Brazilians and the reluctance of Zidane to give the alternative to homegrown players, has plugged the meringue homegrown players a bit. There is a lot of imported and improved product, like Odegaard. Morata, Nacho, Lucas Vázquez, Dani Carvajal … names that have been exploding in recent times.

The Olympique de Lyon Academy

This classic French team takes, surprisingly, the bronze medal of this ranking. If it could have retained all the stars that have come out of its quarry, perhaps we would be talking about a European superpower. Umtiti, Tolisso, Ben Arfa, Martial, Benzema … All of them have come out of the tireless and effective lower categories of Olympique de Lyon and all now play for clubs of the stature of Bayern Munich, Barcelona or Real Madrid. They have a very powerful network of scouts. They are sellers and have carried out very important transfer operations.

Manchester United

Another of the greats of Europe, it moves very well in the collection of the kids of lower categories. Pogba is the great standard of footballers from the legendary Manchester United quarry, in which stars such as Bobby Charlton, George Besto and David Beckham already emerged.

River plate

River Plate is one of the historic clubs in Argentina and as such always supplies both South America and Europe with good players. Today there are 20 players who are in great teams carving out a career. Known for having given players such as Di Stéfano, Cannigia or Hernán Crespo, Higuaín, Mascherano, Falcao and Erik Lamela also left their fields.

He was a player, coach and sports director in Lezama, which he considers a reference in a coach who went through all the teams on the Cantabrian coast. “Every year two or three players have to go up to the first team so that they can be made,” he says.

Lezama started in 1971, 50 years already.

I came to Athletic as a footballer in 75, four years after its birth, and it is true that Atlético de Madrid had no facilities and we were going to Casa de Campo to do the physical issue, asking for favors from Carabanchel … and sometimes in the Manzanares. When I arrived in Bilbao, it seemed to me that it was progress. Then all the teams have gone to a greater or lesser extent having their sports cities. In Dépor we didn't have … and in other teams, neither, and you have to go asking.

How many fields did Lezama have in his first stage as a player?

I was a player for five years and there were four fields. The conditions were not like now, there is everything, natural and artificial fields, the facilities have greatly prospered in terms of means.

From 2009 to 2011 he held the position of sports director, replacing Luis Solar.

I was more focused on the technical-tactical issue, dealing with the coordinators and Manolo Delgado Meco was dealing more with the physical issue, the trainers, the base. There were two seasons with Fernando García Macua as president, but two years later a new board of directors entered and changed. My memories are very beautiful, seeing young people how they evolve, it reminds me of that ambition that some had. It was very instructive for me. I had detached myself from that issue and I liked going back to Lezama a lot.

How about those generations?

Some arrived and others did not get to play for Athletic. There were also good generations. Every year two or three players have to go up to make them, like recently Unai Simón, Vencedor or Morcillo. Little by little, not all of them hit the first team. You are not going to go up to seven or eight, that they are proving their worth in the elite.

Have you been seeing the progress of the facilities lately, with the residence, the parking lots, the innovations …?

I haven't been there for a long time, but it has taken a very big step through the fields, the services, the recreational areas, a huge leap to consolidate itself more and more. Lezama is a reference and very necessary for the peculiar philosophy of Athletic.

The current Football Director of Racing de Santander is one of the most famous Athletic Directors who, in his two spells at the helm, did not leave anyone indifferent. He implemented the famous 3-4-3 system and captured Fernando Llorente.

In 1971 the Lezama factory started, it has already rained …

We must recognize the people who had that vision at that time, I think they did not know the evolution that the subject was going to have. It has become the backbone of Athletic in recent years. All the people who have been in Lezama and in the Athletic environment must be praised because Athletic belongs to everyone.

What does his career as Lezama's sporting director mean for his long career as a midfielder and coach?

It is a great privilege to have been able to lead two stages at the helm of Lezama and it is a source of pride for those of us who are from Athletic and feel that Athletic is something of ours. competitive of Athletic through its philosophy. Having seen him grow, having seen him develop these years is a satisfaction, a privilege. I thank all the people who in my case have trusted me.

Two stages with Amorrortu at the helm, in 1994 and 2011, both very far apart, with the Atlético quarry in an intermediate journey in 2006.

Arrate entrusted me with this direction until 2001 after training the Under-19s and being Heynckes' assistant, and in 2011 with Urrutia as president until 2019 when I finished my cycle at Athletic. I have been present in the generations from the year 70 to the present.

The most mediatic of his method was the implantation of that new 3-4-3 system in the lower categories and capturing a boy named Fernando Llorente from Rincón de Soto.

At that time, after seeing different quarries, we established a game approach based on a system of certain difficulty, thinking that it could be good for the players, with a way of playing forward. We established this methodology based on everything that could be generated. A very formative experience for everyone, it was something that generated quite a few players of a certain profile for the elite. It was a process, football is evolving towards other equally good systems. Llorente was a boy who stood out in Navarra and we brought him when he was 10 years old through a family close to us, from home. The family entrusted us with the boy's education at the educational level. We also brought other boys in that educational line, which Athletic needs because of what Athletic generates in our society, in our environment, establishing people who can be references in different stages of their life.

Now, the Lezama facilities very modernized and renovated with eight fields, lighting, first-team residences and lower …

It is a world-class space and everyone who visits it recognizes it and points it out that way. Many investments have been made, it is a state-of-the-art facility, with many means and many resources, which is what Athletic needs. A place not only physical, but also learning and generating value, which is what Lezama has always distinguished.

In Santander, in La Albericia, can something similar to Lezama be implanted or transported for Racing?

We are starting a project that, logically, must start by generating a culture, a work philosophy and little by little we are working on it. It must be implanted so that it germinates. An Athletic quarry project is very deep, it needs patience and understanding.