“Iñaki is going to score goals because he has always done them”

One of the most common criticisms of Iñaki Williams lies in his low scoring background. Felix Tainta, your representative. refers to this and other matters related to the Bilbao striker and his brother Nico in this second part of the interview with MD.

Had Iñaki arrived at Lezama younger, would Iñaki be a better player than now?

Without a doubt. When Nico was at Pamplona that was the goal, to be able to improve from a young age by having better facilities, better means …

That Nico, but would Iñaki also have been better now if he had come to Lezama earlier?

Logically yes. Iñaki did not have that possibility and that is why I fought and fought. That was the goal: to enter a high-performance school because there Iñaki was going to unfold all the potential that he carried within. It was a rough diamond that had to be polished.

And Lezama fulfilled those premises.

I wanted the boy to be in Lezama because he was going to have better footballers around him, better facilities, possibly better coaches … Everyone in Lezama was surprised when Iñaki arrived with his ability to learn day by day, his predisposition and his desire. If he had been in Osasuna, Real or Athletic since childhood, for example, of course he would be a better player now. Without a doubt.

Another thing that is attributed to Iñaki is that to be a center forward he does not score many goals.

Aduriz already said that he was going to put many. The problem he has is that he is not a striker used by Athletic. It is not Urzaiz, Llorente, Aduriz … Athletic, that is my opinion as a football fan, has insisted on continuing to play in the same way, but if you have a 9-year-old athlete, the way of playing should be adapted to their terms. To say, as was said, that it is the team that focuses the most in the League seems to me a mistake because Iñaki is not Aduriz. Iñaki, like all forwards, live off the midfielders, on the passers. If you only plant yourself once in front of the rival goalkeeper every ten games, it is difficult. Iñaki, in any case, is going to score goals because he has always done them.

What does it mean for the family, for everyone around you, to see the two Williams brothers playing together in the Athletic first team?

A proud. In the end, as time goes by, you see what they are achieving. It’s amazing. No one has given them anything, they have earned everything. Nico has just started in the elite and has to keep working, learning and improving. He, yes, has a large mirror in which to look at himself.

His brother.

Of course. For Iñaki, having his brother by his side is a pride and a privilege. A dream come true. Something that is not very common in the world of football.

Was there a special celebration for Iñaki’s 203 league games in a row?

Not because, by chance, Iñaki’s parents are in Ghana, they are both abroad right now. The club did prepare something special, something very nice, after the game against Alavés with Iñaki, players and friends … A family reunion.

Hasn’t Iñaki from Athletic really changed much compared to Iñaki from Pamplona?

If I had to talk about Iñaki, I would always tell him that he is an exceptional boy. He continues to maintain the same friends, the same parameters of life, work, effort, being friends with his friends, being there when they need him. And a great virtue of his is that he listens to the elderly. I say something to my children and they tell me that ‘you are putting me in a roll’. Iñaki listens and everything you tell him he will take with good grace. He also remembers all the people who have helped both him and his family and he is not going to change people, he is not going to stop being as he has always been. Many actions he does do not transcend because he does not want to brag.

Does it bother you not to have returned to the Spanish team?

He is calm. That is the decision of the coach, of the player’s sporting moments. He has had moments when he could have been selected, as now for example he is really well. At any time it can be selected. As a child he went with Del Bosque and even made his debut. Then he has not been called, but of course he would like to be international. It is something to which every footballer aspires, an award for work.

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