For my first blog, I wanted to write something meaningful, something that encapsulates everything that is great about football. In my opinion, Joseba Etxeberria does this perfectly. What this blog will hopefully achieve is to immortalise the great man. But firstly, we need to delve into the history of Basque football, with emphasis on Athletic Bilbao. For the longest time, Athletic had a no non Basque policy. To play for them, you had to be Basque. This resulted in a lot of local talent being brought through, either through Brian Goodwin Jersey Athletics Cantera, or poached from other Basque sides. Although that policy has been relaxed somewhat over the last few seasons, being Basque is the ultimate source of pride for residents of the region.Joseba Andoni Etxeberria Lizardi was born in Elgoibar in 1977. His father, Jose Antonio Etxeberria was also a footballer and his house was a hive of sporting activity. Although he may have originally considered a career in running, he quickly decided that football was his sport of choice. He played for his school team and immediately tasted succe s. He played for the team for 2 seasons and was top scorer in each of them, justifying the nepotism as his father was the team coach.At the age of 9 he began to play for Elgoibar CD, playing under Aldo Galarraga, a man that Etxeberria would consider as a father figure. Etxeberria captained Adam Eaton Jersey the team in his first season whilst playing in a local tournament and won the player of the tournament award. Things were already looking promising for the promising youth. However, at the age of 10, he went for trials at Athletic Club Lezama and after several games, he was not signed up, despite scoring 1o goals.Exteberria did not give up and soon after, Real Sociedad did sign him. His time was the youth team there saw him develop further and in 1994, he made his debut for Real Sociedad B at the age of 16. He played 28 games for them and found the net 9 times. During this period, he was also called up for the Spanish U18s for a tournament in Italy. He scored twice in the tournament, against Portugal and Germany.This succe s saw him also called up to the U20 squad for the World Cup in Qatar. He started the WC as a reserve striker but came on for Morientes in the first game against Burundi and scored twice, earning him starts against Japan and Chile. He netted twice against Chile. In the quarter finals against Ru sia, he scored a hat trick as Spain on 4 Joe Ross Jersey -1. Although they were knocked out in the semis by Argentina, he had shown his potential. In 1995, he made 7 first team appearances for Real Sociedad but the following summer, he joined Basque rivals Athletic Bilbao, the club at which he would stay for the rest of his career.He received a fantastic welcome from Athletics supporters and repaid them by continuing his scoring exploits, including one against Real Hunter Strickland Jersey Sociedad. Unfortunately, a broken fiber put his season on hold but he made up for it in his second season, helping Athletic to qualify for the UEFA Cup. If the second season was a triumph, his third season was spectacular and saw Athletic finish second and qualify for the Champions League. Etxeberrias performances didnt go unnoticed and he was rewarded when he was called up to the Spanish squad for France 98, the youngest in the team.After France 98, he resumed his focus on Athletic and scored a winning goal against Dinamo Tbilisi to guide his team to the CL group stages. He scored in a few of the group games and played his part in establishing Athletic as one of the top sides in Spain.Etxeberria went on to make 514 appearances for Athletic, scoring 105 goals, until his retirement in 2010 and captained the side for many Joaquin Benoit Jersey years. His last season was especially legendary as Etxeberrias contract has ended in 2009 and thus, he continued to play for free. He played 53 matches for Spain and scored 12 goals.Joseba Etxeberria is a name that will always be in the minds of Athletic Bilbao supporters. Mention his name to any of them and watch their face light up as they inevitable being to laud him. I once worked with a Basque chap and casually mentioned that I had signed Etxeberria for my Liverpool team on Football Manager. He looked surprised that I knew of him, perhaps a sign that despite Josebas shining career, his humble nature has ensured he isnt a household name. He is regarded as a model profe sional on and off the field and he will be forever worshipped by his loyal supporters. Take a bow Joseba Etxeberria.