Fernando Llorente: A Basque Tale

As you may well know; we are always on the lookout for keen writers with a deep knowledge of the Spanish game, and in Will Unwin we have found someone who fits that criterion. Will spent a substantial amount of time in the Basque Country and Athletic Bilbao is a team very close to his heart. Here he speaks on a player who at one time was an unknown outside of the Basque Country, now we all know the man with the bouffant hair and dominating striking prowess.

Fernando Llorente is quickly establishing himself as one of the most sought after strikers in Europe, and it is likely, that before too long, he will be at one of the continent’s elite clubs.

When I first set eyes on Fernando Llorente in 2007 he looked like a drunken Bambi on ice; he couldn’t control the ball and his attempts at finishing generally ended in hilarity.  Since this inauspicious glimpse of the tall man from La Rioja, it was to be the beginning of a love affair.

I enjoy Llorente for his footballing ability but when I spoke to women in the Basque Country they openly admitted that the striker was their local sex symbol. This is getting away from his main attributes as a traditional ‘No. 9’; standing at 6ft 5in he can beat any defender in the air, has a superb touch, great link-up play and his finishing is evolving game-by-game.

This collection of qualities has not gone unnoticed. Firstly, he was called up to Spain’s national side, where he has excelled having scored seven goals in only 13 appearances for his country. He suffers from the fact he is behind two of the best strikers in Europe in the form of David Villa and Fernando Torres. Llorente’s brief outing against Portugal in the World Cup turned the game in La Selección’s favour, and considering Torres’ lack of form in the tournament he should have seen more action in later games.

All was not lost for the target man, as this put him on the international scene. For Athletic fans this brings a greater problem, as their main asset has become the focus of interest from clubs both inside and outside of Spain. Real Madrid have been most strongly linked with the striker, as José Mourinho searches for an extra striker to complete his formidable squad. However, this raises a variety of issues due to the historical relations between ‘Franco’s club’ and Athletic who stood for everything Basque during the period of La Dictadura. Llorente isn’t especially well-known as a man with any political sidings, so many believe he won’t see any issue crossing the divide between the two.

It can be seen in recent performances that his head may have been turned by such interest as his ‘100% attitude’ hasn’t been evident. If he were to leave it would be catastrophic for Bilbao due to the lack of replacements caused by the severe restrictions on who they can sign. The second striker at Athletic is Gaizka Toquero; a man loved by many for his willingness whilst at the same time having such inept technique he wouldn’t look out of place at Sunday League level – he hasn’t scored once this season, and has rarely looked like doing so.

No team can force a man to stay, and Athletic are trying to fund a new stadium and have been known to let players leave when they have done their bit for the club. Most players that stay do so for the tradition rather than any real hope of winning trophies.  The likes of Javi Martinez will run their course at the club, and leave for something bigger. It is quite frustrating for supporters who believe the side are close to creating a side that is once again able to compete for Europe. There is now a good spine in the starting XI with the likes of Gorka Iraizoz, Fernando Amorebieta and Mikel San José joining Llorente and Martinez in the team. The departure of the No.9 would be more disappointing as the club have recently had goalkeeper Iraizoz renew his contract beyond the end of the season, after he had previously said this would be a fitting time to leave Bilbao. His new deal is a sign of intent by the Basque club.

This season Llorente has scored 10 times in 16 appearances meaning he has twice the amount of goals than any other Athletic player, and no other centre-forward has managed to hit the back of the net. Outside of the club there are no noticeable Basque strikers that could come to fill his boots. There is Iñigo Diaz de Cerio who is currently out on loan at Córdoba, but has only scored once whilst there. It is plausible that Athletic would be heavily reliant on the talented youngster Iker Muniain to play a more central role off another striker, or possibly a fringe player could step up, but there is no one in the Basque Country who could replace Llorente.

All I hope is that Llorente is in the Athletic line-up when I travel to the San Mámes in February for the Valencia game.

Will can be followed via his Twitter account here, and he also writes regularly for The League paper in the UK. Check them both out!

Tags: Athletic Bilbao, Basque, Fernando Llorente