Basque Country autonomous football team
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The Basque Country representative football team (officially, in Basque, 'Euskal selekzioa') represents the
Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...
in
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. It selects players from the
Basque Country autonomous community The Basque Country (; eu, Euskadi ; es, País Vasco ), also called Basque Autonomous Community ( eu, Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa, links=no, EAE; es, Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco, links=no, CAPV), is an autonomous community of Spain. It ...
,
Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
and the French Basque Country and is organised by the
Basque Football Federation The Basque Football Federation ( eu, Euskadiko Futbol Federakundea, EFF; es, Federación Vasca de Fútbol, link=no, FVF) is the body responsible for managing association football in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country autonom ...
. It is not affiliated with
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
or UEFA and therefore only allowed to play friendly matches against FIFA or non-FIFA affiliated teams. The team has been referred to by various names including ''Euskadiko selekzioa, Euskal Herriko futbol selekzioa, Selección de Euskadi, Vasconia, Equipo Vasco, Euskadi XI'' and ''Basque XI''. Most of their home matches have been played in the San Mamés Stadium which was replaced in 2013 by the new San Mamés. The Basque Country has had a football team of its own since 1930. During the Second Spanish Republic, they played firstly under the name of '' Baskoniako selekzioa'' (the
Vasconia The Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia ( eu, Baskoniako dukerria; oc, ducat de Gasconha; french: duché de Gascogne, duché de Vasconie) was a duchy located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area encompassing the m ...
team) and then from 1936 as ''Euzkadiko selekzioa'' (the Euskadi team). During
Franco's Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
36-year dictatorship it only played two games. After Franco's death in 1975, the team was reformed using the name ''Euskadiko selekzioa'' and from the early 1990s began playing regular friendly matches, usually during La Liga's Christmas break. Up to the present time they have played 40 matches against a wide range of FIFA national teams such as Russia, Nigeria, Uruguay, Serbia, Tunisia, Estonia, Venezuela and
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, plus others against non-FIFA teams of various types. In 2007, the team's name was controversially changed to ''Euskal Herriko futbol Selekzioa'' causing disagreements which led to the annual matches being cancelled. In 2008, a compromise was reached and it was changed again to ''Euskal selekzioa''. In the lower grades (such as in the for youths and the UEFA Regions' Cup for amateurs), the team is either called ''Euskadiko selekzioa'' or ''Seleccíon del País Vasco'' and exclusively represents the Basque Country autonomous community (Euskadi), with Navarre competing separately.


History


Beginnings, the North team (1913)

On 29 September 1913 the
Royal Spanish Football Federation The Royal Spanish Football Federation ( es, Real Federación Española de Fútbol; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. It is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid. It was founded on 14 October 1909 ...
was formally created and along with it four regional federations (Norte, Oeste, Este and Centro). Each regional federation organised its own league, and also selected a team to play against other regions. The Basque Country was grouped with Cantabria in 'Norte' (North). As most of the biggest teams in the Norte federation were Basque, such as
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...
,
Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...
,
Real Unión Real Unión Club, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Irun, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa, near the border with France. Founded on 15 May 1915 it currently plays in Primera División RFEF ...
, and
Arenas Club de Getxo Arenas Club de Getxo is a Spanish football club based in the town of Getxo, near Bilbao, in the autonomous community of Basque Country. Founded in 1909, it currently plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 2, holding home games at Campo Mu ...
, the team fielded by the federation was often composed entirely of Basque players, and was called 'Vasconia', 'el equipo Vasco'(the Basque team), or sometimes just 'Norte'. On 3 January 1915 they played their first match which was against Catalonia in Bilbao and won 6–1, and then on 7 February they played them again but in Barcelona, this time drawing 2–2. In May 1915 they won the inaugural Copa del Príncipe de Asturias tournament in Madrid after beating Catalonia 1–0 with a goal from Legarreta and then holding the hosts, 'Centro' (a Castile/Madrid XI), to a 1–1 draw, in which the author of the Basque goal was Patricio. In the same competition they drew 1–1 with. In May 1916, 'Norte' faced Catalonia twice in Barcelona, winning by 1–3 on the 21st, and drawing 0–0 on the 22nd. On 4 June of the same year they beat Catalonia 5–0 in Bilbao. On 22 November 1916 the Cantabrian teams left the North Federation, joining the newly formed Cantabrian Federation (Federación Cantábrica de Clubes de Football), which encompassed Asturian and Cantabrian clubs. This Asturias/Cantabria XI participated in the
1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...
and
1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...
editions of the Copa del Príncipe de Asturias, finishing third and second respectively. In 1918 the province of Gipuzkoa formed its own federation and its own team, leaving the province of Biscay on their own in Federation Norte. In 1919 the Asturians decided to form their own federation (''Federación Regional Asturiana de Clubes de Fútbol'') so the Cantabrian teams rejoined 'Norte', but now it only had teams from Cantabria and Biscay. This complicated situation of federations splitting off continued for a few more years. In 1922 separate teams were created for Biscay and Cantabria because the former decided to form their own federation ( Biscayan Federation). In the summer of 1922 a team calling itself 'the Basque team' (Equipo Vasco) was sent to South America. Although the trip was organised by the Gipuzkoan federation, 4 of the 19 players in the squad were from the Biscayan federation. They played once against the Argentine national side, losing 4–0, then drew 1–1 against Porteño, and finally winning 0–4 against a team selected from Argentina's interior league. The team also played the Uruguayan national side twice, losing both games, before visiting Brazil where they played in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. After the team had arrived back in Spain on 5 October 1922, the players resumed playing for either Biscay or Gipuzkoa. Both Gipuzkoa and Biscay participated in the 1922-23 and 1923-24 Copa del Príncipe de Asturias, with the later reaching the semi-finals of the 1923-24 edition after defeating Asturias in Bilbao 4–2 thanks to a second-half brace from Travieso, but then lost to eventual champions Catalonia, who had already eliminated Gipuzkoa from the competition.


The first Basque team (1930)

It wasn't until 1930 that the Biscayan and Gipuzkoan federations finally came together to create the first permanent team with the name 'Vasconia' ('Baskoniako selekzioa') to represent the Basque Country. Their first game was against Catalonia on 8 June 1930, which they won by 0–1 in Montjuïc, and they played Catalonia again on 1 January 1931 in Bilbao, winning that match 3–2. During the first year of the Spanish Civil War the Basque team changed its name to Euzkadiko selekzioa. Their first match with that name was against Cantabria on 29 November 1936 in Santander, when the Cantabrians won 3–2. In 1937 the first president of the Basque autonomous region José Antonio Aguirre, who in his youth had been a player for
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...
, decided to send a Basque football team abroad with the dual aim of raising money to fund the cost of the civil war, and also as a form of propaganda letting the world know about the conflict in Spain. At the same time a choir called Eresoinka was formed to tour Europe for the same purpose. Money raised was reportedly used to fund a hospital in La Rosarie, France, used by Spanish refugees, and also to help support the thousands of Basque children who had been sent abroad for safety. The team consisted of the following players: * Goalkeepers:
Gregorio Blasco Gregorio Blasco Sánchez (10 June 1909 – 31 January 1983), also known as Goyo Blasco, was a Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Personal life Born in Mundaka in the Basque Country , Blasco emigrated to Mexico where he married Mar ...
(Athletic) and Rafael Eguzkiza (Arenas); * Defenders:
Serafín Aedo Serafín Aedo Renieblas, (11 November 1908 – 14 October 1988) was a Spaniards, Spanish international association football, footballer from Baracaldo in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country who played professionally as a Defender ...
(Betis), (Barcelona) and
Pablito Barcos Pablo Barcos Plaza (usually known as just Pablito; 26 January 1913 – 31 December 1997) was a Spanish footballer from Sestao in the Basque Country who played as a defender. Personal life Barcos was born in Sestao in the Basque Country in 1913 ...
(Barakaldo); * Midfield:
Leonardo Cilaurren Leonardo Cilaurren Uriarte ( 5 November 1912 – 9 December 1969) was a Spanish international association football, footballer who played professionally as a midfielder in Spain, Argentina, Uruguay and Mexico between 1929 and 1945. Career Club ca ...
(Athletic),
Jose Muguerza Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...
(Athletic),
Pedro Regueiro Pedro Regueiro Pagola ( 19 December 1909 – 11 June 1985) was a Spanish association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Football career Born in Irun in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country, Regueiro started his pla ...
(Madrid),
Roberto Etxebarria Arruti Roberto Etxebarria Arruti (6 May 1908 – 17 February 1981) was a Spanish association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Born in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, Etxebarria spent his entire career in his native Basque Country (autonom ...
(Athletic),
Ángel Zubieta Ángel Zubieta Redondo (17 July 1918, died 28 October 1985) was a Spanish football player and manager. Playing career Zubieta was born in Galdakao, Biscay, Basque Country. He started his playing career in the 1935–36 season for Athletic Bil ...
(Athletic), Tomas Agirre (Nîmes) and Enrique Larrinaga (Racing); * Forwards: Jose Iraragorri (Athletic),
Emilio Alonso Emilio may refer to: * Emilio Navaira, a Mexican-American singer often called "Emilio" * Emilio Piazza Memorial School, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State * Emilio (given name) * ''Emilio'' (film), a 2008 film by Kim Jorgensen See also * Emílio (dis ...
(Madrid),
Isidro Lángara Isidro Lángara Galarraga (25 May 1912 in Pasaia, Gipuzkoa – 21 August 1992 in Andoain) was a Spanish football striker from the Basque Country. He played 12 times for Spain, scoring 17 goals. He has the highest goal ratio in La Liga at 1.14 ...
(Oviedo),
Luis Regueiro Luis Regueiro Pagola ( 1 July 1908 – 6 December 1995), sometimes nicknamed ''Corso'', was a footballer, and an Olympian from the Basque Country in the north of Spain. Football career He began his career in 1924 playing for Real Unión in t ...
(Madrid),
Ignacio Agirrezabala Ignacio María Agirrezabala Ibarbia, nicknamed Chirri II (10 May 1909 – 11 September 1979) was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward. He played four times for Spain. Career At club level, he played for Athletic Bilbao for eight se ...
(''Chirri II'') (no team), (Athletic Madrid),
Guillermo Gorostiza Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes (15 February 1909 – 23 August 1966) was a Spanish footballer who played as a forward. In a 14-year professional career, he played for Athletic Bilbao and Valencia, amassing La Liga totals of 255 games and 178 goals ...
(Athletic); *Coach: Pedro Vallana Also attached to the team were Perico Birichinaga, as a masseur, and Ricardo Irezábal and Manu de la Sota, both as delegates. The team made its debut on Monday 26 April 1937 in Paris's
Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin ...
against the French champions, Racing Paris, winning 0–3. This happened to be the same day that
Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...
was bombed by Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe. In May 1937 they toured France beating Olympique Marseille 2–5, losing 3–1 to
Sète Sète (; oc, Seta, ), also historically spelt ''Cette'' (official until 1928) and ''Sette'', is a commune in the Hérault department, in the region of Occitania, southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Sétois'' (male) and ''Sétoises' ...
, and playing Racing Paris twice more, 3–3 and 2–3. In May 1937, the team began to have problems with FIFA. Due to the civil war in Spain FIFA had banned all FIFA-affiliated countries and clubs from playing any Spanish teams. A match due to take place on 30 May in the Netherlands against Rotterdam was cancelled by the Dutch Federation. But many clubs and national sides continued to play the Basque team because they sympathised with Republican Spain which the team symbolised. The team's first match against a nation from outside of Spain was a 3–2 defeat, also in May 1937, to Czechoslovakia, who had been runners up in the
1934 World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in ...
. In June, they played Czechoslovakia again losing 2–1. Then they played Silesia in Chorzów on 9 June. When Bilbao was captured by Franco's forces on 19 June 1937 the Basque team were in Moscow, having been invited by the Soviet Union's
Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...
due to political motivations. They then toured the country during that summer, playing against Lokomotiv Moscow (1–5),
Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...
twice (1–2) and (4–7), Dinamo Leningrad (2–2), Spartak Moscow (6–2), Dynamo Kiev (1–3),
Dinamo Tbilisi Dinamo Tbilisi is a sports club from Tbilisi, Georgia. It was founded in 1925. Among its highest honors, is the European trophy earned by its football team which won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1981, beating FC Carl Zeiss Jena of East Germany 2–1 i ...
(0–2), the Georgian football team (1–3), and finally Dinamo Minsk (1–6). Their only loss was against Spartak Moscow. The Soviet authorities were determined to win the final game in Moscow, so the Spartak team was improved by bringing players from other parts of the country to play for the team just for that match. Lastly they travelled to Norway and Denmark in August where they beat an Østfold select (1–3), Norwegian AIF (2–3), and completed their biggest win to date against Denmark's (1–11). In the autumn of 1937 the team crossed the Atlantic to play in Mexico where FIFA had given them permission to play clubs and the national side. FC Barcelona had undertaken a similar tour a few months earlier. After playing nine matches in the capital and one in Guadalajara they crossed over to Cuba where their problems with FIFA got worse. FIFA demanded that Cuba should not play the Basque Country. So the Basque team only played club sides, playing four matches, winning one and losing two. Next they travelled to Argentina, arriving on 25 February 1938. They stayed there for three months but officially played no matches due to their problems with FIFA. As they had run out of money and had no way of raising any, many of the big Argentine sides raised money for them. They then crossed the Andes to Valparaíso, Chile, where on 9 May 1938 they played Santiago Wanderers, but the result is not known. Later in May they travelled again to Cuba, this time playing the Cuban national team twice, before returning to Mexico. In the 1938–39 season they played under the name
Club Deportivo Euzkadi Club Deportivo Euzkadi was an association football team that played in the Primera Fuerza league in Mexico during the 1938–39 season. It was formed when the Basque Country national football team, which had been touring the world, was refused ...
in the Liga Mexicana de Football Amateur Association, one of the two major leagues in Mexico at that time where they won 7, drew 1 and lost 4 games, eventually coming runners up in the league. The Spanish civil war ended in April 1939 so when the season ended the team was broken up and as a reward each member received 10,000 pesetas. Most of the players stayed on in the Americas and joined teams there.


Franco years (1939–1975)

Between 1939 and 1975 the Basque football team played only twice due to General Franco's dictatorship which severely limited the freedoms previously enjoyed by the regions of Spain. The first time was on 25 June 1966 on the 50th anniversary of
Real Unión Real Unión Club, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Irun, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in the province of Gipuzkoa, near the border with France. Founded on 15 May 1915 it currently plays in Primera División RFEF ...
's founding. A team made up of players from the Basque Country played
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
in the Gal Stadium in Irun, losing 0–2. Playing for the Basque Country were Carmelo Cedrún, (Alarcia), Gorriti, Martínez, Marigil, (Zabala), Azcárate, ( Iruretagoyena), Iguarán, Amas, Dionisio Urreizti, Landa, (Chapela), Mauri, ( Mendiluce) and Erro. Don Santiago Bernabéu had the honour of kicking off. The second time was in San Mamés, Bilbao, on 21 February 1971 when a memorial match for Juan Gardeazábal was played between the Basque Country and Catalonia. The Basque Country lost 1–2. Playing for the Basque Country were Zamora, Deusto, Irusquieta, Zugazaga, Echeberría, Lema, Guisasola, Estéfano, Santamaría, Arambarri, Ibáñez, Marañon, Fernando Ansola, Araquistáin,
Rojo II Rojo means "red" in Spanish. Rojo may also refer to: * Rojo (surname) Music * Rojo (band), a Mexican Christian rock band ** ''Rojo'' (Rojo album), 2001 * ''Rojo'' (Red Garland album), 1961 * "Rojo", a song by J Balvin from ''Colores'', 2020 * " ...
, Urtiaga, and Ortuondo.


Revival (1978)

The first game following the dictatorship was played on 2 March 1978 in San Mamés against the USSR. The team were called the 'Selección Vasca' and drew 0–0. On 16 August 1979 they played under the name 'Euskadiko selekzioa' for the first time since 1938 at San Mames stadium during the
Great Week of Bilbao Aste Nagusia or "The Great Week" ( eu, Bilboko Aste Nagusia, es, Semana Grande de Bilbao) is the main Feria (festival), festival of Bilbao, Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, Spain, which is celebrated annually over 9 days be ...
, winning 4–1 against a
League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...
. Controversy was caused before the match by the Spanish government deciding that the song of the Basque football team (Gernikako Arbola –
The Tree of Guernica ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
) should not be sung before the game. This resulted in
Carlos Garaikoetxea Carlos Garaikoetxea Urriza (born 2 June 1938) is a former politician from the Spanish Basque Country. He became the second elected ''Lehendakari'' (President of the Basque Autonomous Community), after José Antonio Aguirre, who had held that ...
(the Lehendakari, head of the Basque regional parliament), the presidents of the regional councils and the mayors of the Basque capitals, all leaving the presidential box to sit elsewhere in the stadium to show their protest. CA Osasuna was the only club with players called up for the match who refused to release them. Iraragorri and Langara (two players from the 1937 team) kicked off, and Iribar served as captain. The game was played as a fundraiser for a campaign promoting the Basque language called "Bai Euskarari", organized by Sustraiak, as a response to its suppression during the dictatorship. A few months later the Basque team won again, 4–0 against Bulgaria in San Sebastián's
Atotxa Stadium Atotxa ( es, Atocha) was a association football, football stadium in San Sebastián, Spain. It was the home ground of Real Sociedad until 1993 when it was replaced by Anoeta Stadium. It had superseded Ondarreta Stadium 80 years earlier. It had a ...
. In 1980, in
Vitoria Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória (b ...
, they lost 1–5 to Hungary. Other key matches included defeats to Cameroon (0–1) and Wales (0–1), and victory over Serbia (4–0). Then, in 2007, after 69 years without playing outside Spain, the Basque Country faced Venezuela in San Cristóbal, winning 4–3. Prior to this, their last game outside Spain had been in June 1939, in the Spanish Civil War era against
Club Atlético Corrales Club Atlético Corrales, usually known simply as Atlético Corrales was a football (soccer) club based in Asunción, Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Par ...
in Mexico City.


Name change (2007)

In 2007 the team's name was changed to 'Euskal Herria' (Euskal Herriko Futbol Selekzioa), and on 29 December they played a match against Catalonia in San Mames. The result was Euskal Herria 1, Catalonia 1. The name change, driven by the Basque Football Federation, was denounced by politicians from the
Basque Nationalist Party The Basque Nationalist Party (, EAJ ; es, Partido Nacionalista Vasco, PNV; french: Parti Nationaliste Basque, PNB; EAJ-PNV), officially Basque National Party in English,) was rejected by party members in November 2011. Nonetheless, the party did ...
(PNV), including the Lehendakari,
Juan José Ibarretxe Juan José Ibarretxe Markuartu (born 15 March 1957) is a former president of the Basque Autonomous Community in Spain. Also a leading member of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) during the period, he held office from 2 January 1999 to 7 May 20 ...
, and also the main Spanish political parties such as the Partido Popular (PP) and
PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español ; PSOE ) is a social-democraticThe PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * political party in Spain. The PSOE has been in gov ...
. For this reason the Basque Football Federation proposed returning to the team's previous name, 'Euskadi' (Euskadiko Selekzioa), for the match scheduled for December 2008 against Iran. 165 Basque players signed a statement announcing that they would not play unless the team was called 'Euskal Herria'. The controversy went beyond the sports arena and against this statement were positioned many political parties such as the PNV, PSE-PSOE and PP, and supporting it were Eusko Alkartasuna, Ezker Batua and Eusko Abertzale Ekintza. At the heart of this dispute were the meanings of the two terms 'Euskadi' and 'Euskal Herria'. For the politicians of the PNV who favoured the name 'Euskadi', they saw this as the historic name used by the Basque football team since the 1930s and geographically they said it always included the Spanish Basque Country, the French Basque Country and Navarre (from where the players are selected), but to the players and the politicians supporting them, only the term 'Euskal Herria' had this geographic meaning and to them 'Euskadi' only referred to the Spanish Basque Country. This difference of opinion encompassed the nuances of the names, their history known or unknown, and changing public opinions towards what name should be used when referring to all people of Basque culture. In the end the match was cancelled. In 2009 a consensus was reached to use the name 'Euskal Selekzioa'. However, discrepancies between the federation, players and ESAIT led to the match, scheduled again to be played against Iran, not to be played. In 2010 however, although there was still no agreement between players and federation, the players agreed to play the match to be played on 29 December in San Mames, between the Basque Country and Venezuela, which ended 3–1. At this match the gold badge of honour of the Basque Football Federation was presented to Joseba Etxeberria, former player of Athletic Club Bilbao, for being the most capped player of the Basque team, and he was allowed to take the kick-off.


Recent activity

In 2011 the Basque football team played two matches. Firstly on 25 May they visited Estonia, winning 1–2, then on 28 December they played their last game in the old San Mamés against Tunisia, losing 0–2. In December 2012 they played Bolivia in
San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...
, winning 6–1. On 28 December 2013, the Basque team played its first match in the new San Mames stadium against Peru winning 6–0. On 28 December 2014, a centenary match was played in San Mames against Catalonia to celebrate 100 years since the first match between these two sides. The game ended 1–1. The same teams played a year later, with Aritz Aduriz scoring the only goal in a 1–0 Basque win in Barcelona. In October 2017, the federation confirmed that the Basque team would not play a friendly in late December that year as had become traditional (for reasons including scheduling difficulties, credibility in the football community and a noted decline in attendances at the festive matches), but instead would look to schedule a fixture during one of the FIFA International Match Calendar dates, possibly in March 2018. However, a proposed meeting with Chile did not come to pass. Eventually, a fixture was arranged for the Basque team to face Venezuela in October 2018 at Mendizorroza, which they won 4–2. The Basques' summer 2019 fixture away to Panama did little to enhance their credentials. Scheduled ten days after the
2018–19 La Liga The 2018–19 La Liga season, also known as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, was the 88th since its establishment. The season began on 17 August 2018 and finished on 19 May 2019. Fixtures for the 2018–19 season were announced on 24 Jul ...
season had ended but prior to the second division's conclusion, various factors meant experienced players were reluctant to put themselves forward for the long trip across the Atlantic, and the small squad was augmented with promising youngsters, including four who had never played at a higher level than the regional third tier with Athletic Bilbao's reserves. The match itself, described in the press as "boring at times", "bland" and "poor", petered out into a goalless draw in humid conditions, although both coaches stated they were satisfied with the outcome and the effort shown. A provisional announcement was made for a fixture against Argentina in October 2019, but this was never confirmed by the opposition federation and was soon cancelled officially. With no December fixture forthcoming, but UEFA Euro 2020 international matches to be played in Bilbao, it was reported that the Basque team may be able to arrange a match against one of the qualified teams who would meet Spain there ( Poland or
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
) as part of their preparations before the tournament. However, the tournament was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next Basque fixture was played in November 2020 against
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
in a closed doors setting due to the issue;Javier Clemente da a conocer la convocatoria de la Euskal Selekzioa
avier Clemente announces the call for the Basque Selection EITB , 11 November 2020
the Basque team won the match 2–1.Euskadi gana a Costa Rica en el descuento
asques beat Costa Rica in stoppage time ''Marca'' (Spain) , 16 November 2020
With the pandemic still ongoing in late 2021 (earlier causing the Euro fixtures to be moved from Bilbao to Seville), the Basque federation confirmed there would be no festive match that year, but an attempt would be made to arrange one for March 2022.La selección de Euskadi se queda sin partido navideño
he Basque Country team will still be without its Christmas game ''Mundo Deportivo'' , 15 December 2021


FIFA and UEFA membership

Several organisations including the Basque Government and the Basque Football Federation are trying to persuade FIFA and UEFA to accept the Basque Country as an affiliated member. There is a lot of support for this within the Basque Country, with recent polls showing up to 63,5% of basques support the idea (including the French Basque Country and Navarre). The United Kingdom provides one model for a sovereign state with more than one FIFA member, while the Faroe Islands is an example of an autonomous constituent country having a separate football team to the national team ( Denmark). In late 2018, the Basque Football Federation voted in favour of applying to FIFA and UEFA for official recognition for the team. In December 2020, Basque federation applied for UEFA and FIFA recognition.


Players

*For a list of recent Basque Country national team players,
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*For a list of players from the Basque region who have represented FIFA national teams,
see here See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...
Due to the unofficial status of the Basque Country team and others, many of the usual conventions of international football do not apply. Players who have already appeared for a FIFA national team can play for the Basques in addition, but if they are simultaneously called up for both, the FIFA squad (usually Spain) takes precedence. Clubs are also not obligated to release their players, and the request is sometimes refused by clubs outwith the Spanish leagues, or when the fixture takes place during the domestic season and the club has important upcoming fixtures. Eligible players can also choose not to be involved. This means the Basque squads are frequently below what would be considered their 'full strength', but also means those who do take part are fully committed to the concept, and in many cases would have no other opportunities to experience international football so consider the match to be an important matter. This contrasts with their opponents, as the fixture does not contribute to their Association ranking points or individual cap totals and is thus one of the least significant matches out of several they would play each year. In combination with home advantage for the Basque team in most of their fixtures, this has led to the results falling in their favour more often than might be expected compared to other nations perceived to have a similar standard of players. Veteran coach Javier Clemente became manager of the Basque Selection in March 2019. At his presentation, he spoke of plans to invite players with Basque heritage (including those from other parts of Spain like
Marco Asensio Marco Asensio Willemsen (; born 21 January 1996) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and the Spain national team. After starting out at Mallorca, Asensio signed with ...
) to play for the team, in line with the grandfather rule used by FIFA national teams.


Current squad

Squad for the
friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...
against
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
on 16 November 2020. :''Caps and goals as of November 16, 2020'' Head coach: Javier Clemente


Recent callups

The following players were called up to or played for the Basque Country in recent matches.


Results and fixtures

*Latest result: * Next fixture: ''To be confirmed''


All-time team record


Record vs FIFA national teams

*''Including 1922 South America tour''


Record vs non-FIFA teams / As 'North' region


Estimated Elo

The Elo rating system was adapted for football by adding a weighting for the type of match, an adjustment for the home team advantage, and an adjustment for goal difference in the match result. The Basque Country team's estimated
Elo Elo or ELO may refer to: Music * Electric Light Orchestra, a British rock music group ** ''The Electric Light Orchestra'' (album), the group's debut album ** ''ELO 2'', the group's second album * ELO Part II, an offshoot band of Electric Light ...
was 1886 (fantasy rank: 16th; 31 December 2018). Its highest Elo was 1892 points after winning against Mexico on 30 October 1938. At that time it would have been ranked third in the world, behind only Italy and Argentina, and above the likes of Scotland, Spain, England and Hungary.


Coaches

*
Amadeo García Amadeo García de Salazar y Luco (31 March 1887 – 18 June 1947) was a Spanish football manager. He was the manager of the Spain national football team from 1934 to 1936, and coached the team during the 1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA ...
, 1930–1931 * Pedro Vallana, 1937–1938 * Koldo Aguirre, 1978 *
Jesús Garay Jesús Garay Vecino (10 September 1930 – 10 February 1995) was a Spanish Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, central defender. He amassed La Liga totals of 341 games and ten goals ov ...
and Andoni Elizondo, 1979 *
José Antonio Irulegui José Antonio Irulegui Garmendia (born 1 April 1937) is a Spanish former football defender and manager. Playing career Born in Lasarte-Oria, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Irulegui played professional football with SD Eibar, Real Sociedad and Pont ...
, 1980 * José Ángel Iribar and
Xabier Expósito Xavier or Xabier may refer to: Place * Xavier, Spain People * Xavier (surname) * Xavier (given name) * Francis Xavier (1506–1552), Catholic saint ** St. Francis Xavier (disambiguation) * St. Xavier (disambiguation) * Xavier (footballer, born J ...
, 1988 * Jesús Aranguren, 1990 * José Ángel Iribar and Xabier Expósito, 1993–2001 * José Ángel Iribar, 2002 * José Ángel Iribar and
Mikel Etxarri Mikel is the Basque Language, Basque adaptation of the given name Michael (given name), Michael. Notable people with the name include: Footballers * Mikel Alonso (born 1980), Spanish Basque footballer and older brother of retired Spain national ...
, 2003–2011 *
Javier Irureta Javier Iruretagoyena Amiano (born 1 April 1948), Irureta for short, is a Spanish retired football attacking midfielder and manager. He had a distinguished playing career with Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, playing in 344 La Liga games ...
and Mikel Etxarri, 2011 *
José María Amorrortu José María Amorrortu Prieto (born 22 July 1953) is a Spanish former Association football, football Forward (association football), forward and Coach (sport), manager. Playing career Born in Bilbao, Biscay, Amorrortu signed with Athletic Bilbao ...
and Mikel Etxarri, 2011–2018 * Javier Clemente, 2019–


Amateur team (UEFA Regions' Cup)

The Basque Country amateur team is composed of players from the Tercera División (Group 4) and provincial lower divisions, with eligibility criteria being club (must play for a club in the territory), age (must be between 18 and 35) and amateur status (must never have signed a contract as a professional). At this level, the Basque team only represents the Basque Country (autonomous community), with the
Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
region having their own team along with the other autonomous communities of Spain. The team plays in the biennial UEFA Regions' Cup; they won the overall pan-European tournament in
2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
, having won the preceding Spanish qualifying tournament in 2003–04. Alain Arroyo scored the winning goal in the 2005 final, held in Poland. The Basques retained the Spanish stage title in 2005–06 (hosting the semi-finals and final), but did not progress from their intermediate group in the subsequent
2007 UEFA Regions' Cup The 2007 UEFA Regions' Cup was the fifth UEFA Regions' Cup. It was held in Bulgaria and won by the ''Lower Silesia'' team from Poland, which beat the host nation's '' South-East Region'' 2–1, after extra time, in the final. Preliminary roun ...
. Since then, their results have been less successful.


Matches

''Basque Country score listed first in all matches.''


Results summary


Head-to-head against other Autonomous Communities


Honours

Prince of Asturias Cup: *Champions (1):
1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...
*Runners-up (1):
1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...


See also

*
Basque Country women's national football team The Basque Country women's football team (officially, in Basque, ''Euskal Herriko emakumezkoen futbol selekzioa'') is considered the national team of the Basque Country greater region. It is organised by the Basque Football Federation (''Euskadi ...
* C.D. Euzkadi *
Navarre autonomous football team The Navarre autonomous football team is the regional football team for Navarre, Spain. It is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA because it is represented internationally by the Spain national team, and only plays in friendly matches. History The ...
* List of Basque footballers * (In Russian)


References


External links


Basque FA – with results from 1990

Euskal Selekzioa Online


at
Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around the ...

Search Mexican Newspaper archive for matches (pages cannot be linked individually)Basque National Football Team as a Political Tool
2016 study by the National Institute of Sport Research (Romania)
Football team names
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basque Country national football team Spanish autonomous football teams European national and official selection-teams not affiliated to FIFA
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
Sports organizations established in 1930 1930 establishments in Spain