|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Nico Williams of Spain will dedicate tomorrow’s Euro victory to his father, who used to work the turnstiles at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge.
One of the breakout stars of the competition, the Athletic Bilbao winger attributes his success to his parents Felix and Maria, who came to Spain as refugees in 1994.
When mom became pregnant with his older brother, Inaki, who is currently an Athletic teammate, his parents left Accra, Ghana, to travel to the Basque Country.
Nico was born in Pamplona in July 2002, where the family had made their home.
His father was away from home for a large portion of his boyhood, working to support the family.
Felix left three-year-old Nico at home with his mother and brother to hunt for work in London after his employment as a shepherd, laborer, and cleaner ran out.
“My dad cleared tables in the food halls or worked as a security guard at a shopping center near Chelsea,” Inaki told me in 2021. “He then got a job tearing tickets at Stamford Bridge.”
Nico, who turned 22 yesterday, grew up with big brother as his primary role model and paternal guide because Felix was gone for ten years.
“I’m young and make a lot of mistakes and Inaki is always on top of me giving me advice about football and life,” the Spain winger said this week on Spanish radio station Cope.
When Nico was eight years old, he was inspired by Spain’s World Cup victory in 2010 and tried to imitate his idols by kicking a ball against a wall in the Rochapea neighborhood.
Nico quickly shown that he was even more talented than his brother as they were playing outside on the street.
Despite the fact that Ghanaian player Inaki previously disclosed that there was only one winner when playing PlayStation indoors on rainy days.
He told the sports website Relevo, based in Madrid: “I had to unplug him because he was that bad.” He had trouble gripping the controls properly.
Since then, Nico has made significant progress, and he acknowledged playing EA Sports’ FC 24 for six hours every day during the competition.
The little Nico was being courted by local club Osasuna, but Athletic Bilbao made a move in 2012 to get his sibling, and they also acquired him a year later.
It meant that he would be playing for the same squad as Inaki, who helped him go from the youth division to the first team.
Nico made his debut at Bilbao in 2021 under Villarreal coach Marcelino, who remarked of Inaki: “Inaki is like a father to Nico because he had to go through all the same things before his brother.”
“There is no greater role model for Nico.”
When he has encountered the epidemic of racial abuse in Spain, this guidance has also helped him deal with it.
Although he experienced racial abuse at the Metropolitano Stadium of Atletico Madrid during the previous season, there is new hope that the issue is finally being addressed.
When Real Madrid played Valencia in May 2023, three individuals were found guilty of racist abuse of Vinicius Jr. and received two-year stadium bans in addition to eight months in prison.
In all of Spain, it was the first instance of racial abuse at a football stadium being found guilty.
This week, Nico declared, “There will be a before and after.” When someone offends you and gets away with it, more people will feel inspired to do the same.
People may now see that the legislation will address it and take it seriously.
Ultimately, you need to build relationships with individuals and use reason to win them over. Perhaps they are ignorant of African culture.
“I believe that teaching them and allowing them to explore the world will transform many people’s mindsets.”
Williams has a £49 million release clause, but his performances for Spain have alerted all of Europe to his presence.
He has informed his agency that until the tournament concludes tomorrow, he does not want to hear anything regarding his future.
Williams is anticipated to play one more season in order to fulfill his aim of playing for Athletic in the Europa League the following year.
Removing him from the Basque region, where his parents settled 22 years ago, will be a difficult task.
They’ll play England in the championship game. Thirty-year-old brother Inaki will also be there.
Nico was married at the beginning of June, and his Spain coach Luis de la Fuente gave him permission to skip the Euro 2024 preparations in order to attend the wedding.
At this point, Inaki is asking to interrupt his honeymoon with Patricia in order to watch his brother compete in the greatest game of his life.