Basque Country national football team
The Basque Country national football team (officially, in Basque, Euskal Herriko futbol selekzioa) is the official football team for Basque Country, located in both Spain and France. They are not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA, because it is represented internationally by the Spanish National Football Team and French National Football Team. It only plays friendly matches. The team is referred to by various names including the Euskal Herriko Selekzioa, Selección de Euskadi, Euskal Selekzioa, Euskadi XI and Basque XI. The team was named Euskadiko Selekzioa until 2007, when changed its name to Euskal Herriko Selekzioa.
The first Euskadi XI made their debut on January 3 1915 against a Catalan XI, winning 6-1. In 1915 and 1916 and then again in 1930 and 1931 the two sides played each other in a series of games. However it was until 1937 that a Euskadi XI played outside Spain. José Antonio Aguirre, the president of the Basque Country and a former Athletic Bilbao footballer, initiated the idea of a Euskadi XI going on tour to raise funds for the Basque cause during the Spanish Civil War. This team subsequently toured Europe and Mexico and even entered the Mexican league. During the Franco dictatorship from 1939 to 1975, regional and non-Spanish national identities were severely repressed in the Spanish state and the Euskadi XI did not play. However since 1979 a Euskadi XI has regularly got together, usually at Christmas and usually at Athletic Bilbao's San Mamés Stadium, to play a game. They have played opponents from Africa, South America and Europe, although unlike Catalonia, who have played Brazil and Argentina, among others, they have never attracted a major football power.
With an amateur selection (this team was only made by players from the group IV of Spanish third division (Basque Country (autonomous community))) they won the 2005 UEFA Regions Cup beating in the final West Sofia 1-0. This is the only tournament won by this team.
Current squad
Squad called up for the friendly against Catalonia on December 27, 2007.Caps and goals as of December 27, 2007.Goalkeepers
| # | Name | Date of birth | Club | Caps (goals) | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iñaki Lafuente | RCD Espanyol | 3 (0) | v. Wales, 21 May, 2006 | |
| 13 | Asier Riesgo | Recreativo de Huelva | 1 (0) | v. Uruguay, 27 December, 2003 |
| # | Name | Date of birth | Club | Caps (goals) | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Andoni Iraola | Athletic Bilbao | 5 (0) | v. Uruguay, 27 December, 2003 | |
| 3 | Asier Del Horno | Valencia CF | 4 (0) | v. Uruguay, 27 December, 2003 | |
| 4 | Mikel Labaka | Real Sociedad | 6 (0) | v. Cameroon, 28 December, 2005 | |
| 5 | Fernando Amorebieta | Athletic Bilbao | 2 (0) | v. Venezuela, 20 June, 2007 | |
| 15 | Patxi Puñal | CA Osasuna | 3 (0) | v. Macedonia, 28 December, 2002 | |
| 14 | Aitor Lopez Rekarte | UD Almeria | 9 (0) | v. Morocco, 29 December, 2000 | |
| 20 | Jon Urzelai | SD Eibar | 1 (0) | v. Catalonia, 29 December, 2007 | |
| 12 | Mikel González | Real Sociedad | 2 (0) | v. Venezuela, 20 June, 2007 |
| # | Name | Date of birth | Club | Caps (goals) | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Pablo Orbaiz | Athletic Bilbao | 3 (0) | v. Cameroon, 28 December, 2005 | |
| 8 | Xabier Prieto | Real Sociedad | 5 (0) | v. Honduras, 29 December, 2004 | |
| 10 | Mikel Aranburu | Real Sociedad | 7 (0) | v. Macedonia, 28 December, 2002 | |
| 11 | Fran Yeste | Athletic Bilbao | 5 (3) | v. Uruguay, 27 December, 2003 | |
| 16 | Gaizka Mendieta | Middlesbrough | 5 (1) | v. Nigeria, 29 December, 1999 | |
| 18 | Igor Gabilondo | Athletic Bilbao | 9 (1) | v. Macedonia, 28 December, 2002 |
| # | Name | Date of birth | Club | Caps (goals) | Debut |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Joseba Etxeberria (captain) | Athletic Bilbao | 11 (2) | v. Uruguay, 22 December, 1998 | |
| 9 | Fernando Llorente | Athletic Bilbao | 5 (1) | v. Cameroon, 28 December, 2005 | |
| 17 | Joseba Llorente | Villarreal CF | 2 (0) | v. Honduras, 29 December, 2004 | |
| 19 | Aritz Aduriz | RCD Mallorca | 4 (3) | v. Catalonia, 8 October, 2006 |
Recent matches
| Date | Stadium | City | Opponent | Results¹ | Scorers |
| 29 December , 2007 | San Mamés | Bilbao | Catalonia | 1:1 (0:1) | Bojan Krkić (29.), Aritz Aduriz (69.) |
| 20 June , 2007 | Estadio Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo | San Cristóbal, Táchira, Venezuela | Venezuela | 3:4 (1:4) | Aritz Aduriz (8.), Joseba Etxeberria (20.), José Torrealba (27.), Igor Gabilondo (30.), Joseba Etxeberria (40.), Juan Arango (80.), Juan Arango (82.) |
| 27 December , 2006 | San Mamés | Bilbao | Serbia | 4:0 (2:0) | Fran Yeste (33.), Urzaiz (41.), Sarriegi (60.), Gari Uranga (87.) |
| 8 October , 2006 | Camp Nou | Barcelona, Catalonia | Catalonia | 2:2 (0:1) | Aritz Aduriz (19.), Fernando Llorente (64.), Joan Verdú (67.), Albert Luque (84.) |
| 21 May , 2006 | San Mamés | Bilbao | Wales | 0:1 (0:0) | Ryan Giggs (76.) |
| 28 December , 2005 | San Mamés | Bilbao | Cameroon | 0:1 (0:1) | César Cruchaga (41. Own Goal) |
Famous players
Famous managers
- Jesús Garay, 1979
- Xabier Expósito,(1993-2001)
- José Ángel Iribar,(1993-)
- Mikel Etxarri,(2003-)
Other matches (Modern era)
| Date | Venue | Home Team | Visitor | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 29 2004 | Anoeta | 2 - 0 | ||
| Dec. 27 2003 | San Mamés | 2 - 1 | ||
| Dec. 28 2002 | San Mamés | 1 - 1 | ||
| Dec. 28 2001 | San Mamés | 3 - 2 | ||
| Dec. 29 2000 | San Mamés | 3 - 2 | ||
| Dec. 29 1999 | San Mamés | 5 - 1 | ||
| Dec. 22 1998 | Anoeta | 5 - 1 | ||
| Dec. 26 1997 | San Mamés | 3 - 1 | ||
| Dec. 26 1996 | San Mamés | 3 - 0 | ||
| Dec. 22 1995 | San Mamés | 1 - 1 | ||
| Dec. 23 1994 | San Mamés | 1 - 0 | ||
| Dec. 22 1993 | Anoeta | 3 - 1 | ||
| Mar. 21 1990 | San Mamés | 2 - 2 | ||
| May 10 1988 | San Mamés | Tottenham Hotspur F.C. | 4 - 0 | |
| Aug. 3 1980 | Mendizorroza | 1 - 5 | ||
| Dec. 23 1979 | Estadio de Atotxa | 4 - 0 | ||
| Aug. 16 1979 | San Mamés | 4 - 1 | ||
See also
External links
- Basque FA (In Basque and Spanish.)
- Euskal Selekzioa Online (In Basque, click "English" for English language version.)
- All-time results at rsssf.com
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Last updated on Friday September 26, 2008 at 07:22:09 PDT (GMT -0700)
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