Gaffer… I’m not available
Iñaki Williams missed a league game for the first time in six years due to knee pains
Since we started playing football, we’ve all created and heard the most ridiculous excuses to avoid playing Sunday league games that nobody cares about. From the classic “I have got to study for Monday’s test” to inventing non-existent injuries after a Saturday night to remember. Even in elite football we have seen similar situations, as Marco Asensio couldn’t play the first Champions League game for Real Madrid in the 2017/18 season because a pimple appeared on one of his legs after waxing. However, Athletic Club Bilbao’s Iñaki Williams represents the complete opposite, as he missed his first game after 251 consecutive appearances in LaLiga on Sunday.
The starting striker and club icon wasn’t available for the 19th LaLiga gameday, in which his side faced Celta Vigo and lost 1-0 in Balaídos. The reason was that he had knee pains after the important away win Athletic Bilbao achieved last Thursday against Valencia (3-1) in Mestalla. He provided two assists to help his team reach the Copa del Rey semifinals for the fourth consecutive season.
The Basque footballer had clocked minutes in all LaLiga games Athletic Bilbao played in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. He also appeared in the first three league games of 2023, but the run came to an end as we enter the second half of the season, with The Lions fighting to reach European spots under Ernesto Valverde’s management.
On 1 October 2021, he broke the record for consecutive games played in LaLiga (203) when Athletic Bilbao won 1-0 against Deportivo Alavés. Juan Antonio Larrañaga, a Spanish defender who retired in 1994, had the previous record after playing 202 matches in a row. Luis Miguel Arconada, one of the best Spanish keepers of all time, remembered for his mistake in the 1984 Euros final that Spain lost against France, completes the podium with 188.
After his outstanding journey, he has joined the exclusive club of the most available players in Europe’s top five leagues. Sepp Maier has the record in the Bundesliga with 442 consecutive appearances, Dino Zoff managed to reach 332 in Serie A, Brad Friedel 310 in the Premier League and Eden Hazard 100 in Ligue 1.
The last time he missed a game was on 17 April 2016, when the red and white side won 1-0 against Málaga in La Rosaleda. Since then, major events have happened in the football world like Leicester City winning the Premier League, Portugal lifting the Euros and VAR technology being implanted in the stadiums.
But Iñaki Williams is not only respected for his availability and professionalism, but for what he means for his club and the sports history in the Basque Country.
He is the second black player to wear Athletic Bilbao’s kit in history after Jonás Ramalho, who made his debut in 2011 with Marcelo Bielsa in the dugout. The third and most recent is his brother Nico Williams, who debuted in 2021 and was included in Luis Enrique’s squad for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
According to Athletic Bilbao’s policy, only footballers from their academy or born in the Basque Country can wear their colors on the pitch. That’s why it’s currently the team who fields more players from the academy (57%) among the top five European leagues, according to Sporting Post.
After making history with a record that will be difficult for any player to break in LaLiga considering the tough calendars elite footballers are facing every season, Iñaki Williams could be back on the pitch for Athletic Bilbao’s next game. It will be played on Friday 3 February in San Mamés against Cádiz, a team who is fighting to remain in the league.
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