From Lezama to the world, Athletic’s far-flung graduates keep their roots | OneFootball

Lezama underpins Athletic’s philosophy, and around 30 graduates who reached the first team now earn a living worldwide, from South Korea to Colombia. They form a small diaspora shaped by the academy.

According to El Correo, destinations include Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Canada, with others in Europe such as the Premier League with Kepa Arrizabalaga, Serie A with Oier Zarraga, the Cypriot First Division with Enric Saborit and Belgium’s second tier with Jonás Ramalho.

Guillermo Fernández spent 12 seasons in Lezama and two with the first team from 2013-2015, making 28 senior appearances before years in Segunda. After NorthEast United last season he joined Semen Padang in January on a deal to May, describing Indonesia as football-first but less ordered than Europe, while India remains cricket country.

He argues a footballer’s career is short, so the contract and the experience mattered. His intention, unless circumstances change, is to stay in Asia for a couple more seasons.

Iker Undabarrena moved east after helping Leganés win promotion in 2023-2024, accepting a major offer as his partner relocated. He won the Super League and the Cup with Johor Darul Takzim, then switched to Incheon in South Korea, where the physical level is higher and gym work outweighs tactics, and he plans to continue if personal reasons do not intervene.

Ramalho, the first black player to debut for Athletic in 2011 under Marcelo Bielsa, later joined Girona, then Osasuna and Málaga before Ohod in Saudi Arabia, followed by Bahrain and Kuwait. Now at Olympic Charleroi in Belgium’s second tier, he and his family view the past three years as culturally rewarding and financially sound.

Óscar de Marcos recently cast Athletic as the visible tip of a larger iceberg, stressing fidelity, fairness and honesty. Those values bind the 659 players to have appeared for the first team across 128 years.

To keep competing for cups and Europe, the expansion plan for Lezama is taking shape after local approval. Its methodology, exported to Japan early this year, continues to produce ambassadors across the game.

Source: El Correo