Spain became for the fourth time the best national team in Europe for the next four years. Obviously, the success achieved by the team coached by Luis de la Fuente produced huge excitement in most corners of Spain, the night after winning the title becoming a white one in Madrid, Barcelona as well as in many other locations in the country.
The joy was huge, each player is considered a god and those who contributed decisively to the success through their goals received special ovations almost everywhere, their names being chanted for whole minutes by delirious supporters. In the capital it didn’t matter what region they came from, they were all Spaniards regardless of name or skin color.
This happened in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia or Seville, to offer only four great locations of the country both in terms of economic and football importance. Unfortunately, we cannot talk about a manifestation of respect and appreciation for these players who, coming from different regions or from other ethnicities, in the case of the two young prodigies Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, represented and gave everything, together, for Spain.
If for the athletes who wore the red jersey it was an honor, a pride and finally a great joy, the situation changes when we talk about the most conflicted region, in eternal war for independence with Spain, namely the Basque Country. From where, this time actually came more players than ever in the Spanish national team. Goalkeeper Unai Simion is from Athletic Bilbao, goalkeeper Alex Remiro and outfield players Zubimendi, Mikel Oyarzabal and Mikel Merino are from Real Sociedad.
The man who scored in the 89th minute of the final against England and gave Spain the title, striker Mikel Oyarzabal, said: “I did my job. I was lucky enough to win and when you go through tough times, being here, you value it a lot. If you’re lucky enough to help the team, it’s even better.”
Well, but both he and Mikel Merino, who scored the goal in the 119th minute that Spain beat Germany in the quarter-finals, were not perceived as heroes everywhere. In the town of Ellorio, where Oyarzabal’s mother lives, she could see with sadness that instead of the image of a hero, her son was neither more nor less than declared a traitor alongside Merino.
“No acceptance of the Spanish team”, they wrote Basque on a banner on which they displayed both the official flag of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country and a flag of Spain, but trimmed with black paint.
The names of Oyarzabal and Merino appear under the piece of cloth accompanied by the word “traitors” written in the Basque language, but also barred swastika. Arnaldo Otegi, the general coordinator of EH Blidu, a left-wing, Basque nationalist and pro-independence political party, said a day after Spain’s triumph at EURO 2024 that he would never celebrate a “Red Fury” victory.
“It’s not my team, it’s not my king and it’s not my anthem. Some people think that we are anti-Spanish, but what I want to raise is another reflection, which is that Basque players do not have the option to play with the Basque team because the Spanish state denies it to us, the Basques.” said Arnaldo Otegi.
Source: www.cotidianul.ro
