“Now he shows me what can be achieved” | Relief

Berlin, Germany).- Yesterday, July 12, Nico Williams blew out the candles on his cake. He turned 22. There are not many of them to carry on their shoulders the expectations and dreams of an entire country that believes in the power of the striker who will defeat England this Sunday (21:00, La 1) and turn Spain into the queen of Europe. Those who know him assure that, although his successes continue to grow, he will never forget his own. And one of them is Nico Serrano (21). Although it may be hard to believe given the current level of one of the stars of the Eurocup and La Liga, Serrano, his close friend, for a long time was a figure that overshadowed him. They shared a dressing room at Osasuna’s Alevina B (2012-2013) and met again between 2018 and 2022 at Athletic. Their duo made their opponents tremble.

“He scored from the flank and I went to the second line to finish the ball off.“, – says Serrano, who began pre-season training with Valverde, speaking to Relevo. Their paths parted when he went on loan in 22-23 to Mirandes. Injuries slowed his progress this season. And after six unproductive months on loan at Mirandes. Dutch PIK Zwolle, he rediscovered his football in the final stretch of the season with the team Racing de Ferrol: scored four goals and made two assists in 14 matches and demonstrated his true level in a team that was fighting for promotion to the First Division until the penultimate day. Now, despite a shoulder injury that will keep him out for over a month, He dreams of remaining in the Lions’ first team this season and reuniting with his ‘brother’ Williams..

Inseparable

By chance, Nico was born in Pamplona and soon crossed paths.He is from Buztincuri district and I am from Orkoyen city. We lived next to each other” says Serrano, who first met his namesake when he was just nine years old. “We played together in Osasuna at Alevín B. We almost always took him to training. And yes, we had a good time(laughter)”, to recognize. Pablo Domingo Armendarizcoach of both that season in Tajonar, testifies: “Williams was like what you see now: very quick on the ball, had the ball with both feet, scored a goal, came out of both profiles… and he had a hard time with clothes and schedule. Serrano had incredible technical qualities: he walked with his left foot, drove a car, kicked… Go two!“.

This litter is one of the most talented ones remembered in the quarries of Navarre: “They were also Inaki Ruperezwho is currently spending pre-season with Imanol at Real Madrid; John Garciawho returned to Osasuna from Villarreal… A great team.” And as for football, they didn’t even win their league, although that seemed secondary: “We looked at the individual development of the players, and we are looking. Today, two are in the First Division, a couple more are in big careers… It’s worth remembering that Serrano, Ruperez and John are a year younger than Williams. And this is noticeable at this age.” When asked who might emerge first in the elite, Pablo would have a clear answer: “I would give more preference to Serrano.”

The campaign created a friendship that remains intact today. The duo broke up for several reasons. First, because Willie (as he was called to distinguish him from Nico) moved to Athletic at the end of the year: “Nico lived in Pamplona with his mother, his brother Iñaki lived in Bilbao (he was active in the Juvenil team at the time) and I seem to remember that his father worked in London. They were scattered, and it took its toll on Niko. His mother worked long hours. When the season ended, Maria called the club. Pto announce that they had decided to unite their family and meet in Bilbao.Serrano survived two more exercises in Osasuna, but in 2015, as a child, he signed a contract with villarreal.

Both continued on their way, but did not forget to share revelations and maintain relations: “We continue to talk because, besides, we both have the same representative (Felix Tainta, agent of Iñaki, Sunset or Yeraya).” The reunion took place five years later, in 2018. That summer, Athletic pursued Serrano and paid his release clause. 300,000 euros to the submarine that exploded against the Ibaigan entity due to movement.”They are stealing players from us.“, – condemned the president Fernando Roig. The owner of the yellow organization even cancelled the traditional lunch with “Athletic” because of his dissatisfaction with this operation: “They signed it behind our backs. I don’t want to sit with them“.

Anger, in addition to concealing criticism of the overall transfer policy fatty fishcame to demonstrate the confidence that Villarreal had in a talent like the youngest of the Nikos, already international and allocated to the lower categories of the national team (He made his debut when he was just 16 years old, scoring a goal against France as part of Julen Guerrero’s U-16 team).

Together again

With Serrano’s arrival at Athletic, the bond between the two has become stronger than ever.”I went straight to Minor B. Here he is. Then we went to Youth A together in 2019.– Niko recalls. That season, interrupted in March due to the pandemic, was confirmation that both were drawing for the stars: Serrano has scored 14 goals in 19 games in the Honor Division without being a forward (he operates as a midfielder or on the wing), while Williams has signed six goals and made several assists.“He would suppress the team and I would come up front so he could give it to me. Sometimes we would switch roles, but it was unusual,” he says. They also attended two U-18 training camps that year. Imanol de la Sota, the coach who led them, described them as Sports world: “Serrano had more influence on the numbers, and Williams was very visual. “We knew they would both reach the elite if they kept the same ethic and effort.”

So it was. Athletic took them straight to the reserves without going through Baskonia – Williams had played just three games under Patsy Salinas as a youngster – and they did their thing again in the second B team. It didn’t take long for Marcelino to give them an alternative with seniors: Williams made his debut in April 2021 against Valladolid aged 18 years and nine months and Serrano in September aged 18 years and six years.“We both stood out as kids, but I don’t think either of us thought about something like this,” says Serrano, who scored his first and only goal in La Liga on the day he made his debut in the starting line-up (0-1 win in Vallecas on matchday 22 of 21-22). At the end of that season, after 11 matches in the First Division, they parted ways, to, who knows, join forces again this season with Valverde.

Williams: Athletic needs flow and speed he stayed and gained presence until he broke the doorSerrano was looking for some minutes (“he needed to play”) on loan to Mirandes, which did not work out due to muscle injuries. His 869′ barely reflected the assist. Ferrol, after not playing a leading role in Zwolle (137 minutes in the Eredivisie), was the place that prompted him to abandon his stay and fight with Sunset, Unai Gomez, Berenguer and company for the position.

Example Willie helps to believe. “He rose very high in a short period of time. Seeing that I have always been there for him, I see that this can be achieved. “He has achieved what every player wants,” says Serrano, who has been following his German colleague’s achievements from afar: “When I wasn’t in Holland or Ferrol, we kept texting. He’s a guy who’s always happy, jokes and transmits good humor. I saw all his matches against Spain.Now, with only hours left until the final, he only hopes to return to Lezama “with the cup” and next year republish the mischief they cooked up when they were not yet five feet tall in Tajonar.