Iñaki Williams, protagonist of a fantastic journey | Football | Kinds of sports

On Tuesday, Bilbao was glued to the TV or computer. There was excitement to find out the result of the match between Cameroon and Gambia at the African Cup. This unusual interest was due to the fact that a victory for one of the two teams eliminated Ghana and allowed Iñaki Williams to return to Bilbao. Will you make it to the Cup?

The red-and-white striker boarded an Air France plane in Abidjan, which took off at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris at seven in the morning; Athletic chartered a private flight at a cost of €6,000, which picked up the player at Le Bourget airfield and landed in Bilbao shortly after 11:00. It was the most popular flight in the world on the Flightradar website, such was the concern of the red and white fans for the return of their figure.

“How are you?” – they asked him as soon as he landed. “Well prepared. Let’s win,” he replied with a smile as he climbed into the car of Mikel Gonzalez, Athletic’s director of football, to join the team’s concentration, less than a kilometer from San Mamés. Valverde was waiting for him, as were his teammates.

He started on the bench, angrily shouting about Guruzeta’s goal before the first minute had even ended; He got angry with the two from Barça and stretched out his legs with the ball during the break. Shortly after the start of the second half, he began to warm up on the touchline and was greeted by a thunderous ovation from the fans when he took the field. He was hesitant at times with the ball at his feet, but he got better as time went on. Extra time arrived and it was one of the freshest on the pitch; The beating of players like Prados and Sunset was huge.

And the ecstasy came to San Mames when the first part of extra time was already coming to an end, when Jaureguizar, a footballer from Bermeo – there were two of them on the field, because Unai Gomez is also from the seaside town – stole from the group and His shot fell on the boots of Iñaki, who hit the post the first time, Pena was beaten, and the second time he sent it into the net. President John Uriarte, a strict spender, must have thought that the cost of the plane was the best €6,000 of the season spent. “Not in my best dreams. “Everything turned out perfect,” Williams commented at the end, after celebrating with his brother for reaching the semi-finals. “Yesterday I imagined that I could be here after a rather difficult exit (at the African Cup). “I want to thank Athletic for going above and beyond to be here and the fans for welcoming me with open arms.”

The red-and-white player, who featured sparingly for the Ghana national team, noted: “I think it’s written that I was here. The trip was long, but I was very glad to be with my companions. “We want the Cup and we will do everything we can to get it.”

For his coach Ernesto Valverde it was an “unforgettable evening”. This game had everything, we needed to get back, they also got back against us. But in the end everything went in our favor thanks to goals from Iñaki and Nico.” Regarding Williams’ timely return, he noted that “the fact that Iñaki was here was an important emotional boost. If you’re writing a script, this is what you want it to turn out like. He came in very revolutionary, but then he got better and he seemed to enjoy it.”

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