Mikel San José: Meet the former Liverpool youngster who came good at Athletic Bilbao

Former Liverpool youngster Mikel San José is now a Spain international with 300 appearances for Athletic Bilbao. He speaks to Sky Sports about joining Rafael Benitez's Spanish revolution,

learning the ropes from Xabi Alonso, and why he couldn't resist returning to the Basque Country.

Mikel San José was 17 when Liverpool called. The versatile defender was a promising Spanish youth international who had only just completed his first full season in Athletic Bilbao's academy. It had never crossed his mind that one of Europe's most prestigious clubs might be watching.
"I was at home in Pamplona with my family," he tells Sky Sports, recalling the moment he heard Rafael Benitez wanted to take him to Merseyside. "I wasn't even 18 and I was happy at Athletic. The idea that such a big club could be interested in me had never even entered my head."

It was 2007 and Liverpool were preparing to offer the youngster a three-year contract. Packing up and moving to England alone was a daunting prospect for a young lad with deep ties to the Basque Country, but San José couldn't say no. "It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up," he says.
He would return to his boyhood club without ever making a senior appearance for Liverpool. Yet 10 years later, perched on a concrete stand overlooking two of the pristine pitches at Athletic's picturesque Lezama training ground, San José remembers it as the move that made him the player he is today.

That player is a 27-year-old Spain international in the eighth season of his second stint at Athletic. San José started out as a centre-back, but he is now a key figure in defensive midfield for Ernesto Valverde's side. He is combative without the ball but composed with it, and he has an eye for goal too.

Mikel San Jose tackles Barcelona's Lionel Messi during a game at the Nou Camp

Last year, he scored from 50 yards out in Athletic's Spanish Super Cup win over Barcelona. In the summer, his impressive club performances were rewarded with a call-up to Vicente del Bosque's Euro 2016 squad.
Much has changed since those formative years at Liverpool, but for San José they are unforgettable. "It was a hard decision but I never regretted it," he says. "It was good for me. The player I am now is thanks to the experience I had there. Spending two years in Liverpool, surrounded by world-class players and coaches who helped every player improve, it was very important."

Comments

Prosecutors allege rapper Young Thug led gang as trial begins and many details unfolded

Prosecutors in Atlanta said Monday that rapper Young Thug was the “proclaimed leader” of a gang that “moved like a pack” to commit crimes, as opening statements in a long-delayed racketeering case got underway. Controversy and hiccups have dogged the sprawling trial alleging criminal conspiracy since jury selection began in January, notably over the state’s presentation of rap lyrics as evidence. The US state of Georgia holds that Young Thug’s record label, YSL, is a front for a crime ring, arguing that the defendants belong to a branch of the Bloods street gang identified as Young Slime Life, or YSL. “The evidence will show that YSL checks all of the boxes for being a criminal street gang,” said Fulton County prosecutor Adriane Love as she delivered the government’s statement, which she began by quoting Rudyard Kipling’s “Law of the Jungle.” Love addressed the issue of songwriting head on: “We didn’t chase the lyrics to solve the murder, we chased the murder and found the lyrics.” S

N81 Billion NDDC Probe: Senate calls for sack of IMC, reconstitution of new NDDC board

*** Indicts Self, FG, Akpabio, Asks Presidency To Take Over NDDC, Not Minister ***Calls on IMC to Refund Extra Budgetary Expenditure of N4.923 Billion *** As Senate Vows to Review the Act establishing the NDDC *** Probes alleged blackmail by NDDC against some members of the National Assembly *** As Senate Adjourns till September 15 The NDDC which was hitherto in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF is now being oversighted by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, under Senator Godswill Akpabio, following recent directives by the presidency. THE Senate Thursday indicted itself as an institution for not carrying out an effective oversight function on the activities of the Interim Management Committee, IMC of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC that led to the rot and high level of corruption in the interventionist agency. The Senate has also indicted the Federal Government, the IMC for the problems, saying that with

Ronaldo Left Out Of Portugal Squad

Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of the Portugal squad amid ongoing rape allegations Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of the Portugal squad for upcoming matches against Poland and Scotland, amid ongoing rape allegations in the United States. Ronaldo has been accused of rape by Kathryn Mayorga, who says the player assaulted her in Las Vegas in 2009. He has denied the accusation. The national captain will miss his country's UEFA Nations League game with Poland on October 11, before a friendly with Scotland three days late. Ronaldo joined Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer The Juventus forward also missed Portugal's first two post-World Cup matches last month, with coach Fernando Santos saying Ronaldo had only just moved to the Italian club and needed time to settle in. Santos used the 33-year-old team captain's absence last month to try out younger players in the senior side.

Search This Blog