Euzkadi (Mexico)
Politics and
football should never be mixed. Football should be something of a getaway from
the everyday aspects if real life. Unfortunately, the two subjects always have
been interteined and they always will be in some formnor another. It could be
because the owner of the club has his own agenda and uses the club as a
propaganda machine or the fans themselves have their own political beliefs
ingrained in their culture and the society they are from. Whatever the case, we
see the two heavily mixed in the 20th century, where two World Wars engulfed
Europe. Of course, this all becomes insignificant when you consider the loss of
human lives during these wars and others that raged around the world. One such
war, that emerged in the 1930’s was that of the Spanish Civil War. Fought
between the Republican faction and the Nationalist faction, in which general
Franco was the leader of it caused great loss and devastation in Spain.
The country
was split with different regions taking up alliances with either side. One such
region, the Basque Country and the Basque regional Government, sided with the
Republican Government, and so Franco’s Nationalists targeted them. With the
help of Hitler’s Third Reich and Mussolini’s Fascist Italy, the region was
bombarded, with many of the small towns in the area being obliterated. This is
where the story of a Forgotten Football Club begins. Originally created as an
international team for the Basque Country, and used to show the world of the
plight and destruction that was happening in their region, CD Euzkadi were
created. But it wouldn’t be until they reached Mexico, and it was to get around
FIFA rules, that a group of men from the Basque Country created a football club
that took part in Mexico’s top division of football. Here is their complicated
but enthralling story.
Whilst the
Spanish Civil War raged on, the Basque region came under immense pressure. The
first president of the Basque Country, Jose Antonio Aguirre decided that they
needed help and turned to football as way of getting. The idea that a Basque
International team would be set up was met with positivity, with the idea being
that the team would travel around Europe, highlighting the problems and the
suffering his people were facing in their fight against the Nationalists.
A group of
players was assembled, with most of them coming from Athletic Bilbao, with five
players coming from the Basque club. They were goalkeeper, Gregorio Blasco,
midfielders, Leonardo Cilaurren, Jose Muguerza and Angel Zubieta and striker,
Jose Iraragorn. Joining them was Real Madrid players and brothers, Pedro
Reguiro and Luis Regueiro with Emillio Alonso, Real Betis player, Serafin Aedo,
Racing Santander’s, Enrique Larrinaga, Nimes Olympique midfielder, Tomas
Agirre, FC Barcelona’s Felix de los Heros, Real Oviedo’s Isidro Langara,
Barkaldo’s Pablo Barcos and Atletico Madrids, Jose Urquiola. The man picked to
manage them was Baltazar Junco.
The team set
off for Europe, leaving Bilbao on 24th April 1937. The aim was to play a few
games, highlight what was going on in Spain and raise much needed funds for
those who needed it back home. The football was always secondary to the cause,
however, the tour itself became a huge success both on and off the pitch. After
playing their first game in Paris, versus Paris FC, the team travelled to other
countries around Europe, including the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Poland,
Denmark and Norway, winning 14 of their 20 matches.
But news had
filtered in to the team that the Nationalists had taken the Basque Country, and
so it became apparent that returning home would have huge risks. Despite being
ordered to come home by the Spanish FA, the men refused and instead it was
decided that they would travel to Mexico and South America, were a huge
diaspora of Basque people had either fled o or had been relocated in an attempt
to flee the war.
They set off
from France in August 1937 and headed for Mexico to play their national team in
a series of matches. However, when they arrived, they were met with
complications surrounding the fixture. FIFA, who were being run by an Italian
and a Franco sympathiser at the time, had ordered Mexico to not play against
the Basque team. No official reason was given, but I think it is fair to say
that politics had something to do with the decision. However, the Mexican
ignored FIFA’s request and played the men from the Basque Country in a series
of matches that were well attended. Whilst playing the Mexico national team
four times, they also played five matches against Primera Fuerza clubs, winning
three and losing one.
The team then
travelled to South America, stopping off in Cuba to play a match and take a
much-needed break. They eventually reached Argentina, in which they were
scheduled to play five of the biggest teams from there. However, on arrival
they were told the games were cancelled due to FIFA’s prohibition. Back in
Spain, the Spanish FA were now recognised by FIFA and became a member in 1938.
It meant that there were two Spanish football federations now, but the new
federation asked FIFA to expel the Basque team, which they did, meaning nobody
was permitted to play them. It gave the team few options, one of which was to
return home and face the music. They were even offered money by the Spanish FA
to do so.
However,
anticipating that they would run into problems with FIFA, the Basque team had
registered as an official football club with the Mexican Football Federation.
And so, Club Deportivo Euzkadi was founded in 1938 and they joined the Mexican
league, La Liga Major, one of two of the major leagues in Mexico, and joined in
for the 1938-39 season, competing with six other sides, one ironically named
Espana.
Euzkadi were
not expected to be competitive in the league, but that perception changed after
the first game, when on the November 27th, 1938, they beat America at the
Parque Espana, 3-2. In fact, they won 5 of their first 6 games, only losing to
Necaxa, 5-2 on the 15th January, 1939.
It looked like
team from the Basque Country were going to win the league in their debut
season, however, they started to lose momentum when injures hit many of the
players. In addition to that, Zubieta left and so their results got worse as
the season progressed. Despite this, they finished runners-up to Asturias, only
losing out by a point. They had the chance to win the league on the final day,
but lost to Espna, 7-2 to hand the title to Asturias.
It would turn
out to be CD Euzkadis final competitive game as the Spanish Civil War ended in
April 1939. They did play one more friendly, a month later, against Paraguayan
club, Club Atletico Corrales, drawing the game 4-4. Many of the players
remained in South America or Mexico, signing for clubs in those two
countries.
Whilst the
whole reason for this team was to shine a light on social and political
problems in the Basque Country, there was also a positive side consequence to
the teams inclusion in the Mexican league. Before CD Euzkadi were formed, the
Mexican league was mostly played by players whose primary job was not football,
due to the lack of money and exposure the clubs and league got. However, with
the inclusion of CD Euzkadi, the Mexican public became more interested in football,
which helped bring in new revenue, with the media growing as a consequence, as
Radio stations started broadcasting games due to the popularity of the
game.
The Basque
Country is a special region, especially when it comes to football culture, as
we all know the story of Atletico Bilbao (If you haven’t already purchased a
copy of Christopher Evans book, Los Leones). Since then, there have been many
different teams that have come and gone that have represented the region,
albeit in different circumstances. But would there be an appetite or an
interest to see CD Euzkadi be resurrected again, as a professional club, in
either Spain or Mexico? You never know.