The Spanish Civil War not only wreaked havoc on the country but on the sport as a whole. General Franco and his fellow Francoists played loose and free with their favourite clubs. We have heard the stories of the Barcelona stadium bombing and the Barcelona club president who was executed. Many marginalized parts of Spain were hit even harder. The Basque region was hit hard. The Basque flag was even banned.

So to get some matches, a select group of Basques formed a travelling side to play friendly matches around the world. One of the places they stopped was in Mexico, long enough to participate in the Mexican Soccer League. Their time in the country left such a mark that it is still being felt.

The War created chaos among everything in society. There’s plenty of great reading out there on the Spanish Civil War. In 1937, Jose Antonio Aguirre, a representative of the Basque Country and former player for Athletic Club de Bilbao, put together a side called Euzkadi to raise funds from abroad for the civil war.

Basques in Mexico: The Team

Goalkeepers – Gregori Blasco (Athletic) and Rafael Egusquiza (Arenas). Defense – Serafin Aedo (Betis), Pedro Areso (FC Barcelona) and Pablito Barcos (Sports University). Midfielders – Leonardo Cilaurren (Athletic), Jose Muguerza (Athletic), Pedro Regueiro (Real Madrid CF), Roberto Echevarria (Athletic), Angel Zubieta (Athletic), Tomas Aguierre (nimes) and Enrique Larrinaga (RC Racing de Santander). Forwards – Jose Iraragorri (Athletic), Emilio Alonso (Real Madrid), Isidro Langara (Real Oviedo), Luis Regueiro (Real Madrid), Chiri II (unattached), Jose Manuel Urquiola (Athletic Madrid) and Guilermo Gorostiza (Athletic). Basques in the Mexican league

(Source: Google Images)

The coach was Pedro Vallana. Aguirre debuted the tour with a win against the French League Champs Racing de Paris 3-0, in the Parc des Princes. Then they took apart Olympique Marseille 5-1. They didn’t lose for the first time until a match against Czechoslovakia 3-2. The loss didn’t stop them though. Between 1937-38 they played a lot of games.

Matches and Results

Lokomotiv (5-1), a two-match series against Olympique Marseille (5-2 and 3-1), Czechoslovakia (2-1), Silesian (5-4), Lokomotiv again (5-0), Dynamo Moscow (1-0), Dynamo Leningrad (2-2), Dynamo Kiev (3-1), Dynamo Tbilisi (2-0), Georgia National team (3-1), Spartak Moscow (6-2), FC Dinamo Moscow (7-4), Dinamo Minsk (6-1), Norway national team (3-1), Norwegian works national team (3-2) and finally, they cleaned the clocks of the Danish National Team (11-1).

Bilbao eventually fell into the hands of Franco, through his minions, and Nazi bombardment of Guernica. The team went across to North America for more matches. There they won 13 out of 17 matches. In Cuba, a country not known for their football, the side won all but a single draw against Asturian Youth 4-4.

The Euzkadi team found it hard to go back to the homeland during the Civil War. The return would mean either death or to the dungeons for being against Franco. Euzkadi finally in Mexico was left with an offer they could not reject.

Angel Urraza, a Basque businessman, who had left Spain years before, had pointed out that the Mexican Football Federation wanted them to join the Major League for the 1938/39 season. Football in Mexico wasn’t made professional yet, so they only found two clubs that were rivals on the pitch with similar origins. Club Espana and Club de Fútbol Asturias, who were two of the best clubs in the game at the time. So the Basques registered as Club Deportivo Euzkadi, and they started out as a favourite to win the title over such clubs as America, Atlante, and Necaxa.

Euzkadi got off to a flying start, but with all great starts in the game, they did come to an end. Atlante and Mars (7-1) thrashed them. In the third match, they endured a defeat to Necaxa. Euzkadi stayed just two points behind the champs with a record of seven wins, one draw and four defeats. At the end of the Major League, the club dissolved who played all over the land. The war was over, so the players thought they could all go home.

The Regueiro brothers stayed in Mexico to start a new life. In fact, Luis Regueiro, the son of a player by the same name, played for Pumas and represented Mexico in the 1966 World Cup. Isidro Langara went to San Lorenzo de Almagro with Zubieta, Iraragorri, and Emilo Alonso. Jose Muguerza returned to Mexico after his playing days to coach Monterrey. River Plate signed Blasco, Cilaurren, Aedo, and Areso. Eventually, Franco died and life got back to normal in Spain. The Basque players ended up populating the league. Athletic Club then became one of the best clubs in the country.

Image source : libertadigital.com

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