News
SAT 21.05.2016
From the back right through to their forward line, the Real Sociedad lineup has a distinctly Basque feel to it. Take the Elustondos and Zubeldias of this world and throw in the odd Zurutuza and Illarramendi and there's really no mistaking the Basque identity of Eusebio Sacristan's squad. These La Real players are currently Stateside, where they find themselves locking horns with the likes of Messrs Stewart, Thompson, Brown and Williams.
Last Thursday saw San Jose's Avaya Stadium become a melting pot of cultures. The San Sebastian outfit's starting XI included no less than seven Basques, whilst the San Jose Earthquakes fielded the same complement of Americans. One look at the scoresheet just serves to exemplify how the LaLiga World initiative is enabling the likes of Yuri Berchiche and Chris Wondolowski to showcase their goalscoring talents on the same pitch.
We're set to see a repeat on Thursday over in Houston, when La Real pit their wits against the Houston Dynamo. The Texans' squad contains 15 Americans, including the likes of Beasley, Williams and Warner. Having said that, Owen Coyle's side does boast a Spanish element, with David Rocha, Raul Rodriguez and Agus all turning out for the MLS club.
Amongst all this talk of surnames, there are some which are indelibly enshrined in the collective memory of all soccer fans, a case in point being that of Donovan (Landon). The former LA Galaxy star and US international called time on a glittering career in 2014. But it's out with the old and in with the new as American soccer fans now find themselves chanting the name of the man who bagged himself a brace against Real Sociedad, Wondolowski. Meanwhile, the La Real faithful continue to laud the efforts of the quintessentially Basque-sounding Oyarzabal, Elustondo and Zubeldia.
Regardless of whether we view the beautiful game from a Spanish or American perspective, there's no doubting that the LaLiga World programme is succeeding in uniting borders and surnames to boot!
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