Nico Williams: the first debutant of the Marcelino era

Nico Williams became the 627th Lion to pull on the Athletic Club jersey when he made his debut against Real Valladolid at San Mamés on Wednesday night. The young forward replaced Alex Berenguer in the 61st minute, becoming the first debutant since head coach Marcelino’s arrival in January.

Nico is the fourth player to make an Athletic debut this season, following in the footsteps of Lezama graduates Jon Morcillo, Iñigo Vicente, Oier Zarraga, and summer signing Alex Berenguer.

Wearing the no.30, Williams made his top-flight debut at the age of 18 years, nine months and 17 days. What’s more, Nico shared minutes on the pitch with his older brother, Iñaki Williams, who was also brought on as a substitute for the final stretch of the fixture.

It was the first time in 35 years two brothers have played together for Athletic in the same match. The last time being on April 20, 1986 at the Vicente Calderón, when Patxi and Julio Salinas lined up against Atlético Madrid.

Williams is a permanent fixture in Joseba Etxeberria’s Bilbao Athletic, where this season he has made 22 appearances and scored nine goals, making him the current second top goalscorer for the reserve side -behind Juan Artola with 10 goals.

The younger Williams brother joined Athletic Club in 2013 as an 11-year-old. Since then he has climbed up through the ranks at Lezama. After a great campaign in the Segunda División B, Nico and his teammates have reached May’s play-offs for promotion to LaLiga SmartBank.