Tribute to the clubs that produced our 2023 debutants

Athletic Club paid tribute to the clubs which produced our 2023 first-team debutants. It's recognition of the great work done at their academies and a chance to see how those children they brought up have gone on to become Lions.

It was an extra special moment for Andoni Goienetxea and Gozton Astoreka, respective directors of Bermeo and Danok Bat, as they watched former pupil Unai Gómez score the winning goal against Las Palmas.

The attacking midfielder got his start at hometown club Bermeo before moving to Lezama as at under-11 level. However, after being let go, Unai joined Bilbao-based youth side Danok Bat, where some impressive performances saw Athletic bring him back into the fold as an under-18 player.  

Imanol García de Albeniz is the only debutant who spent his entire youth career at Athletic. The left-back joined Lezama as an under-11, the academy's first age group, from his local outfit Gallarta CD.

After a couple of loan spells at Mirandés and Eibar, the 23-year-old has broken into the first team this season. Gallarta president Iñaki Ortega admitted he was delighted to see another player from the town follow in the footsteps of former left-back Asier del Horno.

Bermeo had two reasons to celebrate. Despite the town's reputation in lower-league football, they had to wait until Endika Bordas' debut under Ernesto Valverde in 2003 to see a Bermeotarra pull on the red-and-white stripes. Along with Unai Gómez, they've also seen Mikel Jauregizar, childhood friends with Unai, make his first three appearances for the club this season.

Txantrea had high hopes for Beñat Prados and his last three matches show exactly why Athletic brought him to Bilbao in 2015. His breakthrough has coincided with a special year for the Pamplona-based club as they celebrate 50 years of official affiliation with Los Leones. José Luis Nagore smiled for 85 minutes straight as Beñat bossed the middle of the park against Las Palmas on Wednesday night.

Unai Egiluz, who made his debut against UE Rubí in the Copa, couldn't join the party as he was with the Under-23s in London for our match against Fulham FC in the Premier League International Cup.

However, the central defender was represented by Unai Atristain, on behalf of Lauxeta School, and Cultural Durango's Bingen Bizkarra. Egiluz joined Athletic from Cultural at Under-18 level. Both Mr Atristain and Mr Bizkarra took back one of Unai's jerseys and some official photos to their respective institutions.

This end-of-year tribute to the youth clubs of our debutants will become a regular event at Athletic. In a similar vein, those youngsters who left Lezama last year were invited to San Mames at the beginning of the season, getting the chance to speak to first-team players who went through similar situations in their careers such as Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta, Gorka Guruzeta and Unai Gómez.