Several top clubs and football associations visit Lezama

Over the last few weeks, Athletic Club has received visits from several top foreign clubs and football associations. The meetings, part of AC Football Center's 'Coaches' programme, are designed to act as an exchange of ideas about the training and development of footballers.

Among the most prominent clubs to visit are England's Arsenal FC and Brighton and Hove Albion FC, CA River Plate of Argentina, France's Olympique Lyonnais and Dutch side PSV Eindhoven.

Athletic also hosted the national associations of the Netherlands (with up to 26 representatives), England (with national youth team coaches and a senior national team analyst) and Finland (with which Athletic Club has recently finished a long period of collaboration).

Olympique Lyonnais immersed themselves in a working group with an Under-19 coach and their head of psychology, and shared the work plan of their highly regarded youth academy. Up-and-coming Brighton and Parma AC delved into Lezama's work in player development, while Arsenal held a peer-to-peer meeting with five coaches of different backgrounds.

Also present were Toulouse FC's academy director, together with a youth coach, CA River Plate's director of analysis and data, and youth development coaches from PSV Eindhoven. The Dutch side, in the middle of a notable Champions League run, also explained their model.

Furthermore, in the coming weeks, SL Benfica and West Ham United will visit Lezama.