Inaki Williams can’t just miss a game for Bilbao

Inaki broke the La Liga record (202 games) last fall

In October 2021, in a match with Alaves, Williams beat the achievement of Juan Antonio Larranaga from Sociedad. Larranaga played his 202 matches for the same club: his streak started in June 1987 against Sevilla and ended in November 1992 against Real Oviedo.  Larranaga then appreciated the achievement of Williams: “The most incredible thing in the story with Williams is that he is a striker. He is in a difficult position for such a long series of matches. Forwards are usually exposed to many shocks. You have to be very well prepared to play one match after another. I say this because I myself suffered every day and every week. He did not always give out 100% of his abilities, because many times he played with pain. And as a result, I developed traumatic arthritis in my big toe.” In third place in the ranking is another ex-Sociedad player, goalkeeper Luis Arconada – his streak lasted from April 1978 to December 1983. He was not replaced for 188 matches. The black Spaniard was born in Bilbao, the son of Ghanaian refugees. At the age of 18, he ended up at Athletic. Williams made his debut for the first team in December 2014 – since then he has played 333 matches for the club and scored 74 goals.

Resilience is in Inaki’s blood: his parents crossed the Sahara on foot to get to Spain

Such a cool achievement of Williams is a great merit of his parents. Inaki spoke about this in an interview: “I came here from Pamplona, ​​but I was born in Bilbao. My parents are from Ghana. And they crossed half of Africa to get to Melilla. They literally walked all the way.” Melilla is a Spanish city on the northern coast of Africa. Williams’ parents met at a refugee camp in Accra, the capital of Ghana, fleeing the civil war in Liberia. From Accra to Melilla – more than 4 thousand kilometers and the whole Sahara Desert. The path was hard. “In truth, my father has since lost feeling on the soles of his feet. My mother has endured many hardships, but she is a strong woman. She told me that many of their companions did not endure this road – and they had to be buried right in the desert. Sometimes they rode in a van – and 40 people were packed into it. Mother told about robbers who robbed people who were on their way to Spain or to other countries for a better life