Nico and Iñaki Williams achieved their dream and the dreams of many other football-loving brothers when they won the Copa del Rey trophy together with Athletic Club on April 6, 2024. Athletic Club defeated Mallorca 4-2 on penalties to clinch their 24th Copa del Rey trophy; their first major title in 40 years ending a run of six consecutive defeats in the final of the competition.
Born to Ghanaian parents who migrated to the Basque country in the 90s, the Williams brothers both play for Athletic Bilbao. Iñaki has played for the club since 2014 when he made his debut for the club in a 1-0 home loss against Cordoba. His brother Nico joined him in the club’s first team and made his debut in 2020 when he came on as a substitute in a 2-2 home draw against Real Valladolid. Iñaki came off the bench and joined Nico on the pitch 10 minutes later; the first time two siblings had played for the club since Julio and Patxi Salinas in 1986. Ironically the two brothers represent different countries. Iñaki represents Ghana while Nico plays for Spain.
Iñaki plays as a center forward while Nico plays as a winger for the club. The brothers contributed massively to Athletic Club’s triumph on Saturday as Nico assisted the equalizer from Sancet. In the second leg of the semi-final against Atletico Madrid Iñaki and Nico each got a goal and an assist to help Athletic Club defeat Atletico 3-0.
They each also got a goal and an assist in their 4-2 quarter-final victory over Barcelona. Both of their goals came in extra time to seal the win for Athletic Club after the 90 minutes ended in a 2-2 draw. Nico made two assists in the club’s 3-0 round of 32 victory against Eibar. Since the second round of competition, the brothers have made a goal contribution in every game except the round of 16 match against Alaves which they won 2-0. In total, the brothers made 12 goal contributions to the club’s Copa del Rey campaign this season. Nico has three goals and five assists while his brother Iñaki has two goals and two assists.
Nico recently signed a contract extension that would keep him at the club till 2027 despite interest from top clubs so we will probably see the brothers play together for quite some time. To play for your childhood club and help them win a major trophy is a dream for many football players but to do it with your brother is nothing but fate.
The club’s victory means that they have secured automatic qualification for next year’s Europa League so we will be seeing the brothers play on the big stage as Athletic Club takes on other European clubs. How long do you think they’ll play together?