Athletic Club, famous for fielding only players born or raised in the region, introduced the One-Club Award in 2015, honoring those who dedicated their entire professional career to a single team.
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“We wanted to create an award that recognized that most children growing up dream of playing for a club,” explains Dan Parry, from the La Liga team’s communications department.
“On the other hand, we wanted to show that, despite all the big-money transfers in modern football, there are top players around the world who want to become one-club players.
“It is an individual award, but it is also an award that celebrates the union between the football team, the fans and the player.”
With those values in mind, this week I will rank the top 10 men from a single club in football; you can also say it below.
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Spending your entire career with one club is a curious phenomenon: in more than 20 years at the top you are likely to outlive several managers, and how often do the player’s or club’s paths take different trajectories?
The decision to stay is not only the player’s: the club has to want him. And you have to forge a strong bond with the fans: from Tony Hibbert to Ledley King, and even Celtic stalwart Paul McStay, many become cult heroes or club legends.
Athletic Club could field teams of past and present players from the same club, but only awards the award to retired players from other clubs.
“We look for players who we believe embody the values of their club or their fans,” adds Parry.
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“Maybe the player isn’t necessarily the biggest superstar or the most talented to ever come out of that club, but overall he tends to be a big fan favorite.
“The fans saw that player as a reflection of themselves on the field and very often the players also saw themselves as a reflection of the fans.”
For starters, it seems only right to include an Athletic star: the only current player on the list embodies the club’s values and also has his own notable story.
Inaki Williams He would not be a legend in Bilbao if it were not for the sacrifices made by his parents, who left Ghana in search of a better future while his mother, María, was pregnant, crossing part of the Sahara barefoot to settle in northern Spain.
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“We had to suffer a lot,” Williams told me before helping Athletic win its first Copa del Rey in 40 years. “Thank God we’re all here together now, living a really good life.”
Williams, who grew up an Athletic fan, was the first black player to score for the club and also helped his brother Nico break through.
“Iñaki Williams always says: ‘My dream is to be able to say that I spent my entire career playing for my childhood club,'” adds Parry.
At 31 years old and with more than 500 appearances for Athletic, including a La Liga record of 251 in a row, the forward appears to be in a position to fulfill that dream.
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There are plenty of cries worthy of an earlier generation of stars (Jack Charlton at Leeds United and Bolton Wanderers’ Nat Lofthouse among them), but with the commercialization and globalization of modern football making one-club wonders seem increasingly rare, we haven’t strayed too far into the past.
Apart from including Lev Yashin – the Ballon d’Or winning goalkeeper who spent his entire career between 1950 and 1970 at Dinamo Moscow (he also played ice hockey with them).
Yashin, at number nine, is also the only goalkeeper on this list, although honorable mentions go to 39-year-old Igor Akinfeev, in his 23rd season with CSKA Moscow, and Brazilian Rogerio Ceni, who played more than 1,000 times for Sao Paulo and scored 129 goals.
Giuseppe Bergomi He reaches the age of eight, makes his Inter debut shortly after turning 16 in 1980 and remains the youngest player in the club’s history. Only Javier Zanetti has more appearances than the versatile Italian defender’s 519 with the Nerazzurri.
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From San Siro to Southampton, where Matthew Le Tissier He spent his time wandering around The Dell scoring world players and tormenting goalkeepers from the penalty spot – Mark Crossley was the only man to stop him in 48 attempts.
Le Tissier could have moved on to bigger pastures (Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham among those interested) but then he wouldn’t have been on this list, nor would he have kept the Saints in the top flight for as long.
Le Tissier scored 209 goals in 540 games for Southampton (Getty Images)
There are players who have been on the verge of belonging to a single club only to prolong their careers elsewhere: think Thomas Muller in Vancouver, Steven Gerrard in Los Angeles, John Terry in the Midlands.
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But in the number six spot is someone who has fully committed to Merseyside.
When Jamie Carragher He was invited to receive the One Club Man award at San Mamés and stated: “After winning the Champions League, being a one club man is the greatest achievement of my career.”
Despite all the team’s trophies, the players view the award as a great honor.
“They think their status as a one-club player is something that hasn’t been valued throughout their careers,” says Parry. “One thing that also strikes me is how humble they have been, which is perhaps quite telling given the values of the award.”
Jamie Carragher received his award from Athletic Club legend José Ángel Iribar during half-time of Athletic Club’s match against Girona in September (Getty Images)
Carragher played under six managers during his 16-year career at Anfield, while Carlos Puyol – he reached position five – played with under-eights for Barcelona, who accepted an offer to sell the defender before he even made his debut.
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Puyol refused to leave and then won the lot.
“It’s a rare and difficult achievement to be a single-club player at any club, not just a top-level club,” explains Parry. “Clubs are constantly pushing to improve and transfer strategies are a big part of that.
“Carragher and Puyol mentioned that they know that different coaches hired different players to try to replace them. It was a big challenge they had to overcome.
“Maintaining the level required to play for a top division football team over a sustained period comes with a lot of pressure and competition.”
Tony Adams won league titles in 1989, 1991, 1998 and 2002 with Arsenal (Getty Images)
Tony Adamsat number four, he was part of a transition from the discipline of George Graham to the progressive approach of Arsene Wenger, captaining Arsenal to league titles in three different decades.
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Meanwhile, Adams had to overcome alcoholism: he served four months in prison in 1990 for driving under the influence before founding the Sporting Chance Clinic in 2000.
The Romford-born centre-back played 672 games for the Gunners; His defining moment was, of all things, Steve Bould’s pass to score against Everton and put the icing on the cake for Arsenal’s 1998 title.
Ryan GiggsAt three years old, he is unique in that 940 of his 963 appearances (and all of his 168 goals) for Manchester United were under the guidance of a single manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Welshman won 13 Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues in a career that spanned 24 seasons and during which he evolved from a flank prowler to central midfield and finally the bench during a brief spell as caretaker manager.
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However, no one comes close to the top two.
Ryan Giggs wasn’t the only one-club man of the Sir Alex Ferguson era: Paul Scholes and Gary Neville also spent their entire careers at Old Trafford (Getty Images)
No name is more synonymous with AC Milan than ‘Maldini’. It’s not just a one-club man, it’s about a line of succession.
Cesare played over 400 games and then managed the Rossoneri, his grandson Daniel rising through the ranks before moving on.
But Paolo Maldini? A thoroughbred from Milan. He debuted 16 years after being born in the city and played dressed in black and red until shortly before his 41st birthday.
Winning Scudetti and European Cups in three different decades, playing more than 900 games, being a legend at San Siro and beyond
However, it is one thing to be among the best defenders in the world at one of Europe’s biggest clubs during the golden era of Italian football. That’s something natural.
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It’s another to resist the temptation of guaranteed success and riches and instead drag your childish side to glory.
Throw it back: two young stars on their way to becoming legends of one club (BBC)
A seventh generation Roman, Francesco Toti He dreamed of wearing the same carmine red and gold as the heroes plastered on the wall of his childhood bedroom.
Rejecting advances from the Italian giants when he was still an academy kid, rejecting a ruthless Florentino Perez, a huge salary and Real Madrid’s number 10 shirt after becoming one of the world’s greatest, the die-hard Roma fan grew to become the club’s top scorer and record holder for appearances.
Totti’s Roma career is a love story that peaked with the club’s third Scudetto, and first in 18 years, in 2001. The Stadio Olimpico welcomed Totti as a 16-year-old debutant in 1993 and adored him until a tearful farewell at the age of 40.
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“Damn the time,” Totti confessed to his loyal followers afterwards. A true one-club hero, a worthy number one on this list.