Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao Set to Face off in Clash of Clear Ideologies

While at first glance the different philosophies of Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, who meet this weekend at the Santiago Bernabeu, may seem a world apart, a closer inspection reveals one very important similarity.

Both clubs have a very clear, albeit different, business model and ideology, and both have a fanatical fan base—the "socios," or members who own the clubs. Real Madrid, Athletic and also Barcelona are the only three clubs in Spain never to have faced the agony of relegation.

Despite Athletic sailing precariously close to the relegation wind in the past (in the 2006-07 season they avoided it by a single point), the very thought that this proud club thought to have been started—depending on who you believe—either by Southampton shipyard workers or Sunderland miners, should be dumped out of the top league is totally unthinkable.

It’s for this reason that Athletic’s main strip has always been red and white stripes but as to whether it’s by way of a nod to the North East or the south coast of England depends on who you happen to be talking to.

Where Real Madrid and Athletic part company, of course, is in their policy towards who should earn the right to kiss the badge.

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Love it or hate it, the Athletic ideal of using just local talent to fill your ranks is something that is romanticised not just in Spain but throughout the world.

It must be said, however, that this is an ideology that has been certainly stretched somewhat with players being considered Basque if they have been through the club Academy. In addition, grandparents, as well as parents, have become part of the equation, although by and large in this modern-day world of big corporations and big-money interest in football it’s certainly one that the club has stuck quite close to.

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It was only as recent as 2008 that the Basque-based petroleum company, Petronor, amidst huge controversy, were allowed to become the main club sponsors with their name on the sacred shirts. Until then, all efforts to sponsor the shirt had been soundly rebuffed and it was only ever going to be a major Basque interest like Petronor that stood any chance of sealing the deal.

But permitting yourself the luxury of pride can come at a price. While Athletic have won the Spanish cup more times than any club other than Barcelona, the truth is, while getting close on occasions, they have won nothing since doing the double under Javier Clemente in the 1983-84 season.

The loss of their very best players like Ander Herrera to Manchester United, Javi Martínez to Bayern and Fernando Llorente to Juventus means they are constantly having to replace their stars with young hopefuls that, as full of promise as they may be, are not yet the finished article. The 18-year-old Unai Lopez is a case in point.

The result is a club for which the word "rollercoaster" could have been invented. Last season Ernesto Valverde took Athletic to a Champions League place with a mixture of high intensity, tempo, hard work and rapid movement with and without the ball. This season they find themselves going to the Santiago Bernabeu with just four points, one win out of six and out of the relegation zone only on goal difference.

But would Athletic fans have it any other way? Of course not.

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Down in the capital, Real Madrid and, specifically Florentino Perez, have their own philosophy which decrees that every year the business model should be renewed with the acquisition of a superstar.

Some cynics among you might raise the possibility that the signing of some of the players has occasionally coincided with the carrying out of business deals by his company with the country from where that particularly player happened to come from, for example Germany (Khedira, Ozil or Toni Kroos) and Colombia (James Rodriguez).

Unlike Athletic, Real Madrid have never had the same altruistic, laudably regional, approach to the space on their shirt with the Dubai-based airline, Emirates enjoying pride of place at the moment.

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Previous incumbents have included an Italian home appliance company (Zanussi), an Italian dairy and food corporation (Parmalat), a German manufacturer of kitchen and bathroom equipment (Teka), a Taiwanese mobile phone company (BenQ-Siemens) and a Gibraltar-based online gambling company (Bwin).

But it works for them because Real Madrid is without doubt the richest club in the world, and no one, not even Barcelona, can match the way they go about their business.

As rich as they are, Real Madrid have a debt in the region of €600 million, one they claim is manageable. Others beg to differ.

While the club does not seem too concerned about it, the number-crunchers who analyse the accounts—and believe me football and "creative accounting" are frequently great bedfellows—say that in the long term it could create big problems. The extent is that Perez might feel it is within his remit to lead the club on a path that will see it taken away from the season ticket holders and converted into a limited company.

For the time being it is just a whisper, something not being shouted from the rooftops but uttered sotto-voce.

And here’s the rub. Whenever a rich man walks into a football club with a lot of real money, the first question on the fans’ lips is always, "Who are you going to bring in?" and not, "Where did your money come from?"

Perhaps that at the end of the day is the biggest difference between the two clubs.