When James Forrest leads Celtic out onto the Parkhead turf this evening, the winger’s years of service to the Glasgow club will be recognised in fitting fashion. It has been 13 years since a fresh-faced Forrest took his first steps into the professional game by clambering off the bench against Motherwell, even if that same boyish face doesn’t appear to have aged a day in that time.
The achievements have fair piled up, though. With well over 400 appearances to his name, Forrest is the longest-serving player in Brendan Rodgers’ squad by a distance and he has chipped in with 100 goals and a century of assists in that time. Twenty-three winners’ medals, not to mention a host of individual awards, tell their own story, too: that this diminutive winger is, by any measure, a modern club great.
The Scotland internationalist has never been one to hog the limelight off the pitch but tonight he will be the centre of attention during his testimonial against Athletic Bilbao. The Basque club, who famously only sign players from the region, understandably hold one-club men in higher regard than most – as evidenced in 2019, when a delegation from the La Liga outfit came to Glasgow’s east end to present Billy McNeill with its prestigious One-Club Man award shortly weeks before the captain of the Lisbon Lions sadly passed away.
Forrest won’t be the only remarkably loyal player on the park this evening, though. On the other side of the pitch, Iker Muniain will be wearing the Athletic armband, doing what he has done for his entire career: representing his boyhood club. Like Forrest, the 30-year-old’s story is one of a local lad done good and although that loyalty has been tested at times, there is nowhere else he would rather be.
“For me it’s a dream to play for this club,” said the attacker. “It’s what I always wanted to do ever since I was a child and every time I pull on the jersey it’s a dream come true for me. Being the captain is a huge responsibility. When I was a child I always hoped of playing with my idols and I managed to do that. To become captain is a great honour.
“Throughout my entire career here, over all the years, there have always been other clubs that have been interested – but the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do is play for Athletic. For me, it’s very special to have a long career at any one club but this is football and at the end of the day, you don’t know what’s going to happen. I try to enjoy every single day.
“In modern football there is a lot of temptation from other clubs who have a lot of money. There is a lot of competition within squads between players who play in the same position. I am so fortunate and lucky to be able to work here every day and play at an excellent level for this club.”
It is a sentiment surely shared by Forrest. The two players have become part of the furniture of clubs they have supported since they were boys, and they have both experienced their ups and downs during their lengthy tenures at their respective teams.
That longevity in itself requires a very particular mindset. Staying motivated year after year can be challenging – particularly in Forrest’s case, where the vast majority of his campaigns have ended with the team lifting silverware – and hitting the reset button, going again and reaching higher heights still is no mean feat.
Doing it for well over a decade is something else entirely, though. But as Muniain explains, it just makes success all the sweeter whenever it comes around.
“When you play for one club over many years, it can be difficult mentally,” he said. “There is a lot of responsibility, a lot of pressure, and there are a lot of objectives to achieve.
“Personally, I feel more motivated than ever because every year that passes by is a year less that I have to play football. So I try to enjoy the moment because I know that one day this will all be over.
“I have a lot of achievements I’m proud of. The first one was when I managed to recover from two serious knee injuries. It was tough at the time but it was also an important learning curve as it taught me how to value football – the training sessions, the matches, everything.
“During my time here we have also managed to win two Spanish Super Cups, both against Barcelona. To have won silverware with this club and this philosophy is something that’s really important to me.”
The culture at Athletic Club is certainly unique. The idea that any team could regularly compete at such a high level relying fully on local players defies logical explanation, yet here stand the Basque outfit, doing it on an annual basis. Challenges for silverware and forays deep into the knockout rounds of European competition are nothing unusual, while the team is often competing for a place in La Liga’s top six come the business end of the season.
The club’s transfer policy is certainly exclusive but that doesn’t mean the team itself is. Athletic is one of a handful of La Liga clubs that is owned and operated by its 40,000 members (known locally as socios), rather than private financing, allowing supporters to have a real say in the club that they hold so dear. In an era of Saudi sportswashing and venture capitalists funneling billions into the beautiful game, Athletic remains insulated from the shady ownership practices in modern football that many find utterly obscene.
The first team is more diverse than one would perhaps think, too. Immigration from Africa and South America to the Basque Country is seeing players with various backgrounds make the grade at Athletic, such as the Williams brothers, Inaki and Nico. The latter represents Spain while the former plays his international football for Ghana; the duo’s parents emigrated from the central African country.
The club is more modern and forward-thinking than some give it credit for – the women’s team, for instance, is a source of pride at Athletic and the stadium, San Mames, once held the world record for the highest-ever attendance recorded at a women’s game – and Muniain takes pride from representing these values on the global stage.
Doing so once again this evening will be nothing new for Muniain, who has over 500 first-team appearances for Athletic to his name. Celebrating a fellow one-club man will be a somewhat novel experience but it is an occasion that he is eagerly anticipating. There is a sense of comradery between the Spain internationalist and Forrest, a mutual understanding of what it’s like to devote your entire career to the club you have always supported, and Muniain hopes that others will follow his and Forrest’s example.
“For me, the most special thing about Athletic is the philosophy,” said Muniain. “Being able to play with Basque players, then going up to face players from all over the world and in different countries, but being able to go toe-to-toe and head-to-head. Our fans feel truly proud that we are able to play in this way and I think that is what makes us special all around the world.
“Athletic Club and Celtic are both historic clubs with great stadiums and great fanbases. When you watch Athletic or Celtic, you are breathing football. Here in Bilbao, Celtic is a team that is quite loved by the people.
“I know of James Forrest and I know that he is an idol for Celtic fans. For us, it’s an honour to play at Celtic Park in front of the Celtic fans. I think staying at Celtic for such a long time has a lot of merit. To stay at one club at such a high level for so many years – I hope that a lot more players will have great careers staying at one club for such a long time.”
