Nico Williams (Pamplona, ??2002) knows what poverty is. His parents left his native Ghana and climbed over the Melilla fence in search of a better life in Spain. He cost them many sacrifices but they ended up achieving it. And now his two sons are succeeding in soccer and are playing in a World Cup. Iñaki defends the colors of Ghana and Nico, those of Spain. Still in a cloud, the little one in the saga, with a smile embedded on his face, looks for a shadow at the red headquarters in Qatar and attends to La Vanguardia.
Does Luis Enrique correct you a lot?
Well, on the one hand, he asks me to be myself and to be brave, to enjoy myself on the pitch, but on the other, he tells me that sometimes I still need a little pause because I’m a very upright player.
Sins of youth?
As I play more games, I’m sure I’ll pick it up and do better.
Is your tactical work in Spain very different from the one you have at Athletic?
The truth is that yes, it changes a lot. At Athletic I have the tendency to face the full-back or the center-back whenever I receive the ball, while in the national team they ask me to take more breaks because it’s a different style of play.
Is it costing you a lot?
It is evident that I am more used to a certain style of play and what Luis Enrique asks of me is a bit more complicated, but I can adapt to everything.
Is it very important to enter the team’s locker room?
I can’t fool anyone, at first you go a little with your tail between your legs but in the end it’s a family. There is a great group of players and that helps things go well.
What advice do veterans give you?
The players who have been coming to the national team the longest have experienced many things that we youngsters have not experienced and they talk to us to help us understand the game and everything that being in the national team means.
He is always seen with Ansu Fati and Balde…
We are good friends. We are black as they say, and that tendency makes us come together.
Have you already assimilated that you are playing a World Cup?
Every day it is a little more difficult to assimilate all this. Three years ago I was at Baskonia, in the Third Division, and today I am playing in a World Cup. I am very proud of what I am achieving and, above all, of showing my family and my people that I can continue to grow.
How did you live the hours before Luis Enrique gave the final list?
I was quite nervous, actually. That night I couldn’t even sleep, I didn’t sleep a wink. But in the end everything went well and I was very happy.
In a few months his life has accelerated…
Yes, everything is going very fast for me, both in my career and in the national team. Suddenly you are very high but I only think about continuing to work the same because I think I have no ceiling.
Is your concentration taking too long?
What’s up, I’m having a great time, I’m with great friends and we don’t stop playing FIFA. Also, on the pitch it is a pleasure to train because you are with the best and that makes you improve. I have to take this opportunity.
Do you speak very often with your brother Iñaki?
We WhatsApp each day. I want to know how it goes with Ghana. I am very happy for him.
And how is it going?
He tells me that the team is very young but that things are doing very well. He is happy and proud and, furthermore, he believes that we are going to meet in the quarterfinals.
Well, what a job a Spain-Ghana for the Williams house. Who is encouraged?
I think there would be a flag divided in two, it would be very difficult to choose a side. But in the end the origins pull and I think they would choose Ghana.
Unlike your brother, were you always clear that you wanted to play for Spain?
Each person must choose their path and I’m happy that Iñaki chose his but I was very clear that I wanted to play for Spain.
What did your parents tell you before traveling to Qatar?
That everything I have achieved has not been a gift, that I be brave and that I continue working.
A very direct message…
They repeat to me that I do not lower my arms and that I do not climb into the clouds.
Do all the difficulties your parents went through have brought your family closer together?
Seeing your parents in such an unfavorable situation is not a tasteful dish and that makes you work more than normal. We have built our family based on work and we are very happy. We are a very humble family.
What went through your head when, as an adult, you were told the whole truth about your arrival in Spain?
It was a reality check. Suddenly, you stop thinking like a child. An ambition was born within me to make my mother proud of me and to lift her out of the poverty in which we lived. It was my goal from the first moment I learned about the story. I only think about working so that more things come to them.
Your parents must be proud of you then…
Part of the strength I have comes from them. The one who is proud is me for everything they have done for us. I think that in life I will never be able to pay it back. Now, happiness for me is that they live well.
We’re done, you were born in Spain, have you ever visited Ghana?
Yes, I’ve been twice. The last time I went on vacation with my brother and his girlfriend.
Did you like it?
It was a bit shocking to see the differences with Europe because I had been there when I was very young and I didn’t have that awareness like now.
What shocked you the most?
We were in a car with my brother and we saw two kids our age working in the fields and we realized that we could perfectly be them.
