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Etxeberria Joins Ulises on Goodwill Odyssey

Friday, 03 October 08, 06:04 AM

by Stuart Gillespie

Amid this week's stories of alleged homophobic and racial abuse, and reports of sweary workshy managers, there was a solitary beacon of hope for our often disillusioning game.

Athletic Bilbao's Joseba Etxeberria announced yesterday that he will play his 15th and final season at the club for nothing.

"I've played here for 14 years, and now I want to give something back to the fans," said the winger.

Etxeberria's club president, Fernando Garcia Macua, acknowledged the selflessness of the act, saying: "From the club's standpoint there are not enough words to thank such a gesture."

Fortunately, in accordance with the view of Macua, there seems to have been little of the cynicism that usually accompanies announcements similar to this - the doctrine that imbues every charitable act with a subtext of self-promotion.

But Etxeberria is not the first player to eschew the concept of earning potential in order to give something back.

Reading's Ulises de la Cruz is perhaps the best known example. De la Cruz has set up a foundation to fund community projects in the Chota Valley, Ecuador, to which he donates a portion of his handsome weekly wage.

And last year Garforth Town's teenage midfielder Duncan Williams, who has been courted by Premier League clubs, expressed his discomfort at the thought of receiveing any money at all for doing something he loves.

There are others, too, showing that not all footballers are greedy and self-serving. Feel free to comment with any heart-warming stories I've missed.

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