Athletic Club at World Cup: Staff and academy graduates take prominent roles beyond the pitch
Athletic Club at World Cup: Athletic staff members and Lezama graduates are representing Spain and Mexico in non-playing roles, extending the club’s influence beyond its internationals.
Athletic Club presence extends beyond the players
Athletic Club at World Cup is not limited to the appearances of internationals such as Simón, Nico, Laporte and Iñaki Williams; several club-trained professionals and staff have joined national team setups in technical and support roles. These appointments underline how Athletic’s organizational reach and Lezama’s training model are contributing to global tournament preparations as much as the players on the field.
The club’s footprint includes former first-team figures and long-serving academy staff, demonstrating a continuity between the work carried out in Bilbao and the strategies deployed at the tournament. That crossover is evident in both performance and backroom areas, where Athletic methods and personnel are now visible on football’s biggest stage.
Toscana Viar’s dual role with Spain and Athletic
Toscana Viar serves as the nutrition lead for both Athletic Club and the Spain national team, a role that bridges club and country in practical daily routines. A licensed pharmacist with a diploma in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Viar also heads The Health Company and holds a sports nutrition specialization recognized by the International Olympic Committee.
Her appointment to the Spanish setup is not new; Viar has assisted the national team at previous championships and has long-standing ties to the Athletic squad. Players at Lezama had already incorporated many elements of her plan into their daily regimen, which reduced transition friction when national preparations began and ensured consistency in the “invisible” aspects of performance such as recovery and fueling.
Viar’s influence extends beyond meal plans to educational work with athletes and staff, shaping habits that sustain performance across a demanding tournament schedule. Her dual responsibilities mean Athletic and Spain benefit from shared protocols, which can improve player availability and resilience during prolonged campaigns.
Jon Moreno embedded in Mexico’s technical staff
Jon Moreno is on the World Cup stage as a performance analyst attached to the Mexico national team under Javier Aguirre. Moreno’s trajectory includes leading Athletic’s department of performance and development and working in the first-team environment during Gaizka Garitano’s tenure, providing him with a mix of academy and senior-team experience.
His résumé also includes overseas assignments, notably a spell in Guangzhou, and collaboration with Garitano and managers such as Ferreira at Almería. In March 2025 Moreno joined Aguirre’s technical group and became the first professional with a Lezama background to make an appearance in this tournament’s coaching and analysis ranks.
Moreno’s role centers on detailed performance metrics, opposition scouting and integrating club-derived methodologies into Mexico’s tactical preparation. His analytical work exemplifies how Athletic’s internal practices can be adapted to different football cultures and international environments.
De la Fuente’s path from player to national-stage coach
De la Fuente combines a history as a first-team player with a long record in Athletic’s coaching ranks, including roles across the club’s youth setup. He also worked alongside José María Amorrortu and teamed with Javier Clemente and Mané at different stages, gaining experience that proved useful in broader national-team contexts.
At the World Cup De la Fuente is part of the technical architecture supporting one of the competing delegations, bringing scouting knowledge and youth-development insights to senior international coaching. His dual experience as a former player and a youth coach bolsters the link between grassroots progression at Lezama and the tactical demands of senior international football.
His presence on the tournament stage highlights the club’s ability to nurture coaching talent as well as players, validating Athletic’s philosophy that development pathways can produce specialists capable of contributing at the highest level. De la Fuente’s work serves as a reminder that the club’s imprint on the game often extends far beyond matchday lineups.
Lezama’s development model influencing World Cup preparations
Lezama’s reputation as a developer of both players and staff has been reinforced by the presence of its graduates and employees in national-team environments at the World Cup. The academy’s structured approach to technical, physical and psychological preparation translates into support roles that national teams now seek, particularly in areas such as performance analysis, conditioning and nutrition.
Athletic’s emphasis on consistent daily habits—often described internally as the “invisible work”—has proven adaptable to the cyclical demands of international tournaments. National-team staff who trained or worked at Lezama bring standardized protocols that can compress preparation time and streamline recovery, which is critical during tightly scheduled competitions.
The export of Lezama-trained professionals also reflects a broader trend in which elite academies are recognized as sources of technical expertise, not just playing talent. That recognition benefits Athletic by enhancing its profile and providing staff and graduates with professional development opportunities on an international platform.
Cross-pollination between club methods and national strategies
The involvement of Athletic-affiliated specialists in multiple national teams creates a flow of ideas and practices between Bilbao and national setups. Whether through nutritional programs, performance analytics, or coaching philosophies, this cross-pollination helps align player management approaches and can contribute to more coherent long-term player development.
For national teams, recruiting staff familiar with club-level daily processes accelerates team integration for players and reduces the adjustment period at tournament camps. For Athletic, the presence of its personnel on international stages offers real-world testing grounds for methodologies and reinforces the club’s capacity to produce multifaceted football professionals.
This interchange also has pragmatic benefits: shared language around training load, recovery and tactical preparation can lower the risk of injury and optimize player availability during dense match sequences. In a tournament context, those marginal gains can be decisive.
The World Cup involvement of Athletic-trained staff and former players demonstrates the club’s broader influence across the football ecosystem. As the tournament progresses, the contributions of figures like Toscana Viar, Jon Moreno and De la Fuente will be watched closely as examples of how a club’s internal systems can shape national-team performance and strategy.
