Euro 2012: Spain coach Vincent del Bosque relies on Basque country to stay ahead of the pack With Xabi Alonso, who grew up in San Sebastian and came through at Real Sociedad, taking one of the deep-lying midfield slots, there will be a strong Basque flavour to this Spain team. It will only get stronger. Athletic's Iker Muniain, dubbed the "Spanish Messi" and still only 19, is only being kept out of the squad by Spain's ridiculous number of brilliant forwards: David Silva, Juan Mata, Pedro, Jesús Navas and Santi Cazorla. Andoni Iraola, the Athletic right-back, only missed out because of injury. Nacho Monreal, Malaga's left-back and another Basque, just missed the cut. Llorente does not look like he belongs in this diminutive Spain team. At 6ft 3in he brings a physicality to the No 9 role that recalls the Basque battering ram Ismael Urzaiz. Except Llorente is also nimble and skilful, perfectly comfortable with the technical complexities of the Spanish game. He scored 29 goals for Athletic last season, as they finished fifth, and got to the finals of the Copa del Rey and the Europa League (losing in both). He scored in both legs of Athletics 5-3 aggregate win over Manchester United and, at 27, is at the peak of his powers. That he is so effective in the air gives Spain a threat they have not really had in the past, without compromising their need to have a striker involved in the build up. Martinez is another player who gives Spain a more robust physical presence. The 23 year-old has mostly played as a defensive midfielder but this season Marcelo Bielsa has successfully moved him into central defence - just as Pep Guardiola has done with Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano at Barcelona. Martinez's passing allows him to build from the back and with Spain dominating possession in nearly every game, this is a valuable asset. It is no coincidence that Athletic's Basques gel so well with Barcelona's Catalans: their coaches are cut from the same cloth. Perhaps only Johan Cruyff has been more important than Bielsa to the way Guardiola thinks about football. Before he took the Barcelona job he went out to Argentina to meet with Bielsa and absorb his ideas about the game. So it is not surprising that under Bielsa, Athletic have sometimes challenged Barcelona in the style stakes. Their fluid attacking football has been mesmeric at times - just ask Sir Alex Ferguson who watched them pull his team apart over two legs. No wonder Athletic's players have no problem adapting to the high standards of playing for a Spain side dominated by the Barcelona approach. It is an achievement all the more remarkable as Athletic remain steadfastly committed to what is known as their cantera policy, by which they develop only Basque players in their academy and sign only Basque players from other clubs. While it is criticised for being restrictive, it has produced some great players for the national team, including Zarra, José Ángel Iribar, Andoni Goikoetxea, Julen Guerrero, Julio Salinas and Andoni Zubizarreta. Del Bosque will have much to thank it for if Llorente and Martinez prove able replacements for Villa and Puyol. Spain won every game in qualifying - indeed they have not lost a competitive game since that surprise defeat to Switzerland in the group stages in South Africa - and rival coaches have been desperately trying to find ways of stopping them. Some of them seem to be succeeding. Since winning the World Cup they have lost to Argentina, Portugal, Italy and England in friendlies. Del Bosque has continued to try to evolve Spain so they do not go stale, become complacent. To that end he will looking to Bilbao as well as Madrid and Barcelona.