This article by Alessandro Nicolo first appeared in April 2007. In light of the recent events in Montreal regarding the firing of Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens, the issue of language and coaching has come up again.

It’s soul searching time in Montreal. Nos Glorieux are out of the playoffs this year and to many this has become too much of a comfortable habit.

Many fans and journalists on the French-language side of the equation openly talk about needing more local content -
specifically French-Canadian talent - on the Montreal Canadiens. Their English-speaking counterparts simply want the best available players to represent the club. The merit principle should prevail.

Such a conundrum. French Quebec does usually tend to romanticize and politicize about its hockey club. They hark back to a more pristine time when native sons entered the realm of Quebecois folklore for their dominance of the hockey universe. Although they tend to overlook Montreal’s English and Irish influence on the club.

From a marketing standpoint this only makes sense. From a hockey operations perspective it can make things a little sticky. There is a legitimate argument to be made to bring in more French players, but at what cost? The Canadiens’ drafting machine that once allowed them free reign in the province through the territorial draft is gone. More importantly, other clubs in the NHL have been more successful at getting their hands on Quebec’s best talent.

Simply put, too many factors conspire against turning the Canadiens into mini-Team Quebec a reality.

This idea of mixing culture, politics and sports is nothing new in sports. It happens in soccer all the time.

Hailing from the autonomous Basque region, Athletic Bilbao is a soccer team in Spain’s top soccer league La Liga and offer interesting parallels to what Habs fans are debating.

Basques have a strange place in Spanish soccer. It has on one side contributed many great players to Spanish soccer but it has also had to share its resources with France (there is a French section on the Western side of the Pyrenees).

It is also a place with divided loyalties. While many Basques will openly say they want Spain to lose they are too invested in the success of the country - After all, their own wear the colors of Spain at international tournaments.

Quebec nationalists will also, though to smaller degrees, speak like they don’t care about Team Canada choosing instead to support the Quebec players within the team. In the end, they realize that Canadian victory is a victory for Quebec as well.

After all, as I said above, their sons wear the colors of Canada. It would make little sense to do otherwise. I suppose Basques and Quebecers could create their own teams and perform well, but this is all hypothetical, now is it?

Athletic Bilbao has become the face of an intensely proud region with a strong sense of identity, Like the Montreal Canadiens that once dominated hockey with French talent, Bilbao for the most part stays loyal to its own kind. As far as I can tell 25 of the 28 players on the squad hail from the Basque region.

I know what some of you are thinking. How successful are they? Actually, Bilbao’s record is stellar. As one of the original founders of Spanish organized soccer, they has won more games than any other team except for Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Historically, Athletic Bilbao have won eight Spanish titles. This is good for fourth all-time (one behind third place Athletico Madrid). Once more, only Real Madrid and Barcelona have won more. It also reached the finals of the 1977 UEFA cup succumbing to Italian powerhouse Juventus. However, since its back-to-back titles in 1983 and 1984, the squad has struggled to rise above middle-table soccer in Spain rarely place in the top five.

Nevertheless, despite many years of hardships, it’s a conscious choice they have made. Are Montrealers prepared to make the same type of sacrifice?

There is something to be said about the maturity level of each. Basque nationalism and identity is far more deep and sophisticated - and once upon a time deadly - than the Quebecois variation. Quebecers tend to talk with the heart but act with the mind.

Are Quebecers willing to accept mediocrity in the name of identity? The answer is probably no. We often hear about how we Montrealers do not tolerate losing seasons.

Which makes all this talk is rather irrelevant. Montreal is a cosmopolitan city in the province of Quebec. Secure in its identity it operates within the dominion of Canada.

How has this served us?

Look up at the rafters in the Bell Centre. You’ll see 24 examples - 19 by way of English-speaking Canadians.