euskalkultura.eus

More and more, we import many celebrations terms, and ways of life, from the US.  In doing business, they are the first.  They know how to get the most out of any event.  Let’s say that they know how to entertain the public by purely commercial means.  This is marketing.  This is also something that Iker Goñi has learned from the inside after spending since last May working as an Operations Intern for the New York Red Bulls.  Iratxe Lopez Bringas did the following interview for El Correo. 

Iratxe Lopez Bringas.  “I learned how to fold the American flag, and make sure that it doesn’t touch the floor.  If I want to keep my job,” he says jokingly, “but they take it very seriously.” Before every game, the national anthem is played, even if the games are between lower ranked teams, and there are no more than 50 people watching the game.

He knows something about this patriotism since he moved to New York in 2013 for ten months to coordinate the centennial celebration of the Basque Club there, and was even elected as the club’s secretary.  This activity earned him points in the selection process for this current job, organizing everything at the Red Bull Arena.  And it wasn’t an easy job to get.  “It was hard.  To get more attention, a friend helped me do a video-resume and I had to go through various processes.”

“Living here is like being in a movie”

Iker Goñi’s life, from one day to the next, depends on the matches and events that will take place at the stadium.  “If it is game day, everything done is for the match.  The time is flexible so that we can adjust everything necessary for the business,” he says.  He remembers when he joined the team, right when they were celebrating the Front Office Cup that is basically an internal soccer tournament that aims at “team building.” “There were a total of 100 employees, and curiously, the coach of the NYRB was on my team.”  In regards to the cultural aspect, where the biggest difference is noted in the food.  “The food is typically American: hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, pizza, beverages…Living here is like being in a movie.  There are infinite entertainment possibilities.”

In the last selection there were 191 people and only four were chosen.  “They appreciate my experience as an event organizer from the New York Euskal Etxea’s centennial.  But, above all, my initiative and my attempt to bring the Euskal Selekzioa to New York to play, Athletic and Real, although sounds sacrilege coming from a huge Athletic fan,” he adds.  “: I have always been very entrepreneurial, so I finally reached this goal.  Once again, all you have to do is take a look at what he has done professionally.

Bronze Medal

He studied Administration and Business Management at Deusto.  And at this time, his concerns for management and soccer already began to emerge.  “It didn’t take long for us to put a team together and we won a bronze medal at the university championships,” he recalls.  A year later he was chosen as the delegate of the college.  With the idea of continuing in management, he participated as a monitor in the Ruta Quetzal BBVA, and last year he attended the first promotion of the Ipurua Tallarra organized by the Eibar Sporting Society and the University of the Basque Country.

Currently, professionally he contributes to the management of a family-run company with 20 employees in Getxo.  “This experiences made it possible, last year, to become a member of the Advisory Board at Repsol,” he says.  He’s a go getter.  Where he learned the most in how to do business and to manage the show is in the US.  That is why he went there to perfect his passion for soccer from another point of view, and management.  “I thought that it would be a good way to continue learning at the New York Red Bulls.  It is one of the main professional soccer clubs in New York and is owned by the Red Bull company.  This opportunity allows me the possibility to learn from a strong trade mark at the marketing level as well as get to know the “show” better from the inside that they put on in the US at sporting events.”

Just that, the way of putting on the show, is the difference between European and American soccer.  “Professional soccer in the US is more physical and currently with less talent than in Europe.  What is noted is the show that surrounds such a match.  Before the match, fans usually show their huge posters, they play the national anthem, and there are fireworks, mini soccer tournaments take place outside the stadium, merchandise sales…,” he concludes.  If this weren’t enough, they also take advantage of half time to entertain the crowd on the giant screens as well as holding events on the field.  “You can drink bear and there is never a shortage of hot dogs!”

Goñi’s job consists in organizing everything regarding Red Bull Arena that holds 25,000 spectators, before, during and after the match.  The season begins in March and ends in December.  “On Thursday, for example, we had a strategy meeting about the 2017 Business Plan.  It is interesting to observe how goals are established that aren’t solely sports related.  They take great car of the brand.  For example, green has been banned from the stadium because it represents their greatest energy drink rival.  Business is Business!”

But in the US, they don’t lose sight of the European competitions.  “The Eurocopa is a recurring topic of conversation, since we usually watch a match while eating.  It also coincides with the playing of the America Cup in the US and commentaries are mixed in regards to both competitions.”  They are everything.  This Basque has witnessed how they follow European soccer, above all, the Premier League and the Spanish Liga.  “When I arrived, they already understood the philosophy of Athletic perfectly and the heroic deeds of Eibar.  They feel genuin sympathy for both teams.”

He is happy with his experience at the New York Red Bulls, but his goal is very clear and he knows that in Euskadi “you don’t just live anywhere.”  “I want to learn all that I can here to later apply it at home,” he promises.

 (published in El Correo)