Aitor Herrera and Athletic Bilbao - A Match Made in Heaven

th


SPAIN

FIFA World Cup Group L
jam.gif
v
esp.gif

Jamaica 0
Spain 2 (Martin 6, Williams 36)

Lineup - De Gea, Odriozola, Iturrino, Mere, Gaya, Saul (Saizar), Sancet, Williams*, Asensio (Joshua), Gonzalez (Manga), Martin

A comfortable win if unimpressive as we get our campaign off to a decent start.

--

FIFA World Cup Group L
esp.gif
v
irn.gif

Spain 7 (Asensio 3, Williams 8, 29, 87, Martin 23, 89, Gonzalez 37)
Iran 0

Lineup - De Gea, Odriozola, Iturrino, Mere, Gaya, Saul (Saizar), Sancet, Williams*, Asensio, Gonzalez, Martin

In this World Cup with a load of teams and with only 3 teams per group we had already qualified for the next stage but we still went out and put on a show here and scored 7. Martin had a goal disallowed while Williams has 8 goals in his last 3 appearances for Spain.

--

2nd Round
qat.gif
v
esp.gif

Qatar 0
Spain 3 (Martin 5, Williams 11, 15)

Lineup - De Gea, Odriozola, Iturrino, Mere, Aaron Martin, Saul (Joshua), Sancet, Williams*, Asensio, Gonzalez (Morilla), Martin (Manga)

Williams is on fire and he could have had another hat-trick but his penalty was saved.

--

3rd Round
eng.gif
v
esp.gif

England 1 (Dier 79)
Spain 3 (Williams 1, Gomez og95, Gonzalez 116)
AET

Lineup - De Gea, Odriozola, Iturrino, Mere, Aaron Martin, Saul, Sancet (Saizar), Williams, Morilla (Joshua), Gonzalez*, Martin (Manga)

A fantastic victory. Williams was at it again and put us in front in the 1st minute and I thought we were going to hold on but to no avail. The game went into extra-time and we took advantage as we got a fortuitous own goal and then Gonzalez wrapped things up.

--

Quarter-Final
esp.gif
v
gui.gif

Spain 2 (Asensio 14pen, Gonzalez 30)
Guinea 0

Lineup - De Gea, Odriozola, Iturrino*, Zabalza, Gaya, Saul, Sancet (Rodri), Williams, Asensio (Joshua), Gonzalez, Martin (Manga)

Not the hardest of ties for a World Cup quarter-final but we had to do a job and we did so.

--

Semi-Final
fra.gif
v
esp.gif

France 1 (Sylla 86)
Spain 2 (Mere 7, Joshua 31)

Lineup - De Gea, Odriozola, Iturrino, Mere, Aaron Martin, Joshua*, Sancet (Saizar), Suso, Asensio (Morilla), Gonzalez, Martin (Manga)

We reach the final with a fine victory over France here. Mere nodded us in front but it was Joshua who starred and scored a fine individual goal. He really looks a fine player and has progressed so well since he had a loan spell with us a few years ago.

--

Final
esp.gif
v
arg.gif

Spain (Martin 17, 32, Asensio 26)
Argentina

Lineup - De Gea, Odriozola, Iturrino, Mere, Zabalza, Saul (Joshua), Sancet (Saizar), Williams, Asensio (Morilla), Gonzalez, Martin*

We retain the World Cup with a convincing victory over Argentina. Martin scored a double while Asensio fired in a fantastic free-kick as we blew them away in the first half. 9 of the 14 players used play for Athletic so I am so proud of them.



​
 
As long as it's still fun, keep going! One thing I like to do when I reach the point where I'm dominating and it starts to lose my interest is to add a few new managers to rivals clubs, set them to be controlled by director of football (transfer,staff, etc.) and then use the best downloaded tactics for them, then just set them on holiday for 5 years. sometimes those teams get so good that I can't even win the league anymore!
 
Cahoon said:
As long as it's still fun, keep going! One thing I like to do when I reach the point where I'm dominating and it starts to lose my interest is to add a few new managers to rivals clubs, set them to be controlled by director of football (transfer,staff, etc.) and then use the best downloaded tactics for them, then just set them on holiday for 5 years. sometimes those teams get so good that I can't even win the league anymore!
Click to expand...

Cheers. I have done 8 seasons and will see how things are after 10. Trying to improve Newcastle via the transfer window. Don't want to tamper too much with domestic sides though.
 
PRE-SEASON

I had a different kind of summer and tbh Athletic took a bit of a back burner as I was busy managing Spain to win the World Cup and also trying to overhaul the Newcastle squad. That being said I sold about £130m worth of players and I only spent £1.5m. I was prepared to spend a **** of a lot more but the deal fell through.

My assistant manager retired so I had to replace him as well as one of my goalkeeping coaches. That along with a slight tweak in tactics for the new season means that there is a fair bit of change inside the club.

So without further ado here is the deals.....

--

PLAYERS OUT

I had in mind to change Peru Nolaskoain for either Zubillaga or Montes but could never get round to doing it but in the summer Paris Saint-Germain unexpectedly put in a £69m bid for Nolaskoain so I decided to accept it. Nolaskoain played well and made 260 appearances for me, scoring 33 goals in the process. Tbh I cant really envisage him starring for PSG as his attributes aren't amazing but we shall see.

Next up is Adria who after having a really good loan spell with Espanyol was sold to Benfica for an initial £33.5m which could rise to £41.5m which represents a potentially huge £36.5m profit for us. He is a fantastic player and at only 22y/o is quite young for me to sell but he just couldn't learn the AML position so I let him go. He played 72 times for me in his 2 spells and scored 9 goals.

Alex Remiro left the club again to join Espanyol for £5m. That is over £12m that we have raked in on him in his 2 spells with us and he hardly ever played.

I also did a major cull of my B team players who I kept loaning out but were never going to make it into the 1st team. Aimar Nunez who I really liked the look of left to join Sheffield United for £4.1m. I also took in £2.3m of in loan fees over the years so we made a profit. He never played a game for us and only cost me £500,000.

Inigo Perez (3 apps) was a product of our youth academy and was sold to Southampton for an amazing initial £8.25m - rising to £10.25m - and his value jumped up to nearly double that!!! I didn't think he was great and he didn't do all that much while out on loan so I was delighted with that deal.

But not as delighted as the £5.7m - rising to £7m - I received from Burnley for Jon Fernandez. I had him as a kid and sold him to Inter Milan for £300,000, loaned him back for 2 years to play for the B team and then got him back on a pre-contract and have now sold him again. Crazy. He wasn't even a regular starter for the B team!!!

Leeds United spent £3.1m on Aitor Martinez (3 apps, 1 goal) and £650,000 on Javier Sanchez as they also left my B team.

Now for players going out on loan. Malaga gave me £2.5m for the season for David Nunez and £1m for Alberto Castano so hopefully they will play every week and really develop although I maybe should have kept Nunez in hindsight. Gaspar Ruiz was loaned out for £1m to Alaves and David Martinez joined Getafe for £1m also.

I will be keeping a very close eye on Levante as they took 3 players off me on loan. Antonio David joined for £1m while Etxaniz and Lasa have also joined there. Lasa has been a stalwart of the Bside and I felt deserved his chance in La Liga while Antonio David and Etxaniz definitely have futures with my first team so I hope they do well.

Finally Higinio (Real Zaragoza) and Alvaro Herrero (Albacete) have also gone out to get some experience and that's it so far finally!!!! Although there is still 2 weeks in the transfer window to go.

--

PLAYERS IN

Firstly the deal that got away. I had agreed a £159m for Joshua and he even agreed personal terms but then he signed a new deal with Barcelona the *****. I had in the meantime agreed to loan out Nunez and Lasa so I am left a CM short but I can dip into the B team or the U19s if needed as I have a few decent prospects lurking in the ranks.

I brought in a youngster on a free but tbh he isn't really worth showing but I did bring in a new backup keeper in the shape and form of Ivan Martinez who rejoined the club for £700,000 after I sold him to Atletico Madrid for £3.2m a few years ago. He is now valued at £7.75m!!!!
View attachment 18331

My only other deal was a £1m loan deal for a 16y/o Real Madrid full back who looks a decent prospect and is now Basque.
View attachment 18330

--

FIRST TEAM

Its just the same except I have to decide between Zubillaga and Montes to see who partners Oihan Sancet in CM. Speaking of Sancet I rejected a £70m bid from Liverpool for him while Man Utd bid £166m for Imanol Gonzalez!!!

Ivan Martinez is my new backup keeper and that's it. Nobody else has been signed for the 1st team and nobody has been promoted from the B team or U19s.
​
 
th


Angel Maria Villar
1971-1981
Midfielder
361 apps, 11 goals

Villar was a one club man who was arguably more famous after retirement as the president of the Spanish football association and vice-president of FIFA. He played 22 times for Spain and scored 3 goals.

--

AUGUST

UEFA European Super Cup
​​v
50125.png

​​Sevilla 2 (Maehle 30, Martinez 90)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Gonzalez 23, 55, Martin 34)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), Williams (X.Lopez), Saizar (Juan Carlos), Gonzalez*, Martin

I decided to give Montes the nod in CM and he did alright. Imanol Gonzalez ran the show as he scored twice but Saizar got injured and is out for a few weeks.

--

Supercopa
​​v
50125.png

Valencia 0
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Martin 10, 20, Gonzalez 45, Zubillaga 62)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola*, A.Lopez, Oyono, Melgarejo, Zubillaga, Jose Manuel, Williams (Julia), Albisu, Gonzalez, Martin

I am over the moon with this result as as you can see I had to field a severely under strength side here. Albisu made his debut while Oyono and Jose Manuel got very rare appearances at this level. Special mention goes to Odriozola who assisted 3 of the goals while Zubillaga got his 1st goal for the club with a superb effort.

--

v
50125.png

Alaves 0
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Jimenez 14, Martin 36, Laporte 70)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte*, Jimenez, Montes (Zubillaga), Sancet, Williams, Juan Carlos (X.Lopez), Gonzalez (Bengoetxea), Martin

A decent start to the league campaign and I am delighted that Dani Jimenez scored his 1st goal of his career.

--

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 2 (Mikulic og50, Martin 61)
Levante 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola*, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), Williams, Juan Carlos (X.Lopez), Gonzalez, Martin

All that was missing here was the amount of goals we should have got as we peppered Levante's goal with 33 shots.

--

SUMMARY

We had our usual August as we won 2 trophies in our first 2 matches and got off to a decent start in the league. Alvaro Odriozola and Ignacio Martin certainly started the season on fire as Martin has scored in every match while Odriozola was getting plenty of assists.

In the Champions League we have a tricky group as we are paired with Juventus (again), Benfica and Dynamo Kiev.

As for transfers I loaned out a few players and brought in a youngster from Barcelona for £1m.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ALVARO ODRIOZOLA
​​View attachment 18196


​
 
th

Anton Arieta
1964-1974
Forward
358 apps, 83 goals

Arieta won 2 Copa del Reys with Athletic and also played alongside his brother with the club. He won 7 caps for Spain and scored 4 times.

--

SEPTEMBER


​​v
50125.png

Deportivo La Coruna 4 (Melgarejo og3, Melendo 38, Ramirez 73, Karaman 79)
Athletic Bilbao 5 (X.Lopez 22, Martin 34, 45, Laporte 36, Saizar 90)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Melgarejo, Montes, Sancet, X.Lopez, Morilla (Saizar), Gonzalez, Martin*

I don't know what the **** happened here but thankfully we came through with the win thanks to Saizar's wonderful last minute winner. I cant remember the last time we conceded 4 goals.

--

UEFA Champions League Group A
50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Gonzalez 53)
Benfica 1 (Simoes 90)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, Iturrino, Zabalza (A.Lopez), Melgarejo, Zubillaga, Jose Manuel, Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Gonzalez*, Martin (Burgos)

Half my team were unfit for this match so I was forced to play a weakened side and we almost won it but lost the lead in the last minute agonizingly. Inaki Burgos made his debut here - he has impressed for the B team this season since making the step up from the U19s.

--

v
50125.png

Espanyol 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Saizar 24, Williams 44)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Zabalza, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet, Williams*, Saizar (Juan Carlos), Gonzalez (Bengoetxea), Martin (Goni)

--

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Zubillaga 30)
Real Betis 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Zubillaga*, Sancet, Williams (X.Lopez), Saizar (Juan Carlos), Gonzalez, Martin (Goni)

Unai Zubillaga's wonder strike from 25 yards was enough to give us the points against a Betis side who had a man sent-off in the 2nd half. We had 34 shots to their none so we should have won by a lot more.

--

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 5 (Gonzalez 22, 88, Sancet 29, Martin 45, Williams 47)
Real Sociedad 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Zubillaga, Sancet, Williams, Saizar (Juan Carlos), Gonzalez*, Martin

The perfect derby day as we humiliate Real Sociedad in their own back yard. Imanol Gonzalez scored his 100th goal for us with his 2nd goal here while Saizar had a goal disallowed.

--

UEFA Champions League Group A
​​v
50125.png

Dynamo Kiev 1 (Orsolini 87)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Goni 9, Saizar 32, Juan Carlos 43)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga, Saizar, X.Lopez (Julia), Juan Carlos*, Bengoetxea (Sanchez), Goni

I am delighted with this win as my backups came in and comfortably defeated Dynamo Kiev.

--

SUMMARY

September had its moments!!! From the crazy 5-4 victory over Deportivo to the magnificent 5-0 thumping of our rivals Real Sociedad with a few other victories thrown in too although we did draw with Benfica in the Champions League.

We also suffered some injuries this month with Morilla and Montes picking up knocks but the likes of Saizar and Zubillaga came in and impressed in their absence.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ALBERTO SAIZAR
​​View attachment 18078

--

LIGA SANTANDER
​​View attachment 18077

--

th


SPAIN

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 1
esp.gif
v
por.gif

​​Spain 2 (Martin 21, Sancet 56)
Portugal 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Mere (Zabalza), Saul, Sancet*, Williams (Oliva), Joshua, Gonzalez (Bengoetxea), Martin

We kick off our campaign with a good win over Portugal. They had a man sent-off which was a help. Pep Oliva won his 1st cap, he just left Barcelona for PSG in a £59m deal, while Unai Simon is our new keeper after De Gea retired after the World Cup.

--

Friendly
esp.gif
v
mex.gif

​​Spain 2 (Williams 4, Manga 88)
Mexico 2 (Lozano 46, Kayser 47)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, Zabalza, Mere, Aaron Martin, Rodri, Saizar, Williams, Morilla, Gonzalez (Bengoetxea), Martin (Manga)

After 21 straight wins we get a lacklustre draw here. Their 2nd goalscorer, Kayser, is a regen striker I signed for Newcastle.
​
 
Last edited:
th

Genar Andrinua
1983-1997
Defender
356 apps, 21 goals

Andrinua was a stalwart in the Athletic defence for many years and also played 28 times for Spain, scoring 2 goals in the process.

--

OCTOBER

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Bengoetxea 34)
Barcelona 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Saizar, Sancet (Jose Manuel), Williams (X.Lopez), Juan Carlos, Bengoetxea*, Martin (Goni)

Fantastic. We were without Montes, Zubillaga, Morilla and Gonzalez here so I am delighted that we still managed to win. Bengoetxea scored a fantastic goal from outside the area and we held on for the victory thereafter.

--

v
50125.png

Getafe 0
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Carbonell og56, Martin 60, Goni 70)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Zubillaga (Montes), Sancet*, Williams, Saizar (Morilla), Gonzalez, Martin (Goni)

I don't know why the 1st goal was given as an OG as to me it looked like Sancet fired in from 25 yards. Never mind.

--

UEFA Champions League Group A
​​v
50125.png

Juventus 3 (Silva 45pen, 50, Gonzalez 55)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Laporte 35, 79, Iturrino 68, Gonzalez 84)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte*, Jimenez, Zubillaga, Sancet (Montes), Williams (Goni), Saizar (Morilla), Gonzalez, Martin

An unbelievable match. In the 1st 20min we had a goal disallowed and Gonzalez missed a penalty but we took the lead eventually and then everything went pear shaped and we found ourselves 3-1 down. However Bentancur got sent-off and Iturrino fired in the resulting free-kick and then the comeback was on and we turned things around.

--

74069.png
v
50125.png

Malaga 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Sancet 10)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Zubillaga, Sancet*, X.Lopez, Morilla (Saizar), Gonzalez, Martin (Goni)

--

Copa del Rey 4th Round 1st Leg
​​v
50125.png

Marbella 0
​​Athletic Bilbao 4 (Juan Carlos 4, 49, 86, Goni 32)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza, Melgarejo, Montes (Jose Manuel), Saizar, X.Lopez, Juan Carlos*, Barandiaran, Goni (J.Lopez)

Juan Carlos finally put in a commanding performance as he scored a wonderful hat-trick here. Javier Lopez made his first team debut. I have 3 Lopez's now who have played this season. In addition to that there is another Goni and another Zabalza who are on the fringes of the 1st team lol.

--

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 5 (Gonzalez 11, 50pen, 80pen, 90, Juan Carlos 31)
Villarreal 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Zubillaga (Montes), Sancet, X.Lopez (Williams), Juan Carlos, Gonzalez*, Martin (Goni)

Imanol Gonzalez was terrific here as he scored 4 past a pitiful Villarreal side who didn't get a shot on goal and lie in 19th position.

--

SUMMARY

Another excellent month as we won all our matches including huge victories over Barcelona and Juventus plus we handed out a thrashing to Villarreal at the end of the month. In the league we still have a 100% record and we have actually kept 7 clean sheets in a row - only Deportivo have scored against us in the league this season and they did it 4 times!!!

Inaki Williams I fear may be nearing the end of his time as a starter as his attributes are declining with age and Xabi Lopez is at least as good as him now. However for Spain he has scored 19 in the last 20 internationals!!!!

Interestingly enough my 3 team leaders are Williams, Laporte and Odriozola - the only 3 players in my team who are 30+ so I need the likes of Iturrino (captain of club and country), Sancet and maybe one or 2 others to step up to the plate soon.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
OIHAN SANCET
​​View attachment 18076

--

LIGA SANTANDER
​​View attachment 18075

--

th


SPAIN

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 1
aut.gif
v
esp.gif

​​Austria 1 (Bramer 16)
Spain 3 (Martin 21, 48, Williams 69)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Iturrino, Mere (Zabalza), Aaron Martin, Zubillaga, Sancet, Williams, Saizar (Juan Carlos), Gonzalez, Martin*

9 of the starting 11 and all 3 subs used play for my Athletic side. Unai Zubillaga and Juan Carlos made their international debuts here.

--

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 1
por.gif
v
esp.gif

​​Portugal 3 (F.Silva 8, 75, Fernandes 28)
Spain 2 (Asensio 2, 35)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Cuenca, Zabalza, Gaya, Zubillaga, Saizar, Oliva, Juan Carlos, Asensio*, Martin (Manga)

Our first defeat since the semis of this competition last year and we have won the Confederations Cup and World Cup since then. Half my side were either unfit or suspended which didn't help matters.
​
 
Last edited:
th

Francisco Yeste
1998-2010
Midfielder
353 apps, 59 goals

Yeste was a winger who had a bit of a temper as he was sent-off 5 times in just 2 seasons. He apparently scored the fastest ever equalizer when playing in the UAE as he equalized just 27 seconds after the opposing team scored.

--

NOVEMBER

UEFA Champions League Group A
50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 4 (Gonzalez 23, 32, 88, Juan Carlos 30)
Juventus 1 (Silva 56)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino (Zabalza), Laporte, Melgarejo, Montes, Sancet, Williams (Morilla), Juan Carlos, Gonzalez*, Martin (Bengoetxea)

Back to back hat-tricks for Gonzalez as he and Juan Carlos joined forces to beat Juventus here as we take control of the group ahead of Benfica.

--

v
50125.png

Real Zaragoza 3 (Bahus 29, Febas 66, Lopez 77)
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Williams 9, Juan Carlos 15, 47, Martin 38, 58)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), Williams, Juan Carlos*, Bengoetxea (Morilla), Martin

We were without Gonzalez here but he wasn't missed. Juan Carlos is really impressing and he scored two more here - both from outside the area.

--

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 4 (Juan Carlos 5, Iturrino 34, Martin 47, 73)
Celta Vigo 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Saizar, Williams, Juan Carlos, Gonzalez (Bengoetxea), Martin*

Juan Carlos got yet another goal here while Martin got a double. Gonzalez missed a penalty and we had a goal disallowed so the victory could have been by even more.

--

UEFA Champions League Group A
​​v
50125.png

​​Benfica 1 (Adria 75)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Omolade 69)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza, Melgarejo, Montes, Zubillaga (Jose Manuel), X.Lopez, Morilla (Saizar), Bengoetxea, Goni (Omolade)

******* typical. We battled hard here and took the lead when Omolade scored on his debut but our former player, Adria, levelled to deny us. We have already qualified so no harm done I suppose.

--

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 4 (Montes 27, Iturrino 28, Juan Carlos 48, Martin 66)
Girona 1 (Marsal 69)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino*, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Zubillaga, Williams (X.Lopez), Juan Carlos, Gonzalez, Martin

A good win. Juan Carlos scored yet again but unfortunately Gonzalez missed another penalty which was a shame.

--

SUMMARY

This month was fantastic. In every match bar one we scored at least 4 goals as we have really hit top form. Individually Juan Carlos has been immense and has 10 goals this season and at the moment is my first choice AMC as Saizar and Morilla are left on the sidelines. By no means is he cemented as first choice but he has the jersey at the moment.

Next month should be fun as I will be able to play my backups for a couple of games as we will face Marbella and a weaker side in the Club World Cup.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JUAN CARLOS
View attachment 17989
​​
--

LIGA SANTANDER
View attachment 17988

--

th

​​
SPAIN

UEFA Nations League Division A Group 1
esp.gif
v
aut.gif

​​Spain 2 (Martin 2, Gonzalez 82)
Austria 0

Lineup - Simon, Segura, Zabalza, Mere, Jimenez, Zubillaga, Saizar, Oliva, Joshua (Morilla), Gonzalez*, Martin

We did what we needed to do but now we just hope that Portugal don't beat Austria by more than 2 goals - qualification is in the balance. Dani Jimenez made his debut here.

--

Friendly
​​
esp.gif
v
ven.gif

​​Spain 1 (Juan Carlos 85)
Venezuela 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Iturrino, Mere, Aaron Martin (Jimenez), Saul, Zubillaga (Saizar), Williams (Oliva), Joshua (Juan Carlos*), Asensio, Martin (Manga)

A rubbish performance - Juan Carlos was on the pitch for 20min and he did enough to win us the game and get the MOM award which tells a story. Fortunately Portugal could only win 1-0 so we qualify for the next stage of the Nations League.
​
 
Last edited:
th

Telmo Zarra
1940-1955
Forward
352 apps, 333 goals

Just look at the scoring record he has!!! Zarra has the award for the top Spanish scorer in La Liga named after him (his nickname - Pichichi)) such was his scoring prowess - he was top scorer 6 times in all, has the most goals in the Copa del Rey and is Athletic's record goalscorer. He played 20 times for Spain, scoring 20 goals and won 1 league title and 5 cups in his club career.

--

Copa del Rey 4th Round 2nd Leg
50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (Goni 19, Saizar 45, Morilla 57)
Marbella 1 (Sillero 22)
(Agg: 7-1)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza, Melgarejo, Jose Manuel, Saizar* (Segarra), X.Lopez, Morilla, Bengoetxea, Goni (Omolade)

I might have expected a bigger victory here but I suppose we scored 3 goals and won easily enough so I cant complain too much.

--

v
50125.png

Valencia 2 (Fernandez 45, 61)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 6, 11, 29)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), Julia, Juan Carlos (Morilla), Gonzalez, Martin*

Valencia are a good side and they should have got something here as once we went 3-0 up they battered us. They also missed a penalty to make it 3-3 so I am very happy that we got all 3pts. Barcelona lost 5-7 to Real Madrid elsewhere!!!

--

UEFA Champions League Group A
50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 4 (Goni 41, 68, Bengoetxea 65, Saizar 67)
Dynamo Kiev 1 (Faye 17)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga (Jose Manuel), Saizar*, X.Lopez, Morilla, Bengoetxea (Barandiaran), Goni

An impressive victory by my backups. We scored some great goals here too with Saizar scoring a fine individual goal and Bengoetxea volleying in.

--

v
50125.png

Sporting Gijon 1 (Albino 67)
Athletic Bilbao 6 (X.Lopez 13, Gonzalez 31, Morilla 41, Martin 42, 68, Sancet 51)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet, X.Lopez, Morilla, Gonzalez, Martin*

A tremendous performance which was shown by the fact that all of my outfield players had a rating above 8.3.

--

FIFA Club World Cup Semi-Final
v
50125.png

​​Atlanta United 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Morilla 19)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga, Saizar, X.Lopez (Julia), Morilla*, Bengoetxea, Goni

Normally my backups trounce whatever side we meet in the semis but not here. We dominated throughout but only got the 1 goal.

--

FIFA Club World Cup Final
50125.png
v

​​Athletic Bilbao 6 (Gonzalez 3, 54pen, 90pen, Martin 13, Sancet 45, Julia 88)
River Plate 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet, X.Lopez (Julia), Juan Carlos (Saizar), Gonzalez*, Martin (Bengoetxea)

Not a bad way to win a final!!! Gonzalez now has 11 cup goals so far this season compared to 7 league goals. Jordi Julia got his 1st goal for the club here too.

--

Copa del Rey 5th Round 1st Leg
v
50125.png

​​Real Oviedo 1 (Mujica 90)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Goni 4, 45, 66, Bengoetxea 48)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga, Saizar (Santiago), X.Lopez (Julia), Morilla, Bengoetxea, Goni*

My B team scored 6 past Oviedo recently - my backups only scored 4. How many would my first team score?

--

SUMMARY

I enjoyed this month as both my first teamers and my backups got a few games and all impressed. In the league we had a couple of games but we did get a good victory away to Valencia and we still have our 100% record but we are yet to play Atletico and Real Madrid.

In the Copa del Rey we dealt with Marbella and then got an easy tie with Real Oviedo so it gives my backups a good chance. In the Champions League we have been given a decent tie against Napoli.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
INAKI GONI
​​View attachment 17894

--

LIGA SANTANDER
View attachment 17893

​
 
th

Oscar De Marcos
Midfielder
2009-current
373 apps, 32 goals

De Marcos was signed from Alaves for £350,000 and he is still a key player today. He played a huge role in getting Athletic to the Europa League final in 2011-12 season.

--

JANUARY

50124.png
v
50125.png

Atletico Madrid 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Juan Carlos 53)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola*, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), Williams (Goni), Juan Carlos, Gonzalez, Martin

After this hard fought win I am beginning to think that we might win every league match this season. Juan Carlos pounced on a rebound after Iturrino's free-kick was parried.

--

Copa del Rey 5th Round 2nd Leg
50125.png
v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Julia 28, Bengoetxea 48, Morilla 76)
Real Oviedo 1 (Drazic 63)
(Agg: 7-2)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga (Jose Manuel), Saizar, X.Lopez, Morilla*, Bengoetxea, Goni (Omolade)

--

50125.png
v
50051.png

Athletic Bilbao 3 (Sancet 4, 74, Odriozola 90)
Real Madrid 1 (Alp Cetinkaya 56)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino (Zabalza), Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet*, Williams, Morilla, Gonzalez (Bengoetxea), Martin (Goni)

This great victory means we are now 100 games unbeaten but I don't know if that's in the league or in all competitions lol. Odriozola scored a fantastic individual goal in stoppage time against his old club.

--

Copa del Rey Quarter-Final 1st Leg
50125.png
v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Saizar 16, Goni 24, Zubillaga 38, J.Lopez 86)
Girona 0

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga*, Saizar, Julia, Morilla (Segarra), Bengoetxea (Sanchez), Goni (J.Lopez)

Although Girona are a top division side I had full confidence in my backups to do the job and they did. Javier Lopez got his 1st goal for the club just days after he was promoted to my B side

--

v
50125.png

Leganes 0
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Martin 11, Gonzalez 18, 28, 52pen)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet, Williams (X.Lopez), Juan Carlos (Morilla), Gonzalez*, Martin

Martin and Gonzalez are battling it out on who is going to be our top scorer and after this game they are both on 21 goals.

--

Copa del Rey Quarter-Final 2nd Leg
v
50125.png

Girona 2 (Marsal 89, 90)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Bengoetxea 19, 20, Saizar 23, Zabalza 33)
(Agg: 2-8)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga (Jose Manuel), Saizar, X.Lopez, Morilla (Albisu), Bengoetxea*, J.Lopez (Burgos)

My backups haven't really had much league minutes but they are doing well in the cup competitions. I am a bit annoyed by the 2 late goals conceded but hey ho.

--

50125.png
v
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Martin 2, Williams 5, 56, Sancet 29, Gonzalez 53pen)
Alaves 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez (Melgarejo), Montes, Sancet, Williams*, Juan Carlos, Gonzalez (Bengoetxea), Martin

Another near perfect team performance where every player got a high average rating. We hit the woodwork many times too so it could have been more.

--
Copa del Rey Semi-Final 1st Leg
50125.png
v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Saizar 45pen, Goni 51, Burgos 72, Zabalza 84)
Real Zaragoza 1 (Isaac 82)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza*, Melgarejo, Zubillaga, Saizar, X.Lopez (Julia), Morilla (Segarra), Sanchez, Goni (Burgos)

I kept faith with my backups despite this being a semi final and they were great and scored 4 in a match for the 5th time in the competition so far. Inaki Burgos got his 1st goal for the club.

--

50125.png
v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Gonzalez 24)
Deportivo La Coruna 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola*, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), Williams, Juan Carlos (Saizar), Gonzalez, Martin (Goni)

Deportivo have been excellent this season but we should have won by more. We missed several chances including Gonzalez having a penalty saved.

--

SUMMARY

As ever January was hectic but we won every match (we still have a 100% record in the league) and got to play my backups a few times in the cups so all of my squad got game time which is good.

Its not just my first team that are excelling however as my B team are 5pts clear at the top of Liga 123 and maybe they can finally win the 2nd tier title in Spain!!

Its been a weird campaign so far. Villarreal are in a relegation battle while Atletico Madrid have also been hopeless (managed by Gareth Southgate).

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
IMANOL GONZALEZ
View attachment 17518

--

LIGA SANTANDER
​​View attachment 17517

​
 
th

Iker Muniain
2009-current
Forward
373 apps, 53 goals

Muniain (who naturally starred in this save) is the 2nd youngest player ever to have played for Athletic. He has 1 cap for Spain. Considering he is only 26y/o in real life he has a chance to become the clubs leading appearance holder.

--

FEBRUARY

Copa del Rey Semi-Final 2nd Leg
v
50125.png

Real Zaragoza 1 (Gutierrez 71)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (X.Lopez 22, Goni 29, Albisu 79)
(Agg: 2-7)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga, Saizar, X.Lopez*, Morilla (Albisu), Bengoetxea (Sanchez), Goni (J.Lopez)

More goals from my backups. Goni has scored 8 goals in the Copa del Rey this season now while Albisu got his 1st goal for the club.

--

v
50125.png

Levante 0
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Mikulic og43, Martin 55, 90)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), X.Lopez, Juan Carlos (Saizar), Gonzalez, Martin*

Earlier in the season we beat Levante 2-0 thanks to a Mikulic OG and a Martin goal. This time it was almost exactly the same but Martin scored a stunning 3rd goal late on.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg
v
50125.png

Napoli 2 (Pedrinho 49, Adamou 56)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Gonzalez 2, X.Lopez 14, Sancet 50, Goni 87)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes (Zubillaga), Sancet, X.Lopez, Juan Carlos, Gonzalez*, Martin (Goni)

Napoli proved to be tough opponents here and probably deserved something from the game but I am delighted that Goni struck the 4th goal as it gives us a bit of breathing space.

--

v
50125.png

Real Betis 2 (Sesma 60, 85)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 37, Laporte 59, Saizar 78)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), X.Lopez (Morilla), Juan Carlos (Saizar), Gonzalez, Martin

Betis are in the relegation zone but they put up a good fight here albeit that they ended up losing. Our winner from Saizar was a fantastic finish from outside of the area.

--

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (Gonzalez 17pen, Sancet 23, Goni 90)
Espanyol 2 (Daramy 12, Maksimovic 85)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Zabalza, Laporte (A.Lopez), Jimenez, Montes, Sancet, Williams (Goni), Juan Carlos (Morilla), Gonzalez*, Martin

Goni's last minute winner meant that we keep our 100% record in the league going.

--

v
50125.png

Real Sociedad 1 (Vargas 69)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Gonzalez 19pen, 72, Goni 78)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet, Williams, Juan Carlos, Gonzalez*, Martin (Goni)

Derby day joy as a Gonzalez double and another goal from supersub Inaki Goni gave us all 3pts.

--

v
50125.png

Barcelona 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Juan Carlos 18)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), Williams, Juan Carlos*, Gonzalez, Martin (Goni)

What a win this is!!!! This was one of the main fixtures where I thought our 100% record may be ended but we got the only goal of the game when Juan Carlos fired in.

--

SUMMARY

We end February in fine fettle as our victory over Barcelona leaves us 14pts clear with a game in hand and we still have our 100% record in the league. Keeping that going is our main target but things are interesting at the bottom as unbelievably both Villarreal and Atletico Madrid are in the midst of a relegation battle.

Next month we have the youth intake and tbh with the strength of my B team there isn't really a position that I need in my squad so as ever I just hope for the next Aitor Herrera.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
IMANOL GONZALEZ
​​View attachment 16805

--

LIGA SANTANDER
View attachment 16804
​​
​
 
Last edited:
th

Mikel San Jose
2009-current
Defender
372 apps, 37 goals

San Jose started his career at Liverpool before moving to Athletic where he has stayed ever since. He has 7 caps for Spain.

--

MARCH

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg
50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 7 (Gonzalez 12, 60, Sancet 19, 45, 90, Williams 22, Martin 39)
Napoli 1 (Calhanoglu 79)
(Agg: 11-3)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet*, Williams, Juan Carlos, Gonzalez, Martin

WOW WOW WOW!!!!

To win 7-1 against a decent Napoli side is some achievement. Oihan Sancet getting a hat-trick is certainly not the way things usually go!!!

--

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 4, Juan Carlos 35, Sancet 45)
Malaga 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Zubillaga, Sancet, Williams (X.Lopez), Juan Carlos*, Gonzalez, Martin (Goni)

We put in another good performance here and Sancet even got another goal. Martin had a goal disallowed so it could have been more.

--

v
50125.png

Villarreal 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Sancet 24, Gonzalez 76pen)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Melgarejo), Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet*, Williams, Juan Carlos, Gonzalez, Martin

Sancet is at it again!!! We piled on the misery for Villarreal although they are above Atletico Madrid in the table. This win secures Champions League qualification and I have £545m to spend next season.

--

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 5 (Gonzalez 35pen, 40, 45, 88pen, Martin 47)
Getafe 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Zabalza, LaPorte (A.Lopez), Jimenez, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), Williams, Juan Carlos (Morilla), Gonzalez*, Martin

For the 2nd time this season Imanol Gonzalez got a 4 goal haul and he is now 6 goals ahead of Ignacio Martin in the race to be our top scorer. Martin is 3 goals ahead in the league though.

--

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 2 (Juan Carlos 7, Gonzalez 53pen)
Real Zaragoza 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet, Williams, Juan Carlos*, Gonzalez, Martin (Goni)

--

SUMMARY

We arguably hit top form this month as we thrashed Napoli 7-1 in the Champions League and then won all of our other games comfortably without conceding a goal. Imanol Gonzalez bagged 8 goals during the month but special mention also goes to Oihan Sancet who scored 5 and Juan Carlos who has found a rich vein of form.

As for the youth intake I got a decent looking 15y/o striker who is valued at £6.5m!!!
View attachment 16703

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
IMANOL GONZALEZ
View attachment 16702
​​
--

LIGA SANTANDER
View attachment 16701

--

th

​​
SPAIN

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group G
​​
nir.gif
v
esp.gif

​​Northern Ireland 0
Spain 2 (Sergio Gomez 57pen, Oliva 78)

Lineup - Simon, Segura (Lirola), Iturrino, Mere, Jimenez, Zubillaga, Sergio Gomez, Lopez (Oliva*), Saizar, Gonzalez, Martin (Manga)

As this is the start of the new campaign I decided to drop Williams and Saul from international duty. For some reason I called up Zubillaga and started him when he is behind Montes for Athletic so I had better change that in the next squad lol.

As it was we got the expected victory while Pol Lirola and Xabi Lopez (who got injured) made their international debuts.

--

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group G
esp.gif
v
bul.gif

​​Spain 1 (Cuevas 16)
Bulgaria 0

Lineup - Simon, Segura (Lirola), Zabalza, Mere, Aaron Martin, Zubillaga, Sancet, Oliva, Juan Carlos (Morilla), Cuevas*, Martin (Manga)

Israel Cuevas of Arsenal made his international debut here and scored as he replaced the injured Xabi Lopez in the squad. Most of my players were unfit but the players that came into the side did well here. Both teams had a man sent-off.
​
 
Last edited:
th

Jose Artetxe
1950-1965
Forward
345 apps, 133 goals

Artetxe won 1 league title and 3 Copa del Reys while at Athletic. He won 6 caps for Spain, scoring once.

--

APRIL


​​v
50125.png

Celta Vigo 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Sancet 1)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Zubillaga, Sancet*, Williams (X.Lopez), Juan Carlos (Saizar), Gonzalez, Martin (Goni)

When Oihan Sancet scored in the 19th second I thought we would steamroller Celta Vigo but it was not to be. Surely we must be close to securing the title so I can field my backups!!!

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg
​​v
50125.png

Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Kane 4, 86)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Williams 54)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), Williams, Juan Carlos (Morilla), Gonzalez, Martin (Goni)

WHAT THE **** IS THIS???? A DEFEAT!!!!!

After going the whole of last season undefeated and going all of this season undefeated we succumbed to Spurs here. I am ******* raging but at the same time I am confident we will gain revenge in the 2nd leg.

--

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 55, Iturrino 57, Juan Carlos 75)
Valencia 1 (Fernandez 1)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, Iturrino, Zabalza, Melgarejo (A.Lopez), Zubillaga, Sancet (Saizar), Williams, Juan Carlos*, Sanchez (Morilla), Martin

We win the title for the 8th time in a row here and I am delighted with this win and performance as Valencia have been tough opponents. We were without several players here and Sanchez made his 1st league start but despite falling behind we bounced back in the 2nd half and comfortably won in the end.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg
50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Gonzalez 85)
Tottenham Hotspur 0
(Agg: 2-2 - Athletic Bilbao win on away goals)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino*, Laporte, Jimenez, Montes (Zubillaga), Sancet, Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Gonzalez, Martin (Goni)

Revenge is sweet. I would have loved to have thumped them 5-0 but in the end seeing them have 2 goals disallowed and us scoring a late winner will suffice lol.

--

50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (Melgarejo 13, 15, Ortola og19)
Sporting Gijon 2 (Szabadfi 6, 35)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga (Jose Manuel), Saizar, X.Lopez, Morilla (Segarra), Sanchez, Goni (Rodriguez)

The league is won so the backups come out but this time they have the pressure of keeping up our 100% record up in the league. Melgarejo scoring 2 goals is a shock but he also missed a penalty which denied him the MOM award and a hat-trick.

At 15y and 258 days Alberto Rodriguez became our youngest ever player here.

--

2602798.png
v
50125.png

​​Girona 1 (Marsal 64)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Saizar 37pen, Sanchez 49)

Lineup - Simon, Segura (S.Zabalza), A.Lopez, A.Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga, Saizar, X.Lopez (Julia), Morilla (Segarra), Sanchez, Rodriguez

The backups get the job done once again. Sergio Zabalza made his debut off the bench while Rodriguez got his 1st start and Sanchez got his 1st league goal.

--

v
50125.png

Sevilla 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (A.Lopez 78)

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez*, A.Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga, Saizar (I.Jimenez), X.Lopez, Morilla (Albisu), Sanchez, Goni (Rodriguez)

Fantastic!!!! I didn't think my backups would keep up our 100% record here but they did thanks to a wonderful free-kick from Alfonso Lopez. Inaki Jimenez made his debut here as we got up to 102pts.

--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg
50125.png
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 48, 86, Montes 90)
Liverpool 0

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte (A.Zabalza), D.Jimenez, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), Williams, Juan Carlos (Morilla), Gonzalez, Martin*

This will do very nicely. We are pretty much in the final now after our 2 late goals turned the win from a narrow one to a convincing one.

--

SUMMARY

This month was very good, although we had one major blip in our copybook but I also learned some new things about my side this month which was very surprising.

In the league we amazingly still have a 100% record as my backups have come in and done very well however I fear it will not end like that as we still have to play Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid before the end of the season.

In the Champions League we lost our first and hopefully only defeat of the season as Spurs defeated us 2-1 but we gained revenge in the 2nd leg and edged them out in away goals. In the first leg of the semi we defeated Liverpool 3-0.

As for the surprising part I looked at some of wonderful B team players and discovered 3 wonderkids in their ranks in the shape of Sergio Zabalza, Inaki Jimenez and Jokin Albisu. Zabalza looked decent and had been on the bench a couple of times, Albisu the same although he got an appearance earlier but Inaki Jimenez was never on my radar to be honest and he looks a decent CM.

With the discovery of Jimenez and Zabalza it means we have the following players with the same surnames....

3x Lopez - (Alfonso, Xabi, Javier)
2x Jimenez - (Dani, Inaki)
2x Zabalza (Aritz, Sergio)
2x Goni (Inaki, Mikel)

Not to mention 2 of my backup keepers and a B team forward with the surname Martinez lol.
--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ALEX ITURRINO
View attachment 15784

--

LIGA SANTANDER
View attachment 15783
​​
​
 
Jesus Christ looks like youre gonna win every single league game... dont think ive ever seen that
 
2Q==

​​
th

Santiago Urquiaga
1978-1987
Defender
345 apps, 7 goals

Urquiaga won 2 league titles and 1 Copa del Rey during his time at Athletic before he left to join Espanyol and he was part of their side that reached the UEFA Cup final in 1987. He won 14 caps for Spain.

--

MAY

50051.png
v
50125.png

Real Madrid 3 (Alp Cetinkaya 12, Vinicius Junior 64, Bailey 90)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Olmos og24, Gonzalez 45pen, Iturrino 83)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Iturrino*, Laporte, Melgarejo, Montes, Sancet (Zubillaga), Williams (Morilla), Juan Carlos, Gonzalez, Martin

Heartbreaking. Our 100% record in the league is over as a last minute goal denies us victory. I went with the 1st teamers as we have such a big lead over Liverpool in the Champions League so could field some backups there if needed but alas it was not to be.

--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg
v
50125.png

​​Liverpool 2 (Felix 41, Reinaldo Silva 64)
Athletic Bilbao 7 (Martin 14, 21, 69, 87, Sancet 32, Gonzalez 41, Iturrino 88)
(Agg: 2-10)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, D.Jimenez (Zabalza), Montes, Sancet, Williams, Juan Carlos (Morilla), Gonzalez, Martin*

WOW!!!! With a 3 goal lead from the home leg I expected a tight, narrow game but we blew Liverpool away with 7 goals. Martin scored 4 to move within 3 goals of Gonzalez in the race to be our top scorer.

--

50125.png
v
50124.png

​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Saizar 14pen)
Atletico Madrid 0

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, A.Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga (I.Jimenez), Saizar*, X.Lopez, Morilla, Bengoetxea (Sanchez), Goni (Rodriguez)

My backups now beat Atletico Madrid although to be fair Atletico have been horrible this season and are just clear of the relegation battle.

--

50125.png
v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Saizar 25, Bengoetxea 57)
Sevilla 1 (Astudillo 53)

Lineup - Simon, Segura (S.Zabalza), A.Lopez, A.Zabalza, Melgarejo, Zubillaga, Saizar*, X.Lopez, Morilla (Albisu), Bengoetxea, Goni (Rodriguez)

A good win with the only drawback being young Alberto Rodriguez having a last minute goal disallowed.

--

50125.png
v
2602783.png

​​Athletic Bilbao 2 (A.Zabalza 5, Goni 17)
Leganes 0

Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, A.Zabalza*, Melgarejo, Zubillaga (I.Jimenez), Saizar, X.Lopez (Albisu), Morilla, Sanchez (Barandiaran), Goni

We round off the league campaign with an easy win and it means we finish on 112 points - only 2pts dropped.

--

Copa del Rey Final
50051.png
v
50125.png

Real Madrid 1 (Alp Cetinkaya 1)
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Gonzalez 7pen, Iturrino 17, Sancet 27, 85, Williams 45)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, D.Jimenez (A.Zabalza), Montes, Sancet*, Williams, Juan Carlos, Gonzalez (Morilla), Martin (Goni)

When Real Madrid took a 1st minute lead I would never have imagined that we would go on to win 5-1. We quickly levelled and almost as quick they had a man sent-off and after that it was one way traffic.

--

UEFA Champions League Final
​​v
50125.png

Manchester City 2 (Fernandes 8, Dembele 440
[/SUP][/SUB]Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 1, 26, 56)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, D.Jimenez (Melgarejo), Montes (Saizar), Sancet, Williams, Juan Carlos (Morilla), Gonzalez, Martin*

This was a match between probably the 2 best teams in the world and as fitting with us being the most dominant team ever we just edged it thanks to a fantastic hat-trick from Ignacio Martin - he finishes the season 1 goal behind Gonzalez for the season.

--

SUMMARY

One ****** injury time goal - that's all it took to end our 100% record in the league as Real Madrid denied us but we surely gained revenge in the cup final as we humiliated them 5-1.

In the Champions League we edged out Man City 3-2 thanks to Martin's hat-trick and all is good in the world of Athletic.

In fact all is fantastic as my B team have finally won the Liga 123 as with 2 games to go they are 7pts clear at the top of the table. A truly extraordinary achievement considering the likes of Etxaniz, Lasa, Higinio, Brais, D.Martinez, M.Goni and Borrega.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
IGNACIO MARTIN
View attachment 15705
​
 
Sam91 said:
Jesus Christ looks like youre gonna win every single league game... dont think ive ever seen that
Click to expand...

..........and you still haven't you jinx you!!!!!

I used to like you lol

tbh I think I won all matches in the Aitor Herrera save but I may be wrong.
 
END OF SEASON POST

A typical season with a slight difference. We won every tournament, only lost one game but this year we had a slightly smaller squad so gave a lot of my youngsters a game that they might not normally do however I have plans afoot to change the squad a bit for my 10th season in charge.

Surprisingly enough, despite winning 37 league games and drawing the other one my highlight of the season was actually the performances of my B team as they strolled the 2nd tier to win the league for their first time.

I will now gloss over the individual aspects of the season but there are big changes afoot in the future.

--

LIGA SANTANDER
View attachment 15700
View attachment 15701

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD
View attachment 15699View attachment 15698

Goalkeeper - As usual Unai Simon played every match and was fantastic - end of story.

Defenders - All did well with Odriozola and Iturrino starring. Iturrino's goal return was halved however which was disappointing as his free-kicks weren't so good this year lol but I will forgive him.

Midfielders - Montes got the nod as Sancet's partner and he did well but only scored twice however he did get 15 assists. He didn't develop as well as I would have thought tbh whereas Zubillaga played just as well, didn't get as much assists but is valued 4 times as much!!!

Oihan Sancet was world class this season. 18 goals from CM considering he was rested for 20 odd games this season is an amazing achievement and was one of the star players of the season.

On the right wing Inaki Williams did ok as the old man proved he can still do a job while Xabi Lopez impressed too. At AMC Juan Carlos went from 3rd choice at the start of the season to 1st choice as he got into the side and went on a fantastic run of goalscoring form to cement his place. Alberto Saizar played most of his games at CM tbh but had his best season to date but Pelayo Morilla struggled when not being a first choice.

Imanol Gonzalez - alongside Sancet and possibly Martin - was probably my best player this season. 36 goals from LW is astonishing and he was immense however he is still unhappy and still has a transfer request submitted and with his contract expiring in 2 years I am quite nervy about the situation.

Forwards - Martin scored 35 and took us to victory in the Champions League from the semi final stage as he had 1 goal before the semis and ended up with 10 goals by the end. Inaki Goni scored 16 goals which was a decent return - 10 coming in the cup - but I would have liked more league goals from him.

My Player of the Season - Oihan Sancet/Imanol Gonzalez
My Young Player of the Season - Dani Jimenez
Must Do Better - Manolo Montes
Donkey of the Year - Pelayo Morilla

--

th


SPAIN

UEFA Nations League Semi-Final
esp.gif
v
fra.gif

​​Spain 3 (Joshua 10, Gonzalez 61, Sergio Gomez 64pen)
France 2 (Kimpembe 79, Mbappe 86)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Zabalza, Jimenez, Sergio Gomez, Saizar, Oliva (X.Lopez), Joshua, Gonzalez*, Martin (El Azhari)

We reach the final yet again - now can we win it for the first time? Barcelona winger Mohamed El Azhari made his debut here denying him a chance to play for Morocco in the process.

--

UEFA Nations League Final
esp.gif
v
eng.gif

​​Spain 5 (Gonzalez 8, Oliva 16, Joshua 19, 44, Sancet 35)
England 2 (Mount 25, 57)

Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Zabalza, Aaron Martin, Saizar, Sancet, Oliva, Joshua*, Gonzalez, Martin (El Azhari)

We finally win the Nations League thanks to a brilliant 5-2 victory over England. It is no coincidence that the more Athletic players we have in the squad the better we play although there were only 8 featuring here compared to 9 in the last match.


​
 
th


The End of the Road?

I was planning on maybe taking a break after next season which would be my 10th in charge but after having won the Nations League with Spain and with my B team finally winning Liga 123 coupled with my discovery of the new patch being out lol I have decided to start something new.

Also during the summer (still in pre-season tbh) I decided to sell Williams and Laporte so it certainly is an end of an era although I did bring in Joshua for £190m!!!!!!!

So here is my 9 year review.

--

SEASON BY SEASON CLUB RECORD
SEASONLEAGUECUPSUPERCOPACHAMPIONS LEAGUESUPER CUPWORLD CLUB CUP
18-193rdWINNERS----
19-20WINNERSWINNERSWINNERSSF--
20-21WINNERSWINNERSWINNERS1ST R--
21-22WINNERSQFWINNERSSF--
22-23WINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERS--
23-24WINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERS
24-25WINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERS
25-26WINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERS
26-27WINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERSWINNERS


--

LIST OF PLAYERS USED
NAMESEASONAPPGLSASSTMOMYELREDAVR
ADRIA2020-21 & 2023-25629931-6.84
Aritz ADURIZ2018-19421963--6.95
Ager AKETXE2019-202014-2-6.89
Jokin ALBISU2026-611---6.87
ANTONIO DAVID2023-213-1--6.64
Mikel BALENZIAGA2018-197-----6.86
Enrique BARANDIARAN2025-4-----6.40
BENAT2018-19402422-7.05
Kepa BENGOETXEA2023-9117215316.96
Miguel BORREGA2023-8112--7.06
Inaki BURGOS2026-31----6.77
Ander CAPA2018-2146-5-416.96
Alberto CASTANO2023-395611-6.87
Inigo CORDOBA2018-23176172723-6.78
DANI GARCIA2018-2211010644-6.92
DAVID GARCIA2018-20111----6.82
Oscar DE MARCOS2018-21133312107-7.17
Alvaro ETXANIZ2024-15-----6.83
Cristian GANEA2018-239817181412-7.31
Inaki GONI2020-118441052-6.82
Imanol GONZALEZ2023-17113349466-7.58
Gorka GURUZETA2018-195-----6.56
Ander HERRERA2019-204318445-7.16
Pablo HERVIAS2019-23154254210517.09
Ander ITURRASPE2018-2216254113-6.84
Alex ITURRINO2021-18329111114-7.27
Dani JIMENEZ2022-143115517-7.29
Inaki JIMENEZ2026-3-----6.73
JOSE MANUEL2024-13-----6.74
JOSHUA2019-2082----6.79
JUAN CARLOS2019-98161074-6.82
Jordi JULIA2024-12241--7.18
Sergio KORTAZAR2022-232-----6.65
Aymeric LAPORTE2020-272923914192717.52
Mikel LARRUCEA2021-2211----7.20
Jon LASA2021-12-1-1-6.79
Alfonso LOPEZ2018-1076235-7.04
Javier LOPEZ2026-411---6.93
Xabi LOPEZ2020-120182533-6.91
Ignacio MARTIN2021-24 & 2025-24117831336-7.33
Aitor MARTINEZ2019-2331----6.77
Inigo MARTINEZ2018-232082713134017.25
Chema MELGAREJO2022-17161861317.37
Manolo MONTES2023-1461433
72-7.14
Pelayo MORILLA
2018-336674820926.95
Iker MUNIAIN2018-2628977542314-7.08
Peru NOLASKOAIN2018-262603335619-6.97
David NUNEZ2022-715833-7.03
Unai NUNEZ2018-22322-11-7.08
Alvaro ODRIOZOLA2021-2586672633-7.47
Jordan OMOLADE2026-31----6.77
Miguel Angel OYONO2020-9---2-7.19
Endika PEREDA2020-7-----6.67
Inigo PEREZ2022-263-----6.62
RAUL GARCIA2018-19343131-6.90
Alex REMIRO2018-22 & 2024-2513-----7.12
Alberto RODRIGUEZ2026-5-----6.56
Stephane RUFFIER2022-231-----7.40
Gaspar RUIZ2025-2-----6.68
Alberto SAIZAR2019-2304035132-6.99
Mikel SAN JOSE2018-208581613-7.11
Oihan SANCET2018-32465452412-7.12
Kike SANCHEZ2024-1831---6.90
SANTIAGO2025-2-----6.70
Marti SEGARRA2024-6-----6.62
Raul SEGURA2021-141-6115-7.11
Unai SIMON2018-519--52-6.99
Jean-Louis STREULI2020-273-----6.53
Markel SUSAETA2018-2045292--6.87
UNAI LOPEZ2018-2212610123716.87
Asier VILLALIBRE2018-21637----6.65
Inaki WILLIAMS2018-27370132873619-7.22
YERAY2018-2413965215-7.15
YURI2018-221679282219-7.36
Aritz ZABALZA2020-9481010817.38
Sergio ZABALZA2026-2-----6.75
Igor ZUBELDIA2021-23416613-6.97
Borja ZUBILLAGA2018-259525331-6.82
Unai ZUBILLAGA2023-8831125-6.88



--

BEST XI

GK - Unai Simon
DR - Alvaro Odriozola
DC - Alex Iturrino
DC - Aymeric LaPorte
DL - Yuri
MC - Peru Nolaskoain
MC - Oihan Sancet
AMR - Inaki Williams
AML - Imanol Gonzalez
AMC - Pelayo Morilla
ST - Ignacio Martin

SUBS
GK - Alex Remiro
DR - Raul Segura
DC - Inigo Martinez
MC - Ander Iturraspe
AMC - Alberto Saizar
AML - Iker Muniain
ST - Inaki Goni
​
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

FMBase

Beta

Resources

Top