MAY UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg v
Manchester United 4 (Lukaku 2, 32, 74, Rashford 90pen) Athletic Bilbao 3 (Laporte 36, 65, Saizar 85) (Agg: 5-4)
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Yuri, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Muniain, Martin (Zubillaga)
Heart breaking!!!!! We were moments away from reaching the final and then we gave a stupid penalty away and when Rashford converted it it was over and we have to go at it next year.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Ganea 2) Sevilla 0
Lineup - Simon, Segura, Yeray (Iturrino), Nunez, Ganea*, Nolaskoain (Zubeldia), Sancet, Hervias, Saizar, Cordoba (Lopez), Zubillaga
Sevilla came into this match bottom of the form table and my backups managed to defeat them here thanks to an early Ganea free-kick.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Cordoba 40, Zubillaga 60) Real Betis 1 (Paulo Vitor 61) Lineup - Simon, Segura, Yeray, Nunez, Ganea, Iturraspe, Nolaskoain (Zubeldia), Hervias (Lopez), Saizar, Cordoba*, Zubillaga
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v
Espanyol 0 Athletic Bilbao 0
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Yeray, Nunez, Ganea, Iturraspe (Zubeldia), Nolaskoain, Hervias (Lopez), Unai Lopez, Cordoba, Zubillaga (Goni)
A boring end to the season match as neither side looked as though that they were bothered and to be honest I cant blame my players lol.
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SUMMARY
The final month of the season was all about our match against Man Utd and our attempt to reach our first Champions League final and it was soul destroying in the end as we had one foot in the final until we gave away a last minute penalty which sent us out.
In the league we just saw the season out without any thrills and we didn't lose a game which was nice.
END OF SEASON POST
That's the 4th season done with and in some ways it was a huge success but in others it was a failure. We retained the title and walked it to be fair and got to the semis of the Champions League and should have reached the final but for the first time in my career we didn't win the Copa del Rey so we won less trophies.
We came into the season hoping that my new young striker, Ignacio Martin, would find his feet in the top division and he certainly did that as he scored 23 league goals and 30 overall. We had a new right back in Odriozola and he was amazing and other than that it was business as usual.
In the league Barcelona gave us a challenge for the first couple of months but once we got ahead we were always going to win it and in the end we won it by 8pts and we only lost 1 game (only 3 all season in all competitions) as we strolled to the title. What was encouraging was the fact that we were the 2nd highest goalscorers in the league (Barcelona scored one more than us) and we had the best defence.
We won the Supercopa on penalties and in the Copa del Rey we were looking good as we defeated Barcelona both home and away but lost out to Atletico Madrid by a goal and they went onto win the cup.
Atletico also reached the Champions League final but ultimately lost out to Man Utd who were our conquerors. We easily won our group stage and despite having tough ties we beat both Liverpool and Juventus home and away but in the end despite leading on away goals going into injury time in the 2nd leg we conceded a penalty and that was us out.
My B team had a poor season in the 2nd tier and just avoided relegation. I think I have to sell a few players as some of the players, most notably Villalibre, didn't get picked and I think a shake up is required.
Ignacio Martin stood out as the teenager smashed in 30 goals but he was still outshone by Iker Muniain who scored an amazing 17 goals. Williams didn't get to double figures which was a disappointment as was Pedro Morilla who also got a meagre amount and needs consistency to his game.
Alvaro Odriozola was the star performer I think as my £30m right back came into the club and excelled.
Player of the Season - Alvaro Odriozola Young Player of the Season - Ignacio Martin Disappointment of the Season - Inaki Williams Donkey of the Season - Ander Iturraspe
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PRE-SEASON PLANS
Two players are leaving for sure and maybe a couple of others may join them. As for players in there are 2 or 3 players I would like to sign but at the moment they are in positions that I don't really need so it really is all about self development this summer.
A boring nil nil draw and the first time we have failed to score in a match under my tutelage. Not the best way to kick start our Nations League campaign.
To throw away a 2 goal lead is just not acceptable. Fortunately Croatia lost in the group earlier so we just have to avoid defeat against the Republic of Ireland to qualify.
PRE-SEASON POST & JULY
I just realised that this season will be strange due to the World Cup being played in December so the calendar is all over the shop with us finishing our Champions League group stage in January!!!
Our summer was very, very quiet as we haven't signed anyone so far but I have sold nearly £40m worth of players and therefore promoted some youngsters into the club. I still have 2 players that I want to get rid of and I wouldn't rule us out of signing anyone yet.
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PLAYERS OUT
Leaving for an initial £13m which could rise to £16.25m is Yuri. After 167 apps and 9 goals (as well as 28 assists and 25 MOM awards!!) he has joined Sporting Lisbon. He arguably has been our best and most consistent performer in the last 4 seasons but at the age of 32 it was time for him to seek pastures new.
For £12m (rising to £15m) and leaving us is Unai Nunez. He is a quality player but could never get a run in the side and with me having 3 or 4 hot prospects at CB I felt it was right to sell him to Ajax. He only featured 47 times for me and scored 4 goals but don't forget I got £3m in loan fees for him in the 4 seasons we had together too!
Unai Lopez is another who is gone to make way for a promising youngster as he joins Spartak Moscow for £9.5m rising to £11.75m. He played 126 times for me and scored 10 goals.
Finally Ager Aketxe joined Las Palmas for £3.6m.
I also sold some B team players to make way for some of my U19 squad. Jurgi Oteo left for £2.3m, David Garcia for £1.2m, Asier Benito left for £750,000 and Oscar Gil left on a free. I still may sell a couple of B team players.
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MOVERS IN THE SQUADS
Alfonso Lopez and Chema Melgarejo have come back from loan spells to move to the first team to replace Nunez and Yuri respectively while Juan Carlos replaces Unai Lopez after doing well for the B team last season.
Into the B team come several of my U19 squad with Oyono and Iturrino being the main ones. I do hope that they play regularly with me having high hopes for both. 16y/o Iturrino certainly has a huge future and was almost in ahead of Alfonso Lopez for the vacant first team slot following Nunez's departure.
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FIRST TEAM
Melgarejo will start as my LB and hopefully the youngster wont disappoint. Other than that its as you were although Peru Nolaskoain will partner Sancet in midfield like he did towards the end of last season as he ousted Iturraspe.
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JULY
Supercopa
v
Atletico Madrid 1 (Griezmann 35) Athletic Bilbao 2 (Martin 88, Martinez 100) AET
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams (Hervias), Morilla (Cordoba), Muniain, Martin (Zubillaga)
We sneaked this victory. We were heading for defeat until Ignacio Martin levelled with 2min to go and then we grabbed the winner in extra-time. Morilla got injured and is out for 5-6 weeks.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Kjaer 5og, Martin 45, Zubeldia 89) Sevilla 1 (Promes 90) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet (Zubeldia), Williams, Saizar (Cordoba), Muniain*, Martin
A fine start to our league campaign although I am disappointed that we conceded a last minute goal which denied us a clean sheet.
v Las Palmas 1 (Cardona 20) Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 13, 74, Sancet 69) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Zubeldia), Sancet, Williams, Saizar, Muniain*, Martin (Zubillaga)
Iker Muniain was the star of the show here as he tore Las Palmas to shreds and grabbed himself 2 goals.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Williams 55) Real Madrid 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet (Zubeldia), Williams*, Saizar (Hervias), Muniain, Martin (Zubillaga)
A great win but one I didn't realise that we had won. I was managing the game and half watching a film, made my subs and at full time I was content with a no score draw and it was only when I did my post match press conference that I realised we had won!!!
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v
Eibar 0 Athletic Bilbao 3 (Williams 68, 73, Munoz 90og) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte (Yeray), Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams*, Juan Carlos, Muniain, Martin (Zubillaga)
A comfortable win as Inaki Williams was man of the match for the 2nd game in a row. Aymeric Laporte had missed an early penalty for us. I think this was Juan Carlos' first league start for us.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 13, 54, Martinez 73) Sporting Gijon 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams, Juan Carlos, Muniain*, Zubillaga (Perez)
Williams and Muniain are on fire at the minute. Muniain got 2 goals and Williams got 2 assists. Young striker Inigo Perez made his debut here.
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SUMMARY
We have made a great start to the season. 5 wins out of 5 in the league and also grabbing the Super Cup means we have started the season on fire which is remarkable considering we didn't have any pre-season fixtures due to the early start of the season. To be 5pts clear after only 5 games is some achievement.
Iker Muniain and Inaki Williams have been unplayable this month as they have been banging in goals and providing assists. We have a had a few injuries to the likes of Saizar, Morilla, Martin and Segura so my more experienced players have led the way.
The transfer window closes at the start of next month so will review that in the next post.
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SEPTEMBER
v Tenerife 0 Athletic Bilbao 2 (Williams 33, Martin 62) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Ganea*, Nolaskoain, Zubeldia (Nunez), Williams, Juan Carlos, Muniain (Hervias), Martin
We win again. Fair play to Cristian Ganwa as he missed a 4min penalty and then went on to get the MOM award. Youngster David Nunez made his debut here.
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UEFA Champions League Group D
v TSG Hoffenheim 0 Athletic Bilbao 4 (Martin 45, 48, Melgarejo 68, Hervias 89) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Muniain (Hervias), Martin*
An outstanding performance. We had over 30 shots on goal and for a change we actually took a few of the chances. Martin's 2nd goal was a screamer as he volleyed in and Melgarejo scored from a free-kick so its nice that my new left back has that in him.
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v
Valencia 2 (Sabitzer 51, Murillo 58) Athletic Bilbao 2 (Williams 47, Sancet 90) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Lopez), Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams, Morilla, Muniain, Martin (Zubillaga)
Naturally I am delighted that we managed to salvage a draw however we had 20 shots to their 5 so we really should have won this match. Our first dropped points of the season.
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UEFA Champions League Group D v
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Muniain 34, 77, Williams 38, 78, Laporte 81) TSG Hoffenheim 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Muniain*, Martin (Zubillaga)
We were simply outstanding here and once again it was Muniain and Williams who terrorised the opposition. Muniain scored twice and got 3 assists while Williams is already on 7 goals this season - he got 8 last term!
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v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Martinez 39, Sancet 75) Leganes 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez*, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Zubeldia), Sancet, Williams, Morilla, Muniain (Hervias), Martin (Zubillaga)
We battered Leganes here but only managed to get the 2 goals. Inigo Martinez scored with a free-kick and Sancet also scored from distance.
-- UEFA Champions League Group D v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Martin 71, 81, 89, 90) Marseille 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Nunez), Zubeldia, Hervias, Saizar (Juan Carlos), Muniain (Cordoba), Martin*
For 70min we huffed and puffed and then in the final 20min Ignacio Martin smashed in 4 goals amazingly. We are pretty much through now after winning our first 3 group games.
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SUMMARY
Our excellent start to the season continued this month as we won every game apart from one when we drew 2-2 away to Valencia. We are playing some fantastic stuff and with Williams, Muniain and Martin all excelling I am left to imagine what we would be like if my AMC's started contributing regularly!!
Even my B team are getting in on the act as they are also unbeaten this season and even beat Malaga 5-1 in one match.
In other club news the stadium expansion is now completed and then I got the board to agree to extend it further so we will have a 67,000 capacity soon. At the moment we are taking in around £2.5m for home matches.
Finally regarding transfer activity I managed to finally offload Dani Garcia and Anders Iturraspe. Iturraspe is out on loan while Dani Garcia left to join Tenerife on a free. He was a decent player for me and played 131 times for me scoring 11 goals in the process.
OCTOBER
v
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Morilla 15, Martin 24, 50, 82, 90) Real Betis 1 (Carvalho 41) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Martinez, Laporte, Ganea, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams (Hervias), Morilla, Muniain, Martin*
For the 2nd successive game Ignacio Martin scores 4 goals which is some achievement.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 53, Williams 64, Zubeldia 74) Espanyol 0
Lineup - Simon, Yeray, Martinez (Oyono), Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Nunez), Zubeldia*, Williams, Morilla (Juan Carlos), Cordoba, Martin
I am happy with this win as we were without several players including Muniain, Odriozola, Segura and Sancet.
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v Villarreal 1 (Mahrez 64) Athletic Bilbao 4 (Morilla 9, Laporte 11pen, Nolaskoain 13, Martin 16) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Zubeldia), Sancet (Nunez), Williams (Zubillaga), Morilla*, Hervias, Martin
Four goals in a fantastic opening 16min destroyed Villarreal here as we started this match on fire. Just annoying that we didn't get more thereafter.
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UEFA Champions League Group D v
Athletic Bilbao 6 (Sancet 8, 62, Morilla 12, 27, Hervias 47, Cordoba 60) PSV Eindhoven 2 (Malen 26, De Jong 56)
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo (Ganea), Nolaskoain, Sancet*, Hervias, Morilla, Cordoba, Martin (Zubillaga)
We are certainly scoring enough goals just now!! Here we banged in 6 and that was without Williams and Muniain. Cordoba even missed a 2nd minute penalty.
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v Real Sociedad 1 (N'Diaye 75) Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 20, 41, Hervias 90) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet (Zubeldia), Williams, Morilla, Cordoba (Hervias), Martin*
We win the vasco derby as we beat our bitter rivals here. Martin's 1st and Hervias' goals were great finishes.
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Copa del Rey 4th Round
v
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Zubillaga 5, 33, 42, 79, Ganea 87) UCAM Murcia 0 Lineup - Simon, Segura (Pereda), Yeray, Lopez, Ganea, Zubeldia, Nunez, Hervias, Saizar (Juan Carlos), Cordoba (Goni), Zubillaga*
Young Borja Zubillaga becomes our 2nd player to get a 4 goal haul this season. I put in my backups to get them game time and they didn't let me down. Normally the cup ties are over two legs but I presume due to the World Cup happening it is just one leg this year.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Sviatchenko 9og, Williams 30, 90, Zubillaga 78, Laporte 84pen) Deportivo La Coruna 0
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams*, Morilla (Saizar), Cordoba (Hervias), Martin (Zubillaga)
We are certainly finding our scoring boots this season as we hit 5 goals for the 4th time this month. Its taken 4 years but its finally happened lol.
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UEFA Champions League Group D
v
PSV Eindhoven 0 Athletic Bilbao 2 (Zubeldia 46, Saizar 84)
Lineup - Simon, Segura, Yeray, Lopez, Ganea, Zubeldia, Nunez (Juan Carlos), Hervias, Saizar*, Cordoba (Goni), Zubillaga (Perez)
Having won the group after just 4 matches played I put out my backups here and we won easily enough. We now don't play for over a month and a half until after the World Cup.
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SUMMARY
We were on fire this month as we scored 33 goals in 8 matches averaging over 4 goals a game. Pelayo Morilla finally hit form until he got injured and the likes of Martin, Williams and even Zubillaga and Zubeldia all played well.
It is even hard to pick out our best result in the month as we put 4 past Villarreal away, thumped PSV 6-2 at home and won the Vasco derby 3-1 against Real Sociedad.
Lets just hope that when my players come back after the World Cup that we will hit the ground running again.
Ivory Coast 0 Spain 2 (Koke 9, 88) Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Martinez, Mere, Gaya (Grimaldo), Koke*, Thiago (Saul), Williams (Suso), Isco (Muniain), Asensio (Luis Alberto), Morata (Alcacer)
A comfortable win which was given to us by 2 long range Koke strikes with the 2nd being a first time volley from 30 yards that flew into the top corner.
Spain 5 (Thiago 5, Morata 33, Mere 36, Williams 44, Luis Alberto 71) South Africa 1 (Tau 16)
Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Martinez, Mere, Gaya (Grimaldo), Koke (Roberto), Thiago*, Williams, Isco (Luis Alberto), Asensio, Morata The perfect way to kick start our tournament although when they levelled I got a bit worried!
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Group C
v
France 2 (Fekir 33, Pogba 50) Spain 0
Lineup - De Gea, Odriozola, Martinez, Mere (Yeray), Gaya, Koke, Thiago, Suso, Isco (Luis Alberto), Asensio (Muniain), Alcacer
Once Suso got sent-off after 5min we never stood a chance here. Fortunately Mexico drew with South Africa so we only need a point in our final group match against Mexico to progress.
This was much more comfortable than the scoreline suggests as they only had 3 shots on goal. France beat South Africa so we qualify as runners-up.
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2nd Round
v
Holland 1 (Zirkzee 37) Spain 2 (Thiago 25, Morata 28)
Lineup - De Gea, Odriozola (Bellerin), Martinez, Mere (Yeray), Gaya, Koke, Thiago*, Suso, Asensio (Luis Alberto), Muniain, Morata
Like the Mexico match the scoreline doesn't reflect our superiority but naturally I am delighted that we got through and without the need of extra time too.
Jamaica 1-3 Croatia Colombia 0-2 Portugal France 1-0 Romania Argentina 1-0 Nigeria USA 3-2 Cameroon Morocco 1-2 Belgium England 1-0 Germany
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Quarter-Final
v
Croatia 0 Spain 1 (Muniain 68)
Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin*, Martinez, Mere, Grimaldo, Roberto, Saul, Williams (Suso), Isco, Asensio (Muniain), Alcacer (Morata)
Iker Muniain came off the bench to head us in front with his first touch to send us into the semis. Croatia only had 1 shot so we were never really troubled.
Portugal 2-1 France Argentina 0-2 England USA 3-3(p) Belgium
In a thrilling final with a total of 49 shots on goal we come out on top after a penalty shoot-out which had 20 kicks. We took the lead early on when Asensio fired home a free-kick but Ronaldo (who at 37 was the top scorer in the competition) levelled.
I thought we had won it when Saul curled in with 5min left but they levelled in stoppage time and so we went to extra-time which was a non-event.
So it went to penalties and with Portugal missing their 4th penalty Inaki Williams had the chance to win it for us but he missed. Then in sudden death they missed and it was up to Yeray to win it for us - he missed. Finally after De Gea saved Mario Rui's penalty Inigo Martinez stepped up to fire in his penalty and win us the World Cup.
JANUARY Copa del Rey 5th Round v Athletic Bilbao 3 (Morilla 39, Martinez 48, Hervias 84) Atletico Madrid 0
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Yeray, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Zubeldia), Sancet, Williams (Hervias), Morilla*, Cordoba, Martin (Zubillaga)
So after nearly two months out of action we come back to action in a huge match. I feel sorry for Yeray who would have played a load of games due to Laporte being injured but I suppose he would rather have a World Cup winners medal. In the end we just resumed to where we left as we got a comfortable victory here.
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UEFA Champions League Group D v
Marseille 0 Athletic Bilbao 2 (Zubillaga 16, Lopez 80)
So here we are in January and we just finish our Champions League group by beating Marseille with my backup side which means we have won all 6 of our games.
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v Levante 0 Athletic Bilbao 4 (Muniain 13, 36, Williams 27, Martin 45) Lineup - Simon, Segura, Martinez, Lopez, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams*, Morilla (Saizar), Muniain, Martin
We steamrollered Levante here in the 1st half and then we thought we scored a 5th through Martin in the first few minutes of the 2nd half but it was disallowed and we then took our foot off the pedal. Levante sacked their manager immediately after this match.
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Copa del Rey Quarter-Final v Eibar 1 (Mulahusejnovic 82) Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 21, 78, Williams 23)
Lineup - Simon, Segura, Martinez, Laporte (Yeray), Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams* (Hervias), Morilla, Muniain (Cordoba), Martin
Into the semis we go where we will face Barcelona.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 0 Barcelona 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola*, Yeray, Laporte, Melgarejo, Zubeldia (Saizar), Nunez, Hervias, Morilla (Juan Carlos), Muniain (Cordoba), Martin
This is the 1st time we have failed to score all season but I am delighted with this result as we had half a team out. Martinez, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Ganea and Williams were all missing while Melgarejo was forced to play while unfit. David Nunez made his first league start and did well.
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v Atletico Madrid 2 (Saul 57, Suarez 68) Athletic Bilbao 0
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Muniain, Martin (Zubillaga)
FFS!!!!!
Our first defeat in all competitions this season and now we have failed to score in our last 2 league matches. Saul scored with a speculative long range shot and old man Luis Suarez came off the bench to net the 2nd for them. Raging!!!
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v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Martin 47, 51) Alaves 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Yeray (Iturrino), Lopez, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams (Hervias), Morilla (Saizar), Muniain, Martin*
It was imperative that got back to winning ways and we did that although it took two free-kicks from Ignacio Martin to deliver the victory. Iturrino made his first league appearance here.
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Copa del Rey Semi-Final v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Martin 90) Barcelona 1 (Pogba 34) (AET Athletic Bilbao win 5-4 on penalties) Lineup - Simon, Segura, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Zubeldia), Sancet, Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Muniain (Hervias), Martin
We reach the final but we did it the hard way as we got a last minute equaliser and then sneaked it on penalties. Real Madrid will be our opponents in the final.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 7 (Hervias 8, Laporte 15, 21pen, Nunez 26, 54, Martin 33, Morilla 42) Las Palmas 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Zabalza, Zubeldia, Nunez*, Hervias, Morilla, Muniain (Juan Carlos), Martin
Somebody was going to get a hiding soon after our recent lacklustre performances and it was the bottom side Las Palmas who were on the receiving end. To win 7-0 with an understrength side is great and young David Nunez really impressed - his first goal was a screamer.
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SUMMARY
This was a tough month and we had a blip right in the middle of it as we lost to Atletico Madrid and drew with Barcelona without troubling the scoresheet but I suppose having not played for a month and a half maybe that was understandable.
In the league the highlight was the 7-0 win over Las Palmas and it means we are 4pts ahead of Atletico Madrid with 2 games in hand which is pretty good considering we dropped 5pts during the month. In the Copa del Rey we thumped Atletico Madrid 3-0 before sneaking past Barcelona on penalties in the semis and we will face Real Madrid in the final.
In the Champions League we finally finished off the group stage by beating Marseille and we will be up against their counterparts Monaco in the next round.
My B side is still pulling up trees as they are top of the 2nd tier despite me selling Villalibre for £1m as my other young strikers in the B team have forced them out of the side.
There were other departures during the month. Manuel Borrega who was a prospect in my B team left to join Inter Milan for £5.5m after they met his release clause. I am not too disheartened in losing him as with Lopez, Iturrino and Oyono waiting to break through we have plenty of options.
My backup keeper Alex Remiro has also left and joined Barcelona for £6.5m which could go up to £7.5m. Considering he has been with us since I arrived and he has only played 2 games (saved one penalty) that is a great deal.
Incoming apart from 2 regens was my new backup keeper - 36y/o Stephane Ruffier from Bordeaux for £400,000. He is retiring at the end of the season but I just needed a stop gap and a Bilbao save is not the same if you haven't signed him. View attachment 25320
Typical. Alex Remiro played 2 games in goal in the last 5 years and then I sell him and replace him with Ruffier who gets a game within a fortnight!! I had to play a weakened side here and they did just fine against a relegation threatened Celta Vigo.
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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg
v
AS Monaco 2 (Pellegri 42, Ikone 47) Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 52, 61, 89)
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte (Yeray), Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams, Saizar (Juan Carlos), Muniain (Cordoba), Martin*
A fantastic comeback. We were 2 down despite playing quite well and it wasn't until I made a triple substitution early in the 2nd half before we kicked into gear and Martin scored another hat-trick.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Williams 57, Muniain 76, 79) Tenerife 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Muniain*, Martin (Zubillaga)
We dominsted here from the kick-off but like our previous match we had to wait until the 2nd half to get the goals. Muniain missed a late penalty to deny him his hat-trick. Muniain has 8 league goals so far - 4 games he has scored 2 in each.
An entertaining game with plenty of goals. Sporting even had a goal disallowed that would have put them 1-0 up but in the end our class shone through and Martin bagged another hat-trick and he now has scored 33 goals in 31 games this season.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Williams 19, Muniain 35, Martinez 49) Valencia 0
Another convincing performance and we scored some good goals here too.
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SUMMARY
That was a hectic February!!! We did pretty well, scored loads of goals and won a load of matches which sees us have a 7pt lead at the top of the table with 2 games in hand and then in the Champions League we have a narrow advantage.
Ignacio Martin was immense this month as he scored 3 hat-tricks and 10 goals overall.
Next month is the youth intake - a star winger or a LB or even a keeper would be nice!!!!
MARCH
v Real Madrid 1 (Hernandez 53) Athletic Bilbao 2 (Martin 65, 87)
Lineup - Martin, Segura (Iturrino), Yeray, Lopez, Ganea, Zubeldia (Lasa), Nunez, Hervias, Saizar, Cordoba, Martin*
WOW WOW WOW
Sure Real Madrid are lying a lowly 7th in the table but for us to go to the Bernabeu with such a weakened side and to come out on top is fantastic.
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v Real Betis 1 (Munir 78) Athletic Bilbao 1 (Sancet 22)
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet*, Williams (Hervias), Saizar, Muniain (Cordoba), Martin (Zubillaga)
Despite being the better side we were poor here. Just one of those performances.
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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg v
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Williams 12, 45, Sancet 14, Martin 27, Muniain 47) AS Monaco 1 (Geubbels 35) (Agg: 8-3) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo (Ganea), Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams*, Saizar, Muniain, Martin
We were excellent here and blew Monaco away. Williams was on fire and Sancet's goal was a screamer as we thrash Monaco to make it into the quarter-finals.
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v Leganes 1 (Bautista 12) Athletic Bilbao 4 (Martin 1, 44, 56pen, Muniain 29) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Yeray, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Nunez), Zubeldia, Hervias, Juan Carlos (Cordoba), Muniain, Martin*
Another hat-trick for Ignacio Martin as he celebrates signing a bumper brand new deal.
--
v
Rayo Vallecano 0 Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 34, Nolaskoain 62, Laporte 87) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte*, Ganea, Nolaskoain, Sancet (Nunez), Williams, Morilla, Muniain, Martin
A now bog standard win as we have added extra goals to our game this season. Ignacio Martin got his 40th of the season. The Spain U20s were playing so I was without a few players here including Melgarejo.
--
v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Morilla 1, Williams 30, 90) Atletico Madrid 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Ganea, Nolaskoain, Sancet (Zubeldia), Williams*, Morilla (Nunez), Muniain (Cordoba), Martin
A great win and performance. Inaki Williams was the star man as he got 2 goals and has almost 20 for the season. We go again in a couple of days but we are now 13pts clear of 2nd place Atletico with a game in hand.
--
SUMMARY
This was a near perfect month as we got some big wins and only dropped 2pts to Real Betis. We kicked off the month with my weakened side going to the Bernabeu and beating Real Madrid 2-1 before we drew 1-1 with Betis. After that however we were on fire as we thumped Monaco 5-1, Leganes 4-1 and got 3-0 victories over Rayo and Atletico Madrid.
We have all but won the league as we are 13pts clear with a game in hand and we still have 9 games to play. I wonder if we can stretch the lead to 20pts by the end? In the Champions League we will play Man City in the quarter-finals.
As for the youth intake it was not bad but not amazing. I did get a decent looking left back though which was pleasing. View attachment 24397
Meh. We created enough chances to win this game but I suppose a draw isn't too bad considering I rested several players for the Man City match up next.
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UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg
v Manchester City 1 (Gabriel Jesus 83) Athletic Bilbao 1 (Sancet 76) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Zubeldia), Sancet*, Williams, Morilla (Cordoba), Muniain, Martin (Zubillaga)
A good draw with the all important away goal. Sure it was disappointing not to hold on to our lead but we can go into the 2nd leg confident now.
This win secures our Champions League spot for next season and the board have rewarded me with a huge - if unnecessary - transfer budget for next season, a whopping £248m!!!!
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UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Williams 2, 17, Martin 24, Morilla 88) Manchester City 1 (Belotti 29) (Agg: 5-2) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez (Lopez), Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams* (Hervias), Morilla, Muniain (Cordoba), Martin
I didn't expect this result but naturally I am delighted!!! We raced into a 3 goal lead and after that it was game over. Martinez, Williams and Muniain weren't really fit enough to start and usually I would have dropped them but as this game was so important I went with them and the gamble paid off.
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v Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Palencia 88) Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 39, 56, Zubillaga 78) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez (Lopez), Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Nunez, Hervias, Morilla (Juan Carlos), Muniain*, Martin (Zubillaga)
We are now just 1 win away from retaining the title. Muniain was star man as he got his 16th and 17th goals of the season here.
--
v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Cordoba 7, Martin 53, Juan Carlos 76) Eibar 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola*, Lopez, Laporte, Ganea, Nunez (Zubeldia), Sancet (Juan Carlos), Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Cordoba, Martin
CHAMPIONS!!!!
I rested a few players here and we still won easily. Juan Carlos got his 1st goal for us and Saizar returned from injury.
We thump our bitter rivals 5-1 with my backups as I decided to rest my first team and they were magnificent. Aitor Martinez - who has impressed for the B team - came off the bench to score and it was capped off when Illarramendi scored an own goal for us from 30 yards!! The only disappointment was that Ganea missed an early penalty.
I had 4 wonderkids on the pitch here and surely Iturrino and Nunez will be wonderkids in the future too.....
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UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martinez 37, 42, Williams 81) Paris Saint-Germain 1 (Neymar 2) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez*, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Zubeldia), Sancet, Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Muniain, Martin (Zubillaga)
We have 1 foot in the final after this result. We fell behind early on but got 2 goals in 5 1st half minutes to put us ahead and Williams got the killer 3rd late on.
It aint over as PSG just need a 2-0 win and with their players - Neymar, Mbappe, Alli, Schick, Tsygankov, Kovalenko, Tielemans, De Ligt, Chiesa and Lozano it is definitely a possibility. They even have Dolberg and Isak out on loan!!!
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v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Hervias 3, Ganea 8pen, Zubeldia 17) Celta Vigo 0 Lineup - Simon, Segura, Lopez, Iturrino (Yeray), Ganea*, Zubeldia, Nunez, Hervias, Saizar (Juan Carlos), Cordoba, Zubillaga (A.Martinez)
My backups do a fine job yet again!!!
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SUMMARY
This month was pretty similar to last month except that the great results were even better this month as we thumped Man City, my backups destroyed Real Sociedad and we also managed to beat PSG in the first leg of the Champions League semis which sees us so close to the final.
Oh and we won the league lol.
So going into the final month of the season we have the league wrapped up, have a cup final to play and most importantly we have a shot at the elusive Champions League.
MAY UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg v Paris Saint-Germain 2 (Schick 1, Neymar 10pen) Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 31, Nolaskoain 35, Morilla 87) (Agg: 3-5)
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Yeray), Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams (Hervias), Morilla*, Muniain, Martin (Zubillaga)
After 10min I was raging and very worried as our 1st leg advantage was completely obliterated but my players somehow found the strength to fight back and amazingly we won the game and are in our 1st Champions League final!
Even better - Atletico Madrid beat Inter Milan in the other semi so we are strong favourites for the final however they are the only team to have beaten us this season.
Young Dani Jimenez made his debut here as did Kortazar while Goni made a rare appearance and scored the decisive 2nd. Levante actually scored an 87th minute equaliser but fortunately it was disallowed.
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v Barcelona 3 (Dybala 27, Kovacic 47, Oliva 90) Athletic Bilbao 0
Lineup - Simon, Segura, Yeray, Lopez, Jimenez, Zubeldia, Nunez, Hervias, Saizar (Juan Carlos), Cordoba (Kortazar), Zubillaga (Goni)
Meh. Only our 2nd defeat of the season and I suppose it was to be expected with my backup side going away to Barcelona up against the likes of Pogba, Dybala etc.
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Copa del Rey Final v Real Madrid 0 Athletic Bilbao 4 (Varane 40og, Williams 69, Sancet 74, Courtois 85og) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Martinez, Laporte, Melgarejo (Jimenez), Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams*, Morilla (Saizar), Muniain, Martin (Zubillaga)
My first team players came out of cold storage to thump Real Madrid here in the cup final. Our 4th goal was a joke as Courtois thumped the ball of Williams and as the ball looped over him he punched it into his own net!!
Real Madrid sacked Antonio Conte immediately after the match.
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v Alaves 2 (Ruben Garcia 29, Calleri 66) Athletic Bilbao 4 (Zubeldia 8, Zubillaga 49, 69, 89)
An entertaining end to the league campaign as Borja Zubillaga's hat-trick took him into double figures for the season. Xabi Lopez became our 33rd player used in the league this season while it was a farewell appearance for Ganea who will be joining Feyenoord in the summer.
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UEFA Champions League Final
v
Atletico Madrid 2 (Griezmann 28, 83) Athletic Bilbao 5 (Martin 18, 26, 70, Muniain 35, 76)
We showed the world how far ahead of everyone else in Spain we are with this emphatic win as we smashed 5 goals past Atletico. Martin got a hat-trick to make it 14 goals for the competition this season and Muniain got a double to take his tally of the season up to 20.
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SUMMARY
One month gave us the Copa del Rey and most significantly the Champions League here as we ended the season on a real high. We saw out the league campaign with some eyecatching results from losing to Barcelona 3-0 to putting 4 past Alaves but it was in the cups where we were concentrating our efforts.
In the Copa del Rey final we beat Real Madrid 4-0 to win the trophy back and in the Champions League we won our first title by thrashing Atletico Madrid 5-2 in a one sided final.
End of season post to follow.
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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
PELAYO MORILLA View attachment 24106
(Nobody really stood out but he got his first call up to the national side)
END OF SEASON POST
Well its safe to say that this was our best season so far!!! We played the best football that we have played in my time here and scored plenty of goals and whats more we won every single competition that we were involved in which of course meant that we won our first ever Champions League.
We edged out Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa before we started our league campaign ridiculously early due to the impending World Cup in December. In the league we stormed it - we only lost 2 games and one of those was when we had the title sealed up and played my reserves away to Barcelona. We won the title by 13pts, scored 108 goals and only conceded 24 which was some record.
In the Copa del Rey we didn't have ties to be played over 2 legs for a change but we still made it to the final. Barcelona were defeated on penalties before we thumped Real Madrid 4-0 in the final.
Finally in the Champions League we were immense. We didn't lose a single game, we broke the record for goals scored by the time we reached the semis and we knocked out the likes of Man City and PSG before we thrashed Atletico Madrid 5-2 in the final. After the final an astonishing 8 of my players were in the team of the tournament.
In other news my B team - who did so well - ended up finishing 7th but they were in the top 3 for most of the season and the board have decided to spend another £20m to increase the capacity of the stadium by 4,000 seats.
In goal Unai Simon was his usual amazing self and just missed one game in which the veteran Stephane Ruffier got a token appearance and he retires in the summer.
My defence did great alongside Simon. My side scored far more goals this season but still managed to keep the opposition out most of the time as we only conceded 24 times in the league. Melgarejo was excellent in his first season at left back and had an average rating of 7.54. Odriozola was his usual excellent self and once again the centre half partnership of Laporte and Martinez were in the world team of the year and Laporte was especially good with an average rating of 7.71. Alfonso Lopez and Raul Segura also impressed and developed well.
My 2 central midfielders Sancet and Nolaskoain really came onto a game with Sancet getting into double figures for goals. Zubeldia was terrific as a backup and performed so well that I may reconsider my plans in selling him. David Nunez who came into the 1st team squad as a youngster got plenty of opportunities and did well.
On the wings Muniain and Williams were excellent. Williams scored 23 goals and got 16 assists while Iker Muniain scored 20 goals and got 15 assists as they both had their best seasons for us so far. As for the man in between them Pelayo Morilla finally began to show how good he could be as he got 15 assists and was far more consistant however he only scored 9 goals and I would expect him to get into double figures. Alberto Saizar did OK but only scored once which was a disappointment and my other wonderkid in AMC, Juan Carlos, only had 4 starts but did make 18 substitute appearances.
Finally up front Ignacio Martin had a dream of a season. 45 goals in 48 games, 14 goals in the Champions League and like Morilla and Sancet he got his first call up to the national team. His pace and finishing were top notch. His backup, Zubillaga, scored 11 goals including 2 hat-tricks and did enough to keep his place in the squad as he is under pressure from a few prospects in the B team.
Player of the season - Aymeric Laporte Young Player of the Season - Ignacio Martin Must Do Better - Alberto Saizar Donkey of the Year - Inigo Cordoba
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HOPES FOR PRE-SEASON
Well I have a shed load of cash to spend but will I spend it? Unlikely!!! There are a couple of players I have my eyes on, 3 of them have been long term targets but it is a case of am I willing to part with such a large sum of money?
Ganea is definitely leaving but I am in two minds whether or not to move a couple of other players on too. Naturally I will obviously try and promote from within where I can.
Ignacio Martin's first goal for his country makes us reach the final as he came off the bench to be the star of the show. Pelayo Morilla got his first cap here.
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UEFA Nations League Final
v
Spain 1 (Martin 17) England 2 (Rashford 10, Sterling 65) Lineup - De Gea, Odriozola, Martinez, Mere, Grimaldo (Gaya), Koke (Fornals), Sancet, Williams, Asensio (Morilla), Muniain, Martin
FFS!!!!
For the 2nd time I guide my side to the final only to bottle it. It was a tight game but England took their chances and we didn't. Too lose the final to them is infuriating as a Scotsman.
PRE-SEASON
Well this was a different pre-season!!! I had in mind to sign 2 recent regens and maybe just maybe sign a long term target for a huge fee. In the end I signed all 3 plus more besides and sold some of my most experienced and trusted players!!!! I have promoted 3 players from the lower ranks and will be using a larger first team squad this season.
It really is a case with - out with the old and in with the new - and not only that is a case of letting the kids do the work as our first team squad has the following make up -
So more than half my squad are 20 years old or younger!!!!!
Now to reveal my transfer deals so far with a few weeks of the window to go...…..
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PLAYERS OUT
The main one to depart and the only one of the starting XI is Inigo Martinez who joined Inter Milan for £36m. At 32y/o and with the youngsters coming through I decided to cash in on our world class defender and after 208 games and 27 goals he moves on with our best wishes.
Next up I sold a few players for admittedly cut price deals but I decided to do that due to opportunities arising plus our healthy financial position...….
Inigo Cordoba left to join Hoffenheim for £7.25m. He played 166 times for me and scored 16 goals but in reality out of his 166 apps 94 were as a sub.
Next up is Igor Zubielda. I had it in my mind to sell him a while back but his performances were too good however with my other transfer dealings I decided to let him go and he has joined Real Betis for £5.5m which is nearly a £2m profit. He made 41 appearances and scored 6 times.
Pablo Hervias is also on the move. He has joined Shakhtar Donetsk for a deal which could rise to £5.5m which is basically half price! After 154 apps and 25 goals he has been a decent servant to the club considering he was signed on a free.
The other first team squad member that left was Cristian Ganea who joined Feyenoord for £1.9m. He played 98 times in his 2 spells for me and scored 17 times which when I think about it was pretty special for a backup left back!!!!!
I loaned out and sold a couple of B team players above that to bring my total sales so far to £60m. Juan Carlos, my wonderkid AMC has been loaned out to Espanyol for a £1m fee.
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PLAYERS IN
Our old club record fee for a signing was the £60m I spent on Aymeric Laporte a couple of months back but I obliterated that in the summer when I splashed out £92m on Imanol Gonzalez of Barcelona. Now I didn't need a new striker at all but all that money was burning a hole in my pocket so I went for him. He was valued at £8m at Barcelona but now he is valued at £64m!!!! View attachment 23710
Tbh I baulked at paying £7m on him as a 16y/o but he has done ok at Barcelona and even scored against us a couple of times. He may play as much on the left wing t times so I can fit both him and Martin into the same side.
My next signing was also from Barcelona as I paid £4.4m to bring Adria back to the club. He will be my backup LW. I originally had planned to put the wonderkid into the B team but his value rocketed up towards £15m so that was when I took the decision to sell Cordoba. View attachment 23709
Next up is 2 16y/o signings who go straight into the 1st team squad. Manolo Montes came in from Real Oviedo for £2m while Alberto Castano came in from Malaga for £2m also. Both players will get plenty of game time this season and I feel both will be key players for both club and country in the future. View attachment 23708 View attachment 23707
Finally I brought in a regen forward from Rayo Vallecano for £800,000 who may be decent but I spent £2.5m on 16y/o striker Antonio David from Sevilla. He does look like a bright prospect although I admit that I thought he was a natural RW which appealed to me more tbh but hey - a good player is a good player!!! View attachment 23706View attachment 23705
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FIRST TEAM SQUAD
So many changes. Lets go through it by position...….
GK - Simon as usual will be first choice while Tanis Marcellan has been called up from the B side to be our backup keeper.
Defence - RB has no change, neither has left back. As for the CBs I had in mind to put Alfonso Lopez in ahead of Yeray to replace Inigo Martinez however he broke his leg in pre-season and is out for 5-6 months so I may even put Iturrino in who I called up from the B team.
Midfield - At CM, 16y/o Montes replaces Zubeldia in the squad but is ahead of David Nunez in the pecking order. Xabi Lopez has been called up from the U19s to be our backup RW while Adria is our backup LW. With Juan Carlos being loaned out 16y/o Castano will take his spot.
Forwards - Martin or Gonzalez? Who knows? Lol. As I said Gonzalez may cover as LW also and Martin in that case could cover RW. I also have wonderkid Zubillaga in the ranks too remember!!!!
AUGUST Supercopa Final
v
Real Madrid 2 (Boschilia 24, Thauvin 90) Athletic Bilbao 3 (Williams 14, 49, Gonzalez 51) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Iturrino, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Montes), Sancet, Williams*, Morilla, Gonzalez, Martin (Zubillaga)
We win the seasons showpiece opening event here. Williams put us in front (assisted by new record signing Gonzalez) and then Martin had a goal disallowed before they levelled before the break. In the 2nd half we scored 2 great goals. Williams with an individual effort and then Gonzalez brought down a long high ball in the box, beat 2 men and finished coolly for a dream debut. Not so for Montes who gave the ball away to allow them to score their 2nd in stoppage time!
Muniain is out for a few weeks so Gonzalez will play LW so my hard choice of who to play up front is delayed a while lol.
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UEFA European Super Cup
v
Liverpool 1 (Bailey 21) Athletic Bilbao 2 (Morilla 89, Martin 90)
Lineup - Simon, Segura, Iturrino (Yeray), Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams, Morilla*, Gonzalez, Martin
Well this was the late late show!!! We fell behind and throughout the game we did quite well and then when the 90th minute was approaching we scored 2 goals to steal the trophy away from them.
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v
Levante 1 (Kameni 46) Athletic Bilbao 4 (Nolaskoain 9, 67, Williams 25, Martin 44)
A nice way to kick off the league campaign. Nolaskoain surprisingly scored 2 with his 2nd being a long range screamer. We could and maybe should have scored more but I cant complain about scoring 4 goals on the opening day.
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SUMMARY
3 games in and we have won 2 trophies - not a bad way to start the season!! Our victory in the Supercopa was more comfortable than it looked but in the European Super Cup we claimed it for the first time thanks to 2 last minute goals against Liverpool. We then kicked off the league campaign with an easy win over Levante.
Imanol Gonzalez has impressed with a goal and a few assists as he has been playing on the left wing in Muniain's absence so I haven't had to decide between Gonzalez and Martin up front yet thankfully.
v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Martin 2, 8) Celta Vigo 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola*, Iturrino, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Nunez), Montes, X.Lopez (Zubillaga), Morilla (Saizar), Gonzalez, Martin
A comfortable win but after going 2 up in the first 8 minutes I am disappointed that we didn't go on and score more. Odriozola set up both of Martin's goals.
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v
Sevilla 1 (Zaza 15) Athletic Bilbao 1 (Zeca 29og)
Not good enough. We didn't create enough chances here to win in truth and we got lucky with our equaliser too. I tried Gonzalez out as a raumdeuter but he picked up a knock and is out for a couple of weeks.
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UEFA Champions League Group B v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 27, Williams 46, Saizar 83) Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Poulsen 50)
We kick off our defence of the Champions League with a decent win here. Saizar's goal was a screamer from 30 yards.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Martin 7) Real Sociedad 0
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte*, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Montes), Sancet, Williams (Zubillaga), Morilla (Saizar), Muniain, Martin
We win the derby but the performance wasn't good enough in truth. We got the early goal and hung on. Morilla has been really poor recently.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 45, Nolaskoain 48, Martin 64) Villarreal 1 (Bergwijn 27)
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino (Yeray), Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet (Montes), Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Muniain, Martin
That's a bit better although I was worried when we went a goal down. Villarreal had a 100% record going into this game so this is a good win.
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SUMMARY
I suppose I should be happy with this month as we got some good results - most notably the derby win over Real Sociedad and the wins over Leverkusen and Villarreal - but the level of performance is just not there. I suppose having introduced so many young players into the squad that could have been expected but in saying that Morilla has been playing for a couple of seasons now and he has been ****.
My frustration and anger is made worse by Spain's results (see below) which really ****** me off!!!!
Anywho apart from a Champions League match against Juventus we have a kind fixture list next month.
At the end of the transfer window I brought back Manuel Borrega back to the club on loan from AC Milan to play with the B team.
SPAIN
UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group J
v
Spain 2 (Rodri 19, Asensio 25pen) Moldova 0 Lineup - De Gea, Odriozola (Maffeo), Martinez, Mere, Gaya*, Saul, Rodri, Williams, Fornals (Morata), Asensio, Martin (Gonzalez)
A win but it should have been by 6 or 7. We had nearly 30 shots on goal while Moldova didn't have 1!! Pablo Maffeo and my own Imanol Gonzalez made their international debuts here.
Quite possibly the worst result in my years of playing this game. We were pathetic even though we outshot them 18 to 4 we never looked like scoring. They even had a man sent-off with 10min to go but still we didn't create a chance.
We are 3rd in the group but we have a game in hand however we have to play Holland away in our next match.
OCTOBER
v
Sporting Gijon 1 (Iturrino 22og) Athletic Bilbao 3 (Williams 2, Martin 41, Laporte 51pen)
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Iturrino, Laporte*, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams, Morilla, Muniain (Adria), Martin (Gonzalez)
We were helped here as Sporting gave us a penalty and had 2 men sent-off although the last one was sent-off late on. Martin has scored in 5 of our 6 league games so is keeping Gonzalez out just now.
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UEFA Champions League Group B
v
Juventus 2 (Kean 37, Everton 77) Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 19) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Jimenez, Nolaskoain (Montes), Sancet, Williams, Morilla (Gonzalez), Muniain (Adria), Martin
Not good enough. We failed to win here despite playing against 10 men for most of the 2nd half. We had 2 goals disallowed too from Martin and Gonzalez. Just one of those days.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Montes 86) Huesca 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Yeray, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Nunez), Montes*, Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Gonzalez, Martin (Muniain)
Another really poor performance. We created nothing and flattered to deceive but we got the win thanks to Montes' first goal for the club and it was memorable as he smashed one in from 30 yards to become the clubs youngest ever scorer.
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v Alaves 0 Athletic Bilbao 1 (Martin 76)
Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte*, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet (Montes), Williams (Zubillaga), Morilla, Gonzalez, Martin
Once again we were **** but we got a goal when Gonzalez set up Martin and the game was done.
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UEFA Champions League Group B v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Adria 17, Gonzalez 25) Olympiakos 1 (Guerrero 45pen)
I took a risk considering our recent performances in playing my backup players here and they did well and got the win. Adria got his first goal for the club and Gonzalez also got a morale boosting goal.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Gonzalez 10, 29, Williams 15, Adria 78) Real Betis 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams, Morilla (Saizar), Gonzalez* (Adria), Martin (Zubillaga)
Now that's much better!!!! We were excellent here and fully deserved the win. The only downside was the injuries to Morilla and Gonzalez but neither are too serious.
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SUMMARY
This month was a bit of a struggle. We won all of our matches apart from a very poor defeat away to Juventus but apart from the final match when we thumped Real Betis our performances yet again were well below the standards that I am expecting.
That being said I am complaining when we are top of the league, looking good in Europe and when you are annoyed at a narrow defeat away to Juventus it shows how far we have come.
My Spain side put their disappointments of the previous month behind them with 2 great victories and next month I have a grudge match against the country that humiliated us - FYR Macedonia.
From the depths of despair against FYR Macedonia to the highs of this match. Suso - who scored the opener the last time we played Holland - stabbed home from the edge of the area after a defensive mix up and then Asensio wrapped it up. Nolaskoain made his Spain debut here.
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UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group J
v
Spain 4 (Morilla 31, Gonzalez 45, 90pen, Williams 52) Bulgaria 0 Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Martinez, Mere, Aaron Martin, Sancet (Fornals), Saul, Williams, Morilla, Gonzalez*, Martin
3 Bilbao players scored the goals here as Pelayo Morilla and Imanol Gonzalez got his first goals for their nation here.
NOVEMBER Copa del Rey 4th Round 1st Leg
v
Burgos 0 Athletic Bilbao 1 (Saizar 72) Lineup - Simon, Segura, Iturrino*, Yeray, Jimenez, Nunez, Montes (Lasa), X.Lopez, Saizar (Castano), Adria, Zubillaga
I expected my youngsters to beat Burgos far more comfortably and in the end Burgos had a last minute equaliser disallowed. Hopefully we will win more handsomely in the 2nd leg.
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v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Iturrino 45, Williams 51, 70, 86pen) Espanyol 1 (Iglesias 7) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola (Segura), Iturrino, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams*, Saizar (Castano), Gonzalez, Martin (Zubillaga)
We started off poorly here and fell behind early on and tbh were awful in the 1st half but Iturrino's first goal for the club - direct from a free kick - brought us level and in the 2nd half it was the Gonzalez and Williams show as Williams scored a hat-trick and Gonzalez got 2 assists.
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UEFA Champions League Group B v
Olympiakos 0 Athletic Bilbao 1 (X.Lopez 83)
Lineup - Simon, Segura, Yeray, Laporte, Jimenez, Nunez, Montes, X.Lopez*, Saizar (Castano), Adria (Muniain), Zubillaga (Gonzalez)
Xabi Lopez scored his 1st goal for the club got us the win here as my backups came in and did the job.
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v Real Valladolid 0 Athletic Bilbao 1 (Gonzalez 33) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola*, Iturrino, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet (Montes), Williams, Saizar (Castano), Gonzalez, Martin (Adria)
Considering Valladolid are bottom of the table without a win I feel we should have won far more convincingly but a win is a win.
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v Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Zalazar 37) Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 25, 41, Melgarejo 83) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Oyono, A.Lopez (Borrega), Melgarejo*, Nolaskoain, Sancet (Montes), Williams, Morilla (Muniain), Gonzalez, Martin
We went into this game with 3 of my CBs injured so Oyono came in from the B side and Alfonso Lopez returned from breaking his leg in the summer but he could only play for 45min so Borrega from the B side was also called up. In the end we played well and scored 3 good goals.
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UEFA Champions League Group B v Bayer Leverkusen 2 (Selke 6, Paulinho 20) Athletic Bilbao 2 (X.Lopez 45, Gonzalez 77)
Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Oyono, Jimenez, Nunez, Montes (Lasa), X.Lopez, Saizar (Castano), Muniain (Adria), Gonzalez
A decent point considering we were away from home against a decent team and I had my backups out there. Especially when you consider that we fought back from 2-0 down. The point secures qualification to the next stage but we have to beat Juventus to top the group.
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SUMMARY
We weren't at our best this month yet again as we just scraped by in some games but we were unbeaten and are sitting pretty at the top of the league - alongside Barcelona - so I am happy that we are doing so well while not playing at our best.
In the Champions League we qualified for the next stage but I want to top the group so we have a huge match against Juventus next month to see who will win the group.
We win the game and therefore the group as Pelayo Morilla finally puts in a good performance!
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Atletico Madrid 1 (Jovic 59) Athletic Bilbao 1 (Martin 12)
Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Laporte, Melgarejo (Jimenez), Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams, Saizar (Castano), Gonzalez (Muniain), Martin
A decent point but we should have been out of sight in the first half as we tore Atletico apart but only had a single goal to show for our efforts at half-time and in the 2nd half they were the better side and deserved their point in the end.
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FIFA Club World Cup Semi-Final
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Los Angeles FC 0 Athletic Bilbao 2 (Montes 38, Castano 89pen) Lineup - Simon, Segura, A.Lopez, Nolaskoain, Jimenez, Nunez, Montes*, X.Lopez, Saizar (Castano), Muniain (Adria), Zubillaga
We reach the final with a dominant win. Montes was superb and his goal was a moment of genius as he bent a free-kick round the wall and into the top corner from 25 yards.
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FIFA Club World Cup Final
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Athletic Bilbao 7 (Martin 15, 16, Gonzalez 48, 89, Morilla 65, Balerdi 85og, Sancet 90) Boca Juniors 0 Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, A.Lopez, Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain (Montes), Sancet, Williams (Castano), Morilla, Gonzalez*, Martin
WOW!!! That's the way to win a final and our first ever Club World Cup title.
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Copa del Rey 4th Round 2nd Leg v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Zubillaga 73)
Burgos 0 (Agg: 2-0)
To only win 1-0 in both legs against a non league side is just not on. That being said we should have won by 5 or 6 here. We have another non league side - Marbella - in the next round so my youngsters will get another chance to show what they can do.
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v Athletic Bilbao 3 (Martin 59, 88, Gonzalez 78) Barcelona 1 (Coutinho 89) Lineup - Simon, Odriozola, Iturrino (Yeray), Laporte, Melgarejo, Nolaskoain, Sancet, Williams (Muniain), Morilla (Saizar), Gonzalez, Martin*
The perfect way to end the year as we thrash Barcelona 3-1 but it should have been by 6 or 7 such was our dominance. Before the match all the talk was about Gonzalez facing his former club and I was just about to put him up front and sub off Martin when the 2 combined to put us ahead. I then subbed off Williams, put Martin on the wing and Gonzalez up front and then both got a goal each. Perfect!!
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SUMMARY
We ended 2023 on a high as we had an excellent month. We progressed in the Copa del Rey although I would have liked to have scored more goals and we also topped our Champions League group by defeating Juventus - Tottenham Hotspur will be our opponents in the next round.
In the league we had 3 tough fixtures and did very well. We beat Valencia, drew away with Atletico Madrid before thumping Barcelona at the San Mames to open up a 3pt lead at the top of the table.
In the World Club Cup we beat Los Angeles FC before humiliating Boca Juniors 7-0 in the final to win the trophy for the first time.
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