Aitor Herrera - Back In Bilbao

[Klippybo]

OCTOBER

UEFA Champions League Group G

v
Besiktas 1 (Epureanu 13)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Villalibre 84, 90)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga (Ganea), Merino, Iturraspe, Williams, Raul Garcia (Aketxe), Muniain, Aduriz (Villalibre*)

We were a goal down and really struggling here but they had a man sent-off with 15min to go and we took advantage of that by scoring twice in the later stages through Asier Villalibre.

--

v
​​Real Madrid 2 (Bale 41, Ronaldo 62)
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Iturraspe (Benat), Williams (Aketxe), Raul Garcia, Muniain, Aduriz (Villalibre)

Our unbeaten start to the season ends here as Real deservedly beat us. Aketxe missed a penalty for us late on.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 4 (Aduriz 38, Aketxe 58pen, Iturraspe 70, Merino 72)
Granada 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Iturraspe*, Williams (Capa), Aketxe, Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz

A fine performance which gives us the victory that puts us top. Muniain and Williams got injured though. Once again an opposition player was sent-off against us.

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UEFA Champions League Group G

v
​​FC Porto 2 (Aboubakar 32pen, 71)
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez (Yeray), Balenziaga (Ganea), Merino, Iturraspe, Aketxe, Raul Garcia, Cordoba, Aduriz (Villalibre)

We were awful here and FC Porto should have scored more. All 4 teams are on 4pts after 3 games - going to be interesting!!

--

v
​​Espanyol 1 (Coman 22)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Raul Garcia 54)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Iturraspe (Benat), Williams, Raul Garcia, Cordoba (Aketxe), Aduriz (Villalibre)

Another poor performance but at least we escaped with a point. Villalibre almost won it for us at the end but it was not to be.

--

Copa del Rey 4th Round 1st Leg
v
​​Hercules 0
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Cordoba 8, Aketxe 12, 26, Villalibre 29)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Capa, Yeray, Nunez, Lekue, Benat (Armillas), Vesga (Zerhouni), Aketxe, Iribarren, Cordoba*, Villalibre (Goni)

Not bad from my backups although after scoring 4 in the 1st half hour I am pretty annoyed at not scoring any more.

--

SUMMARY

We weren't at our best this month. Our performances dipped on the whole although we did get 2 handsome wins but we were also lucky in some games in which we did get a result. We have had a few injuries which hasn't helped I suppose.

In the league we are doing OK, in the Copa del Rey we did well and as for the Champions League - who knows? lol

My B team are definitely in a relegation battle btw. Just keeping their noses above water at the minute and if I can I will help them in January.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
AGER AKETXE
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LEAGUE TABLE
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[Klippybo]

NOVEMBER

​​v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Williams 66)
Malaga 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga*, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Iturraspe (Benat), Williams, Raul Garcia (Iribarren), Cordoba, Aduriz (Villalibre)

Not a great performance but we did score a great team goal which ended with Williams converting Cordoba's cross. They had a man sent-off in the last minute. Iturraspe got injured and is out for a couple of months.

--

UEFA Champions League Group G
v

​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (San Jose 35, Aduriz 60, Capa 82)
FC Porto 2 (Oliver 54, Raphinha 61)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat (Vesga), Williams, Raul Garcia (Iribarren), Cordoba (Capa), Aduriz

This was an entertaining match and we just came out on top. Capa came off the bench to score the winner and he also had a last minute goal disallowed. Besiktas also won so we are on 7pts while Porto and Inter are on 4.

---

v
​​Real Betis 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Vesga 89)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat (Vesga*), Capa (Aketxe), Raul Garcia, Cordoba, Aduriz (Villalibre)

VESGA AT THE DEATH!!!!

Without 3 of my 1st choice players this was always going to be tough and it was my surprise player of last season, Vesga, who came off the bench to score the winner and get the MoM award in his first appearance in the league this season.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 5 (Aduriz 19, 33, 68, 72, Inigo Martinez 32)
Real Sociedad 3 (Januzaj 20, 90, Llorente 76)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos (Yeray), San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat (Vesga), Williams, Raul Garcia (Aketxe), Muniain, Aduriz*

WHAT A DERBY!!!!

Aduriz, who just announced his impending retirement, was the star of the show as he scored 4 times for us as we beat our bitter rivals.

--

UEFA Champions League Group G
v
​​Inter Milan 4 (Perisic 35, 68, 85, Icardi 90)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 73, Aduriz 88)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez (Yeray), Balenziaga (Ganea), Merino, Benat, Williams, Raul Garcia (Aketxe), Muniain, Aduriz

Things just got awkward!!! Porto won too so we go into the last game with all the sides on 7pts and we are currently bottom!!

--

SUMMARY

November was a decent month. The highlight was obviously the thrilling victory in the derby over Real Sociedad where Aduriz scored 4 and there was also an entertaining victory over FC Porto.

Our Champions League campaign is precariously placed. If we beat Besiktas we go through, a draw may see us in 3rd spot but we shall see. I have never been in a situation like it. Tbh the domestic league table at the top is almost as tight!

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ARITZ ADURIZ
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LEAGUE TABLE
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[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aduriz 44pen)
Real Zaragoza 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Vesga (Ganea), Williams, Raul Garcia, Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz (Villalibre)

The scoreline didn't do our performance justice as we battered Zaragoza here having 25 shots to their 3. In the end it was a penalty that won it for us. This win puts us top!

--

UEFA Champions League Group G
v

​​Athletic Bilbao 5 (Muniain 14, 40, Raul Garcia 29, 47, 55pen)
Besiktas 1 (Adriano 10)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat, Williams, Raul Garcia*, Muniain, Aduriz (Villalibre)

Nothing to worry about here!!! When we fell behind I was thinking that I couldn't believe we were going to finish bottom but we bounced back and smashed 5 past them to finish on 10pts and in 2nd place. Porto won the group.

--

v
​​Levante 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aketxe 90)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga (Ganea), Merino, Benat*, Williams, Raul Garcia (Aketxe), Muniain, Aduriz (Villalibre)

This was a dull match tbh. They had a man sent-off after 25min but we struggled to create anything and then Aketxe popped up in the last minute with a scorcher to win it for us.

--

v
​​Celta Vigo 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Raul Garcia 25)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino (Vesga), Benat (Aketxe), Williams, Raul Garcia, Muniain, Aduriz (Villalibre)

That's 6 wins in a row in the league now and 5 of them have been 1-0! Celta battered us in truth and had 29 shots to our 13 but we got the goal. Merino, Benat and Aduriz all picked up knocks here.

--

Copa del Rey 4th Round 2nd Leg
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (Villalibre 19, Iribarren 53, Aketxe 68)
Hercules 2 (Fernandez 89, Juli 90)
(Agg: 7-2)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Lekue, Yeray (Galarza), Nunez, Ganea, Vesga, Armillas (Zerhouni), Aketxe*, Iribarren, Cordoba, Villalibre (Iribar)

We were 3up and cruising and then Arrizabalaga got injured so I was down to 10 men with a forward in goal and we conceded two so we just hung on in the end. Arrizabalaga is out for a few weeks.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 16)
Atletico Madrid 3 (Griezmann 5, Gameiro 74, Godin 90)

Lineup - Remiro, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Vesga, Benat, Williams, Raul Garcia (Iribarren), Muniain, Villalibre (Aketxe)

That's 5 wins out of 5 for Atletico against us. We were without our 1st choice CM pairing, GK and CF so it is no surprise that we got beat.

--

SUMMARY

That's the end of 2018 and we are looking in good shape. Sure we are 5th in the league but we are only 2pts off the top - not that I think that we can realistically win the title! We haven't been battering teams really and have been keeping things tight and sneaking games by the odd goal many times.

We have been given favourable draws in the cups. In the Copa del Rey we will face Deportivo La Coruna while in the Champions League we got the easiest possible draw - Lyon - who we defeated last season.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RAUL GARCIA
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LEAGUE TABLE
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[Tracz]

Sorry i aint commented much mate.
Your clearly having a solid season. Keep it up and you never know maybe you could stay in with a chance of challenging for the title......

 

[Klippybo]

JANUARY

​​v
​​Rayo Vallecano 2 (Awoniyi 22, Ba 28)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Aduriz 40, 48pen, 80)

Lineup - Remiro, De Marcos (Capa), San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga (Ganea), Vesga, Benat, Williams, Raul Garcia (Aketxe), Muniain, Aduriz*

He may be retiring in the summer but this is Aduriz's 3rd hat-trick in the league this season. We haven't had many comebacks in my time here but this one was most welcome!!! I think it may be time to give Ganea a run at LB as Balenziaga hasn't really impressed this season so far - Ganea is worse defensively but miles better going forward.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 2 (San Jose 58, Aduriz 88)
Alaves 0

Lineup - Remiro, De Marcos, San Jose*, Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Benat (Aketxe), Iturraspe, Williams (Capa), Raul Garcia, Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz

A good win but it comes at a cost as both Williams and Iturraspe (on his return) got injured and are both out for a few weeks.

--

Copa del Rey 5th Round 1st Leg
v
​​Deportivo La Coruna 2 (Borges 11, Alegria 19)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (De Marcos 30, Merino 61)

Lineup - Remiro, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Ganea (Balenziaga), Merino, Benat (Vesga), Aketxe, Raul Garcia*, Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz

Not bad. 2 away goals and we aren't behind so I am fairly confident in going through. Aketxe picked up a knock here to add to our growing injury list.

--

v
​​Barcelona 3 (Paulinho 34, Messi 59, Dembele 73)
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Remiro (Arrizabalaga), De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat, Capa (Lekue), Raul Garcia (Iribarren), Muniain, Aduriz

We didn't turn up here. Every single player was poor and we weren't helped that my keeper got injured and was replaced by my usual 1st choice who was still carrying an injury! Remiro is out for 5-6 weeks so hopefully Arrizabalaga will be fully fit soon!!!

--

Copa del Rey 5th Round 2nd Leg
v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Capa 9, Muniain 18, Aduriz 97)
Deportivo La Coruna 2 (Juanmi 32, Borges 44)
(AET - Agg: 5-4)

Lineup - Atangana, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez (Yeray), Ganea, Merino (Vesga), Benat, Capa, Raul Garcia (Iribarren), Muniain, Aduriz

My players are absolutely ******!!! With the niggling injuries - combined with so many games in such a short space of time - we are down to our bare bones and Muniain got injured here. At least we won though!!!!

--

v
​​Sevilla 3 (Muriel 9, 39, Sarabia 35)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Aduriz 46, 64)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez (Yeray), Ganea, Merino (Vesga), Benat, Capa (Goni), Raul Garcia, Cordoba, Aduriz

My goalie is not match fit, I had 4 first choice players out and Ganea is getting his 1st run in the team so to win was always going to be a tough ask. At 3-0 down I thought we were going to get beat by 5 or 6.

--

Copa del Rey Quarter-Final 1st Leg
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 0
Barcelona 2 (Coutinho 30, Roberto 47)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Merino, Iturraspe, Capa (Goni), Raul Garcia (Iribarren), Cordoba, Aduriz (Villalibre)

That will be us out then!!!! Cant see us winning by 3 clear goals in the Nou Camp.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (Aduriz 20, 27pen, 48)
Villarreal 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez (Yeray), Ganea, Merino, Benat (Vesga), Capa (Aketxe), Raul Garcia, Cordoba, Aduriz*

Back to winning ways in the league as Aduriz scored his 4th hat-trick in the league this season - not bad for a near 40 year old!!!

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Copa del Rey Quarter-Final 2nd Leg
v
​​Barcelona 4 (Messi 2, 34, 45, Abel Ruiz 65)
Athletic Bilbao 0
(Agg: 6-0)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos (Capa), San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Merino, Iturraspe, Williams, Raul Garcia (Aketxe), Cordoba, Aduriz (Villalibre)

Our heaviest defeat and not a good game to be put through. The tie was already over so maybe I should have rested a few players but hey ho.

--

SUMMARY

January is always a tough month and this one was no different. With the amount of games, the amount of injuries and the strength of our opponents combined ensured that this month was a real struggle. Once a few regens develop and I have a much stronger squad and when I get a more favourable cup draw we will manage much better!!!

Aritz Aduriz was on fire though as the 37y/o scored 10 goals during the month and actually triggered a contract extension even though he has already announced his retirement at the end of the season!

I made one signing in the January transfer window. Domingo was brought in on loan from Valencia. The 16y/o looks like he may be a very good player when he develops so I loaned him to ensure he has Basque nationality.
View attachment 62068

Finally after our 4-0 defeat to Barcelona this popped up on my news screen....
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The players are refunding the supporters after the thumping!!!! Never seen that before.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ARITZ ADURIZ
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LEAGUE TABLE
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[Tracz]

Things defo are getting tough mate.
Hopefully you can keep scrapping through with decent results.
It is going to be hard for you to challenge for the league this season with the lack of depth, but you are getting a good squad mate.
Keep it up!

 

[Sam91]

Good to see you back where it all began!!! I know what you mean about the site and interaction, its certainly not the same as back in the day mate! Not sure if its because of the game in general or maybe something else.

Anyway looks like its all going good at Bilbao! Not sure you'll ever pull another Aitor out the bag but who knows looking forward to seeing how it all goes.

 

[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY

​​v
​​Athletic Bilbao 4 (Aduriz 21pen, 46, 86, Cordoba 37)
Valencia 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Ganea (Balenziaga), Merino, Iturraspe (Benat), Williams, Raul Garcia, Cordoba, Aduriz*

WHAT A WIN!!!! Valencia are top of the table and we crushed them here and Aduriz notched another hat-trick (2 in 2 league games).

--

v
​​Leganes 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aduriz 35)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose (Yeray), Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Merino, Iturraspe, Williams (Aketxe), Raul Garcia, Cordoba (Muniain), Aduriz

That's 3 wins in a row now. Aduriz scores yet again and yet again the opposition had a man sent-off.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 53, Lasso og62, Villalibre 89)
Las Palmas 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Merino, Iturraspe, Williams, Raul Garcia (Aketxe), Muniain*, Aduriz (Villalibre)

4 wins in a row, 4 clean sheets and Villalibre got his 1st league goal for us. Aduriz missed a penalty.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aketxe 87)
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 36, 54)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos (Nunez), Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Merino, Iturraspe, Williams (Benat), Raul Garcia (Aketxe), Muniain, Aduriz

We were lying in 2nd place in the table while they were 4th but we couldn't get a result here unfortunately. Before the match San Jose got injured and is out for 2 months and during the match Raul Garcia got injured and is also out for 2 months!

--


UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 2 (Aketxe 79, Villalibre 89)
Lyon 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Merino, Iturraspe, Williams (Iribarren), Aketxe*, Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz (Villalibre)

That should be enough for us to progress. We made hard work of it though as they had a man sent-off in the 1st half.

--

SUMMARY

After a miserable January we had a fantastic February as we won 4 out of 5 matches. We are still very much in with a shout for an unrealistic title but apart from Valencia we have a worse head to head record against everyone challenging.

An update on my B side - 6 wins in a row, 10 wins out of 12 has propelled my B side up to an incredible 5th place in the division below us!! Absolutely incredible.

On to March and the all important youth intake.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ARITZ ADURIZ
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LEAGUE TABLE
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[Klippybo]

Good to see you back where it all began!!! I know what you mean about the site and interaction, its certainly not the same as back in the day mate! Not sure if its because of the game in general or maybe something else.

Anyway looks like its all going good at Bilbao! Not sure you'll ever pull another Aitor out the bag but who knows looking forward to seeing how it all goes.

Cheers. I remember when we ruled the world in this site lol.

Always living in hope to getting another Aitor!!!!

 

[Klippybo]

MARCH



​​v
​​Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Fajr 4)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Merino 48, Ganea 74)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, Yeray (Nunez), Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Merino, Iturraspe, Williams, Aketxe (Iribarren), Muniain, Aduriz

A hard fought win against struggling Deportivo. Our winner was a fantastic free-kick from Ganea.

--

v
​​Granada 1 (Carcela 82)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Cordoba 69, 87)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Merino, Benat, Williams, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba*), Aduriz (Villalibre)

Winning is nice but what puzzles me is that Cordoba comes off the bench, plays left wing and scores twice where as Williams has only 3 goals all season!

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 44, 60, Villalibre 79)
Espanyol 1 (Hadzic 88)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Merino (Benat), Iturraspe, Williams, Aketxe, Muniain*, Aduriz (Villalibre)

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 2 (Bartra og54, Aketxe 69)
Real Betis 2 (Tello 59, Sanabria 68)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos (Nunez), Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Benat, Iturraspe, Williams, Aketxe, Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz (Villalibre)

This was a very entertaining match and a draw was probably a fair result.

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UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg
v
​​Lyon 2 (Cornet 8, Geubbels 36)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Villalibre 80)
(Agg: 2-3)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Ganea (Balenziaga), Merino, Iturraspe, Williams (Iribarren), Aketxe, Muniain, Aduriz (Villalibre)

We were very poor in this match. Aduriz cant score at the minute while Inaki Williams has been useless all season but I really cant afford to drop him. 2 of my subs, Villalibre and Iribarren combined to get our vital goal.

--

v
​​Malaga 1 (Jony 84)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Williams 4, 14, Ricca og37, Aduriz 45)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Merino, Iturraspe (Vesga), Williams*, Benat (Iribar), Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz

What a win!!!! Williams finally decided to put in a performance and he really was superb. To be fair Malaga matched us but we were ruthless in front of goal.

--

SUMMARY

March was a good month as we kept things ticking over in the 2 competitions that we are in. We are hanging on in there with regards to the title race but it would still be an incredible and an unlikely achievement if we were to win it. That being said we do play Barcelona at home but then again we are hopeless against the big teams.

In the Champions League we knocked out Lyon but have been given a tricky draw in the quarter-finals against Juventus.

As for the youth intake it was very good and apparently a golden generation!!! I got 3 or 4 players with a 4 star potential rating and there were a couple rated at 3 stars......
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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MIKEL MERINO
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LEAGUE TABLE
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[Klippybo]

APRIL

v
Real Sociedad 1 (Prieto 83pen)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Williams 74, Vesga 80)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga*, Merino, Iturraspe (Vesga), Williams, Aketxe, Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz (Iribar)

This is a fantastic victory in the Vasco derby. Big plaudits go to Balenziaga who came back into the side and got the MoM award with his 2 assists. Hopefully Williams continues to score - he must get to double figures and is on 6 just now.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aduriz 50)
Levante 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino*, Iturraspe (Vesga), Williams (Capa), Aketxe, Cordoba (Iribar), Aduriz

We were not at the races here and were very fortunate to get all 3pts. All we can do is keep on winning and see where we end up!

--

v
Real Zaragoza 1 (Eguaras 56)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Cordoba 10, 49, Aduriz 59, Iribarren 86)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos (Capa), Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Iturraspe (Benat), Williams, Aketxe (Iribarren), Cordoba*, Aduriz

Another fantastic victory and our away form is great at the minute. They had a man sent-off at 1-0 which helped while Iribarren came off the bench to score on his 18th birthday.

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UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg
v
Juventus 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Iturraspe 17)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos (Lekue), Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino (Benat), Iturraspe*, Williams, Iribarren, Muniain, Aduriz (Capa)

UNBELIEVABLE!!!! I really didn't give us much of a chance but we somehow won this match. We took the lead when Iturraspe thundered home a volley from 20 yards and after that we just defended well as they bombarded our goal.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Vesga 40)
Celta Vigo 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, Yeray, Inigo Martinez, Ganea, Benat, Vesga* (San Jose), Williams, Iribarren, Cordoba (Capa), Aduriz (Iribar)

With the 2nd leg against Juventus coming in a few days I rested a few players here but unfortunately Aduriz picked up a little knock and will be touch and go. We won again though thanks to Vesga's 30 yard screamer. San Jose returned from injury here too.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg
v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aduriz 47pen)
Juventus 0
(Agg: 2-0)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Iturraspe (Vesga), Williams, Iribarren (Benat), Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz

My team continue to perform as we edge out Juventus here thanks to a penalty from the new record holder of being the oldest goalscorer in the Champions League - Aritz Aduriz.

--

SUMMARY

The perfect month. We won all of our games including the derby match against Real Sociedad plus home and away ties against Juventus in the Champions League. My side while never really performing at the top of their game just keep on going and when they get in front they didn't let it slip.

In the league we are in 2nd place - 5 behind Barcelona but 6 ahead of Real Madrid - so it could go either way tbh but I have been given my budget for next season which is £20m. In the Champions League we will play the holders Manchester United in the semis.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MIKEL BALENZIAGA
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LEAGUE TABLE
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[Tracz]

Wow! Just how do they keep goin?
Truly never say die attitude!
Good luck against united. But if you can beat juve you must stand a good chance!

 

[Klippybo]

MAY
v
​​Atletico Madrid 1 (Vitolo 90)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Iturraspe 2)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez*, Balenziaga, Merino (Benat), Iturraspe, Williams, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz (Villalibre)

Heartbreaking. They battered us in truth and it looked as though we were getting yet another 1-0 win but Vitolo struck with the last kick of the game to deny us victory. Barcelona won so there wont be a La Liga title for us.

--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg
v
​​Manchester United 2 (Rashford 31, Fernandes 47)
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga (Ganea), Merino, Iturraspe, Williams, Raul Garcia (Aketxe), Muniain, Aduriz (Villalibre)

It will be some comeback if we are going to reach the final now. If we got an away goal it would have been oh so different but we were poor and they were decent.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 4 (Iribarren 1, 77, Villalibre 46, Benat 78)
Rayo Vallecano 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Capa (Lekue), Yeray (Garcia), Nunez, Ganea, Benat, Vesga, Aketxe, Iribarren*, Cordoba, Villalibre (Goni)

I decided to rest my first choice players for the Man Utd game and my backups did great here. Iribarren had a stormer and is pushing Raul Garcia and Aketxe hard for the AMC spot.

--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg
v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Williams 46)
Manchester United 3 (Martial 31, Sanchez 34, 35)
(Agg: 1-5)
Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez (Yeray), Balenziaga, Merino, Iturraspe (Benat), Williams, Raul Garcia, Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz

I am very disappointed with this result and performance but at least Williams notched another goal.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 2 (Aduriz 4, Williams 58)
Barcelona 3 (Parejo 6, Messi 21, Suarez 78)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos (Yeray), San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat, Williams, Raul Garcia (Aketxe), Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz

This defeat hands Barcelona the title. It was quite an even game tbh and we deserved a draw but it was not to be.

--

v
​​Alaves 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Aduriz 23, Merino 45)

Lineup - Remiro, De Marcos, San Jose, Inigo Martinez, Balenziaga (Ganea), Merino*, Benat, Williams, Raul Garcia (Aketxe), Muniain (Cordoba), Aduriz

A win guaranteed us 2nd place and that's what we got. Merino scored a world class goal while it was fitting that Aduriz scored on his final appearance.

--

SUMMARY

The last month of the season saw us exit from the Champions League and fail to grasp the title but considering we didn't expect to be anywhere near the Champions League semis and the summit of the league right til the end it is actually a positive thing.

Man Utd showed that they were a cut above us and it shows how far we have to go to really be at the top. I actually tried to pinch Ander Herrera on a pre-contract deal beforehand but I failed unfortunately.

The final match of the season saw Aritz Aduriz make his final appearance for us and he went out fittingly with a goal. Hopefully he will stay at the club in a coaching capacity.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JON ANDER IRRIBAREN
View attachment 61695

==

end of season post to follow
​

 

[Klippybo]

Wow! Just how do they keep goin?
Truly never say die attitude!
Good luck against united. But if you can beat juve you must stand a good chance!

Cheers. Juve was the summit of our Champions League hopes lol. Not at Man Utds level put simply

 

[Klippybo]

END OF SEASON POST

My 2nd season is over and while we didn't claim a trophy we did make significant steps forward as a club overall. Our 2nd place finish was unexpected and to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League was a real achievement. Once again we reached the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey before Barcelona put us out.

We smashed our transfer record when I brought in Mikel Merino from Newcastle United for £38m which goes to show that I am willing to spend the money if the right player comes along but they will prove to be few and far between I would think.

--

FINAL LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 61619
​​
2nd place. Not bad. We took Barcelona to the penultimate weekend of the season but when they beat us they won the title. We got some decent wins but yet again our failure to defeat Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid proved to be costly. Until we can learn to win those games we wont get the success that we crave for.

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD
View attachment 61618View attachment 61617
​​
Two players stood out. Record signing Mikel Merino was fantastic and while he didn't score a heap he did put in consistent performances of a high level. Aritz Aduriz was also fantastic as he scored 34 goals and was the top scorer not only in Spain but also in Europe as he claimed the Golden Boot.

Disappointingly Inaki Williams only scored 8 goals which is nowhere near enough he did get 15 assists mind you so he did contribute but with their being no Aduriz next season I expect an improvement. Ander Capa didn't impress either while Unai Nunez and Inigo Lekue couldn't force their way into the team and was just hanging around really.

--

MISCELLANOUS
View attachment 61616View attachment 61615View attachment 61611

--

B TEAM

Now this is the real achievement of the season. My B side - in their first season at the 2nd level - finished in 2nd place and would have got promotion had they been permitted. Considering they lost their 1st 5 games and were battling relegation until Christmas to finish 2nd is unbelievable.

What may seem strange is that despite their over achievement not one of those players really have a future with my 1st team. Asier Benito was the top scorer in La Liga 2 with 34 goals. Xavier Naveira, Unai Lopez and Javier Rudi all impressed but I don't think they will make the step up.

--

U19s

They won the league but this time they drew 2 games and won 28 whereas last season they won all 30. I have several youngsters in the U19s with big futures ahead of them. One will definitely be in the 1st team squad next season and maybe 1 more.

I may also bump some up to the B team but I will have to move some of the B team players on first.

--

PRE-SEASON THOUGHTS

I have £20m to spend but nobody really to spend it on. I have arranged a few deals regarding regens though. My main thoughts for pre-season is this - WHO WILL REPLACE ADURIZ???

Asier Villalibre didn't really impress last term. Regens Iribar and Goni are definitely talents but do I risk putting either of them in? Finally I could put Inaki Williams up front but I don't really have a RW waiting on the wings (boom boom) to take his place.


​

 

[PelatihDadakan]

Imanol Agirretxe? Borja Baston? Or maybe going for a strikerless formation..

 

[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON POST

Lots of things have been happening. Aduriz retired but came back, testimonial for another club legend, some club icons have been sold while one has been brought back for a record fee. Oh and we are getting the stadium expanded by 6,000!!!!

All of that and I had to sort out my 1st team squad for the season and then double check on my B team although if they came 2nd last season they don't need me to interfere!!!!

Firstly Aritz Aduriz retired and is now my U19s assistant manager. He isn't a great coach but he said that he wanted to remain at the club and figured that it wouldn't be right for me not to have him. Under my management he played 98 times and scored 68 goals. I doubt I will have a 34 goal a season striker any time soon.

Ander Iturraspe had his testimonial against FC Porto in pre-season which we won 2-0. Iturraspe is still heavily involved in my first team picture for now.

But now on to transfers.........

--

PLAYERS OUT

Obviously Aduriz was the big departure but 4 other first team members have gone too and one other is heading off in January.

Firstly Benat has left to join Southampton for an initial £3.7m which could rise to over £5m. At 32y/o he is still a great player but he was on a huge wage and I needed a CM to go to promote a youngster into the first team frame. He played 91 goals and scored 4 goals for me.

Ander Capa's stay at the club is over after 1 brief season. Real Betis paid me £3.2m for him and although he was ok I thought with Lekue not doing anything I might as well let him go as Lekue and Capa are pretty similar ability wise.

Mikel Balenziaga is also a goner. He was my left back for my 1st season and although he lost his place midway through last season he did win it back but he is off to Espanyol for £1.3m.

A few youngsters have gone out on loan but mainly only the dross that lies about in the squad apart from Unai Nunez who joined Sevilla for just under £100k per month. He looks a talent but I have 4 CBs ahead of him and to be honest a couple coming through who will be better than him.

Finally Raul Garcia will join Watford in January for £1m. He is 33y/o and on a big wage and I will have him for another few months so all is good.

TOTAL INCOME - £9.25m

--

PLAYERS IN


I smashed our transfer record to bring in the only player into the first team fold. I was given an initial budget of £20m but with expectations, player sales, Aduriz retiring so I didn't pay £60k a week anymore and I upped my budget to £55m!

£47.5m was spent on one player. Our new club record signing is Aymeric Laporte who I brought back from Manchester City. He appeared occasionally in my player search screen when I got my initial £20m budget and then when I upped it to £55m I put in an enquiry and managed to get him for £10m cheaper than what they initially wanted. Laporte is the best Basque CB out there and at 25 will be my first choice centre half for years to come.
View attachment 61499

The other 4 transfers were all regens. £4.8m was spent on the 4 players. Josue Sanchez came in from Atletico Madrid for £2m, Cristian Jimenez from Las Palmas for £1.8m, Antonio Jesus Alvarez de Lara from Real Betis for £1m and Enrique Castillo came in from Racing Santander on a free.
View attachment 61498View attachment 61497View attachment 61496View attachment 61495

TOTAL SPENT - £52m

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD MOVEMENT

So the Aduriz question. Who to replace him? I have gone for Andoni Iribar. He is 17y/o, valued at £300,000 but has been given the pressure of leading the line for Athletic. He is a poacher and is very quick and can finish but if he can get me 15-20 goals I will be happy - so long as he develops!!!
View attachment 61493

Jesus Goni has also been called up. He is, like Iribar, 17y/o but is actually valued at more than double at £625,000 but when I did a player comparison is weaker than Iribar but not by much. If Iribar has a bad spell then Goni comes in.
View attachment 61492

Asier Villalibre has been demoted. He is a decent player but I want to see how he does in a full season at the 2nd tier. If I need him I will call him up no doubt but its the 2 strikers with a combined age of 34 (3 less than Aduriz!!!!) that I am going with.

One more. Pablo Armillas. Brought in from Real Zaragoza last summer for £1.2m and tbh he was almost called up last season but I planned to bring him up this season. I may even have him as my go to guy in CM if my 1st two get injured as he really does look a player. Benat made way for him.
View attachment 61491

Young LB Darko Garcia may also get called up if I cant get another one in.

--

FIRST XI

A few changes. Laporte comes in at CB. Ganea starts the season at LB but hopefully will be deplaced but I only have £5m in my budget left! Iribarren - it is his time to shine as he will play AMC and Iribar and Goni will battle it out up front.

--

THOUGHTS FOR THE SEASON AHEAD

Who knows? With 2/3 teenagers coming in to the AMC and the ST position my entire season pretty much depends on how Iribarren, Iribar and Goni get on. Hopefully Williams and Muniain can score more than they have to ease the pressure a bit but at the same time the arrival of Aymeric Laporte should mean that we concede less.

Top 4 is the aim!

​

 

[Klippybo]

AUGUST

v
Atletico Madrid 1 (Gameiro 9)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Iturraspe 23)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, Laporte*, Inigo Martinez, Ganea (Lekue), Merino, Iturraspe, Aketxe, Raul Garcia, Castillo, Iribar (Goni)

This could be our best result of the season and on the 1st game too!!! I was without Williams, Iribarren, Muniain and even his replacement Cordoba - hence why summer signing Castillo played - yet somehow we managed to get a point. Oh and Laporte starred on his return.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Raul Garcia 30, 90)
Villarreal 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, De Marcos, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Yuri, Merino (Armillas), Iturraspe, Williams, Raul Garcia*, Muniain (Aketxe), Iribar (Goni)

Another great result which on paper is a very tough fixture. Raul Garcia may be leaving the club and the old man scored 2 great goals here to give us victory.

--

SUMMARY

What a cracking start to the season. To escape with a point away to Atletico Madrid with a severely weakened side was magnificent and then to defeat Villarreal was fantastic. Not much else is to be said really except that maybe I should be worried that I was inundated with loan offers for Iribarren, Iribar and Goni from teams that were mainly in the 3rd tier of Spanish football. So here I am going into the Champions League with youngsters wanted by rubbish teams as my first choice!!!!!

Regarding the Champions League somehow I was put in a group that was even easier than last time. Sporting Lisbon, Shakhtar Donetsk and Red Bull Leipzig will be our opponents.

I made one more signing and it was a left back in the shape and form of Yuri from Paris Saint-Germain on loan for £325,000 a month. He was transfer listed for £11.75m but I couldn't afford that so to bring him in for such a small fee (£78,000 a week is a bit steep mind) is good business.
View attachment 61477

Outgoing was a few youngsters on loan and I also sold a few B team players for some small fees but it left me with only 1 CB for the B team so I have decided to promote David Garcia, Ruben Galarza and Josue Sanchez - 3 of my best prospects who are all CBs into the B team. Hopefully they will get regular football at a high level so early in their careers wont harm them.

No point doing a player of the month and league table after 2 games.

Here are the rest of the Spanish league transfers as ever most of the players are leaving Spain instead of arriving. That said Paul Pogba has arrived!!!!
View attachment 61473


​

 

[Tracz]

Great start mate.

 

[Sam91]

Solid end to last season mate and like that youre putting some faith in the youth. Making me wanna start a Bilbao save but I'm enjoying A.C. Milan too much atm!