Aitor Herrera - Back In Bilbao

[ninjaskill]

Great work winning the CL, surely you have to buy Yuri now even if just because he scored the CL winning penalty

 

[Klippybo]

END OF SEASON POST

What a season that was! We retained the title which was our primary goal, claimed the Super Cup and for the first time won the UEFA Champions League. My team of young kids excelled and performed above expectation and then towards the end of the season the youth intake gave me another future star which was a delightful surprise.

The Champions League campaign was the highlight obviously and we got some outstanding results like an 8-0 win over Porto and a 5-0 thumping of Arsenal. To be honest we had an easy group and favourable ties right up to the final so it could have been a lot tougher but Liverpool were the holders and we edged them out.

However there was one major disappointment - our Copa del Rey performance as yet again we were eliminated in the quarter-finals. Next season I want to at least reach the semis!!!!

Next season we will have an expanded stadium, our young stars will have developed a bit more and the club will be financially far better off (not that we are poor) so we can really kick on and be a force.

--

FINAL LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 60015

Once we got ahead we never looked back as we had a 10pt or so gap lead for half the season. For the final few games of the season I was able to play my young prospects and they did great too.

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD
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Hard to find a disappointment here. On the other hand there were several standouts. Txomin Martinez is going to be world class and is yet to turn 17 and he got into double figures from CM which was great. Merino was also superb while Inaki Williams probably had his best season for me. Iribar and Goni banged in the goals up front so everything was dandy!!

--

OTHER STUFF
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--

B TEAM & U19s

The B team struggled in La Liga 2 and although they were never really threatened with relegation they weren't really pulling up any trees. I have decided to give them a bit of a boost and signed a couple of players for them. I will also do a bit of a clear out and maybe promote a few of my U19s.

As for my U19s they somehow didn't win the league as Osasuna toppled them but they did win the domestic and European cups so it wasn't a complete nightmare of a season. Having said that half of my 1st team squad cpuld play for the U19s and they have Champions League medals!!!

--

AIMS FOR PRE-SEASON

Sort out my B team squad and find a left back. Yuri is set to be released by PSG but at 31 I will see what his wage demands are. Darko Garcia deserves a lengthy run in the side so I will see how we go.

That's about it!!
​

 

[Klippybo]

SPAIN

UEFA Nations League Semi-Final

v

Spain 3 (Iribarren 82, Bellerin 90, Iribar 100)
Germany 2 (Muller 57, Werner 70)
AET

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Inigo Martinez (Bartra), Azpilicueta, Alba, Roberto (Soler), Merino, Isco, Iribarren, Asensio, Morata (Iribar)

What a win!!!! We were doing ok but found ourselves 2-0 down and then Iribarren scored a weird goal to get us back in it but then we had Alba taken off injured and were down to 10 men. Somehow however we equalised through Bellerin and then in extra-time my very own Andoni Iribar came off the bench to score the winner on his international debut.

--

UEFA Nations League Final

v

Spain 2 (Morata 55, 70)
Ukraine 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Inigo Martinez, Azpilicueta, Moreno*, Roberto, Merino, Isco (Williams), Iribarren (Iribar), Asensio (Suso), Morata

Ukraine knocked out France in the other semi so I was always confident that we would triumph. I don't know how big an achievement winning this tournament is but I will gladly accept it!!!

--

Friendly

v

​​Spain 3 (Morata 25, 45, Ricca og33)
Uruguay 2 (Gomez 77, 82)

Lineup - De Gea (Lopez), Carvajal, Inigo Martinez (Bartra), Azpilicueta (Rodri), Moreno (Grimaldo), Roberto (Soler), Koke, Suso (Asensio), Iribar, Williams, Morata*

I gave Arsenal keeper, Pau Lopez, his international debut here.

--

Friendly

v

​​Spain 6 (Iribarren 8, Morata 42, Mesa og45, Saucedo og45, Asensio 50, Checa og51)
Bolivia 2 (Moreno 56, Chumacero 77)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin (Carvajal), Inigo Martinez (Rodri), Azpilicueta, Moreno (Grimaldo), Roberto (Koke), Merino, Isco (Williams), Iribarren, Asensio*, Morata (Iribar)

Not often you get 3 own goals in your favour!



​

 

[Klippybo]

our training complex.

PRE-SEASON

This summer was all about keeping up the momentum and change one or two things. I changed up my backroom staff a bit and brought in a few players for my B team to really strengthen them. In fact most of all my transfers were for the B team or the U19s in what has been a quiet summer so far.

The stadium expansion is finished and we got some huge sponsorship increases as the clubs profile keeps on growing.

Regarding my staff I changed my assistant manager as I promoted my coach, Rodolfo Borrell, to the post and he is now my assistant for both club and country. I also appointed a few other members of staff.

So all was pretty quiet. Here is my transfer business so far.

--

PLAYERS OUT

The biggest transfer out was £6m for Pelayo Perez to Liverpool. He is 20y/o and has been in my B team but never got a game so to take in that amount of money was impressive. He looks like a decent player but he was never going to feature in the long term for me.

Two experienced 1st team players left. Oscar De Marcos has joined Lyon for £2.5m as he has been pushed down the pecking order by Perdomo and Elustondo. De Marcos played 172 games for me and scored 5 goals and I wish him well. Stephane Ruffier left to join Nantes for £1m.

I sold a few other B team players. Rudi, Undabarren, Etxeberria and Oteo all left for about £3.5m while I released Diarra who played a big role for the B team.

Out on loan is Josue Sanchez as Zaragoza have offered him regular first team football so I let him go. I have Yeray back (who I am trying to sell as he has lost trust in me) so he will fill his squad place just now but I also have Galarza, David Garcia and Zubeldia waiting in the wings.

TOTAL INCOME - £13m

--

PLAYERS IN

I needed a LB and Yuri went on to sign a new deal with PSG and he rejected a loan bid so I paid £300,000 to Leganes for Urtzi Iriondo. I sold him a couple of years back and he will be a stop gap as he doesn't have the quality to play for the European Champions but he can fill in when required.
View attachment 59959

I brought in 3 players for the B side with a total value of £25m!!!! Igor Zubeldia came in from Las Palmas for £1.7m and he could do a job for us but I decided to up the quality for the B team as I would prefer to promote prospects but at 24 Zubeldia can make a few appearances. Alex Berenguer came in from Torino on a free and is valued at £11m which was a shock and Mikel Perez came in on a 2 year loan from Spurs.
View attachment 59962View attachment 59961View attachment 59960

Finally my DoF signed these 3 youngsters. He also bid £34m for a Valencia forward who I had on loan a couple of years back but I cancelled that deal!!
View attachment 59965View attachment 59964View attachment 59963

TOTAL SPENT - £2.4m

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

Regarding the first XI the only change is that Darko Garcia will be my first choice LB. Perdomo will start off as my RB but Elustondo will be pushing him all the way. They are so evenly matched its hard to pick one or the other.

Ander Iribarren is my new backup keeper and Iriondo is my backup LB and that's pretty much it.
​

 

[Klippybo]

AUGUST

UEFA European Super Cup

v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Laporte 25, Iribar 29, Williams 34, Vidal og41)
Bayern Munich 1 (Lewandowski 57)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino (Armillas), Martinez (Aketxe), Williams, Iribarren* (Prieto), Cordoba, Iribar

WHAT A PERFORMANCE!!!!

For this to be the result against one of the worlds strongest teams shows me that we can give anyone a thrashing as Bayern couldn't handle us in the 1st half. Iribarren was pulling all the strings.

--

Spanish Super Cup Final 1st Leg
v

​​Real Madrid 0
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams (Prieto), Aketxe (Zerhouni), Cordoba, Iribar (Goni)

Not bad I suppose but I would have liked an away goal. Williams picked up an injury and is out for a month.

--

Spanish Super Cup Final 2nd Leg

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aketxe 101)
Real Madrid 0
(AET - Agg: 1-0)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia (Elustondo), Merino (Armillas), Martinez, Aketxe*, Iribarren, Muniain, Iribar (Goni)

In an even match it took a sublime free-kick from Ager Aketxe to win the match and the trophy for us. 3 games played, 2 trophies won, not bad!!!

--

v

Real Zaragoza 1 (De Tomas 45)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Iribar 1, Iribarren 42, Bustinza og73)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez*, Darko Garcia, Merino (Zerhouni), Armillas, Munoz, Iribarren (Prieto), Cordoba, Iribar (Jimenez)

Decent but we were not at our best. I was without several players here though as Muniain, Armillas, Williams and Aketxe were all injured or unfit so I suppose it was a decent win.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 2 (Aketxe 34, Prieto 79)
Celta Vigo 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Aketxe*, Iribarren (Prieto), Muniain, Iribar (Goni)

We welcomed back a few players here but have still not clicked into gear yet. Prieto's goal was a beauty though.

--

SUMMARY

We have started the season off pretty well as we won the European Super Cup by destroying Bayern Munich and then defeating Real Madrid in the Super Cup and we even followed that up by winning our first 2 games.

There has been movement in the transfer front though!!! I brought in one new player for the 1st team squad and not surprisingly his name is Yuri and he has joined on loan!!! lol. After rejecting us a few times he was then transfer listed and after that he gladly joined but he will be backup this season. Iriondo's brief flirtation with the first team is over and he is now with the B team.
View attachment 59941

I also signed this regen for a pittance....
View attachment 59943

As for players out - Yeray left for a cheap as chips £3m to Villarreal while I loaned out half my U19s it seems like but I kept all my decent ones to give them the odd opportunity and to keep us competitive at that level.

Now for other transfer news. It appears that I have a wonderkid in my B squad!!! Enrique Castillo who was promoted to that level this summer looks decent but I was surprised that Atletico Madrid came in with a £12m bid. When I looked at his profile I saw that he was described as a wonderkid so I immediately offered him a new contract and will keep an eye on him. Atletico ended up bidding £21m for him!!!!!

That striker who I had on loan a few years back and my DoF put in a £34m bid for? He joined Inter Milan for £34m!!!! We will soon see who was crazy there lol. I was interested in bringing Ander Herrera back on a free but his wage demands were to high for a player that would be a backup option and he joined Levante.

Here are the other transfers....
View attachment 59942

In the Champions League we have been given another favourable group against Lyon, Shakhtar Donetsk and Olympiakos.

Finally, Ruben Galarza has been promoted to the 1st team to cover at CB.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
AGER AKETXE
​​View attachment 59945

--

LEAGUE TABLE
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​

 

[Klippybo]

SEPTEMBER

​​

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (Iribarren 25, Inigo Martinez 55, Aketxe 88pen)
Girona 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia (Elustondo), Merino*, Martinez (Aketxe), Williams, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar

A comfortable victory. Aketxe has scored in 3 of his last 4 games now and has started the season in fine form.

--

UEFA Champions League Group A

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 3 (Cordoba 15, Zerhouni 22, Goni 54)
Olympiakos 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza, Yuri, Armillas, Zerhouni, Aketxe, Prieto (Jimenez), Cordoba* (Castillo), Goni

I decided to play my backups and they did a fine job as we got a comfortable victory here.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Iribarren 2)
Barcelona 1 (Diawara 87)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez (Zerhouni), Williams, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)

AAAGGGHHH!!! We were so close to a huge victory but they levelled with a late goal to deny us the victory. That being said we looked like the better team and I think we may have overtaken them in truth.

--

v

​​Real Sociedad 1 (Vidal 88)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Iribarren 20, 68, Goni 35)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Zerhouni, Williams, Iribarren*, Muniain (Cordoba), Goni

Iribarren has almost scored more goals than he did last season as he has started this one on fire. Another derby victory.

--

v

​​Levante 0
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Goni 8, 77pen, Williams 38, Iribarren 55)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia (Yuri), Merino (Zerhouni), Martinez, Williams*, Iribarren (Prieto), Muniain, Goni

Iribarren scores again!!! He scored 5 in the league last season while he has 6 already this season.

--

UEFA Champions League Group A
v

​​Lyon 1 (Geubbels 10)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Cordoba 13, Iribar 46)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Laporte (Galarza), Inigo Martinez, Yuri, Zerhouni (Prieto), Martinez (Armillas), Williams, Iribarren, Cordoba, Iribar

I rested a couple of players so had a half and half team in truth but we won and that's the main thing.

--

SUMMARY

Our strong start to the season continued this month as apart from a draw against Barcelona we won every game. We also had a derby victory over Sociedad which is also a boost but we are still waiting to click into gear I feel.

Not much else to say apart from I think and hope that we can step up a gear.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JON ANDER IRIBARREN
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​​
--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 59897--

SPAIN

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 6

v

​​Spain 4 (Suso 24, 29, Iribar 40, Iribarren 70)
Azerbaijan 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Inigo Martinez, Azpilicueta, Grimaldo, Roberto (Martinez), Merino, Suso*, Iribarren, Luis Alberto (Cordoba), Iribar (Fornals)

I have 6 or 7 players out here so some fringe players got a call up including my very own Martinez and Cordoba (who is valued at £50m I just noticed!!) and both made their debuts here.

--

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 6

v

​​Slovenia 0
Spain 1 (Iribarren 18)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Inigo Martinez, Azpilicueta, Grimaldo, Roberto (Martinez), Koke*, Suso (Fornals), Iribarren, Luis Alberto, Iribar (Alcacer)



​

 

[Klippybo]

OCTOBER

​​

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 2 (Iribar 27, Iribarren 60)
Real Madrid 1 (Morelos 45)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez (Nunez), Darko Garcia, Zerhouni, Martinez (Armillas), Williams (Aketxe), Iribarren*, Muniain, Iribar

What a win!!!! We were the better team throughout and fully deserved our win. Iribar nodded in the 1st and then they scored against the run of play but in the 2nd half Iribarren struck yet again to give us the win.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 4 (Iribarren 4, Goni 63, Cordoba 79, 89)
Getafe 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Aketxe (Zerhouni), Iribarren*, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)

Getafe came into the game bottom of the table and we piled on the misery as they had a man sent-off and we pummelled them with 32 shots to their 0. It took my subs to grab the goals to make it look comfortable though. Iribarren scores again!!! He scored 6 last season and has 8 already this.

--

UEFA Champions League Group A
v

​​Shakhtar Donetsk 1 (Arabidze 54)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Zerhouni 77)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Laporte*, Inigo Martinez (Galarza), Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Aketxe (Zerhouni), Iribarren (Prieto), Cordoba, Goni

A decent point this. I decided to give a couple of backup players a go but still fielded a strong team. Galarza had a late goal disallowed for us. That's us gone 30 games unbeaten - a new record.

--

v

​​Real Betis 1 (Laporte og90)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aketxe 83)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino*, Martinez, Williams, Iribarren (Prieto), Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)

Betis are struggling at the bottom but gave us a tough match here and deserved their point although how they got it was particularly heart-breaking!

--

Copa del Rey 4th Round 1st Leg

v

​​Atletico Baleares 0
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Goni 24, 30, Cordoba 45, Castillo 70)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza, Yuri, Zerhouni, Armillas, Aketxe (Munoz), Prieto (Jimenez), Cordoba (Castillo), Goni*

As expected my backups easily beat this lower league side. Jimenez has been scoring a ton of goals for my B side while Castillo is a wonderkid so it is important to give him 1st team action too. Alongside him - Goni, Prieto, Elustondo and Zerhouni are wonderkids.

--

v

​​Cadiz 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Williams 41, Iribar 86)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams*, Iribarren (Aketxe), Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar

--

SUMMARY

We are still unbeaten this month and obviously the highlight was our victory over Real Madrid which helped us to end the month at the top with a 2pt lead plus 5pts ahead of Real Madrid.

In the cups we are chugging along and everything is good in the land of Bilbao!!!!!

Maybe my only problem will be to give my 3,000 wonderkids enough game time but fortunately I have a B team to give them serious competitive action if they aren't in the 1st team.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JON ANDER IRIBARREN
View attachment 59701

--

LEAGUE TABLE
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​​
--

SPAIN

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 6

v

​​Bosnia & Herzegovina 0
Spain 3 (Morata 16, 67, Cordoba 74)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Inigo Martinez, Azpilicueta, Grimaldo (Moreno*), Roberto, Merino, Suso (Sandro), Iribarren, Luis Alberto (Cordoba), Morata

We were great here but we had a scare as they had a penalty to put them 1up but De Gea saved it fortunately. Cordoba came off the bench and scored with his 1st touch. Everton forward Sandro was given his debut here.

--

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 6

v

​​Spain 6 (Luis Alberto 47, 77, Morata 48, 66, 81, Roberto 61)
Iceland 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Inigo Martinez (Bartra), Azpilicueta, Moreno (Marcos Alonso), Roberto, Merino, Suso, Iribarren (Fornals), Luis Alberto, Morata*

This win secures qualification. We were just as good in the 1st half but we just couldn't score but in the 2nd half we went nuts and scored 6!!! Marcos Alonso made his debut.

​

 

[Klippybo]

NOVEMBER

UEFA Champions League Group A

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 5 (Goni 8, 15, Williams 13, Aketxe 50, Kryvtsov og62)
Shakhtar Donetsk 2 (Arabidze 66, N'Same 75)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Zerhouni (Jimenez), Martinez (Armillas), Williams*, Aketxe, Cordoba (Castillo), Goni

Once again I did a half and half team with both 1st teamers and backups and they did a fine job and made us qualify for the next round.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Cordoba 86)
Sevilla 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino (Zerhouni), Martinez, Williams, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba*), Iribar (Goni)

Sevilla came here for a point. They defended and defended and it looked like they would get their draw but Cordoba struck with 5min left to give us a deserved win.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 4 (Iribar 12, 58, Williams 40, Zerhouni 85)
Eibar 2 (Bebe 29, Mayoral 79)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia (Elustondo), Zerhouni, Martinez (Armillas), Williams, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar*

At 1-1 they had a goal disallowed that looked like it should have stood which proved to be key as we went on to win fairly comfortably but it could have been different had we gone behind.

--

UEFA Champions League Group A
v

​​Olympiakos 0
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Armillas 25, Jimenez 65, 88)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza, Yuri, Zerhouni, Armillas, Aketxe (Munoz), Prieto, Cordoba (Castillo), Goni (Jimenez*)

My youngsters came in and were doing ok but when I made a triple sub we kicked into gear and won comfortably. Jimenez has 17 goals in 12 starts for the B team in the 2nd tier so it was nice to see him carry on that form here.

--

v

​​Sporting Gijon 0
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 9, Laporte 38, Merino 45)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino*, Martinez, Aketxe (Zerhouni), Iribarren (Prieto), Muniain, Iribar (Goni)

Before this match Muniain and Merino hadn't scored this season but they did here. Surprisingly Martinez hasn't scored yet - he got 11 last year!

--

SUMMARY

We are still unbeaten this month and I forget how long our unbeaten run is and we are sitting pretty at the top of the league but Barcelona are hanging on to our coattails. Next month brings the FIFA Club World Cup so we will be MIA from La Liga action and may find ourselves off the top.

Next month should be fun. We have an easy game on paper in our cup tie, wrap up the Champions League groups, have the Champions League draw, the FIFA Club World Cup and the World Cup draw as well as league games!!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
INAKI WILLIAMS
View attachment 59657
​​
--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 59656

--

SPAIN

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 6

v

​​Azerbaijan 0
Spain 3 (Isco 49pen, Koke 89, Cordoba 90)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Inigo Martinez, Azpilicueta (Mere), Grimaldo, Koke, Thiago, Isco*, Iribarren (Williams), Asensio, Iribar (Cordoba)

Up until stoppage time this was pathetic but we got 2 goals to add a bit of gloss and respectability. Jorge Mere made his debut.

--

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group 6

v

​​Spain 3 (Skubic og12, Iribarren 29, Suso 35)
Slovenia 1 (Verbic 23)

Lineup - De Gea, Carvajal, Inigo Martinez, Azpilicueta (Mere), Grimaldo (Moreno), Soler, Fornals, Williams (Cordoba), Iribarren, Suso, Morata

This game finishes our qualifying campaign and we won all 10 of our matches so I cant have any complaints.


​

 

[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

Copa del Rey 4th Round 2nd Leg

v

Athletic Bilbao 4 (Goni 20pen, Munoz 26, Prieto 48, 56)
Atletico Baleares 0
(Agg:8-0)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza, Yuri, M. Alvarez de Lara (Perez), Zerhouni, Munoz, Prieto*, Cordoba (Castillo), Goni (Jimenez)

I would have liked a bigger winning margin maybe and Goni did miss a pen before he scored one but I suppose a 4 goal win is ok. They had a man sent-off too in the 1st half. Mikel Perez made his debut here and all of a sudden he automatically gets promoted to the 1st team and when I send him back he is unavailable for the B team somehow. Grrrrr.

--

v

Espanyol 1 (Welbeck 19)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Inigo Martinez 23, Iribar 25, Muniain 66)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte (Nunez), Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia (Elustondo), Merino, Martinez, Williams, Iribarren*, Muniain, Iribar

We fell behind when we had a horrible defensive mix-up but we quickly got level and then went ahead within 5min or so.

--

UEFA Champions League Group A

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Aketxe 69, Zerhouni 85)
Lyon 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza (David Garcia), Yuri, Zerhouni*, Armillas, Aketxe, Prieto, Cordoba (Castillo), Goni (Jimenez)

A great win this as if we lost Lyon would win the group but I was confident in my backup players abilities and they did a fine job.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 50, Aketxe 85)
Valencia 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams (Aketxe), Iribarren, Muniain*, Iribar (Goni)

It seems that every time we have a home game teams just sit back and defend the barricades and it ruins the spectacle really and my team is good enough to break them down. Valencia hardly threatened us here with their 2 shots. 42 games unbeaten now.

--

FIFA Club World Cup Semi-Final
v

Kaizer Chiefs 1 (Nguse 69)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Goni 9, 22, 44, Prieto 74)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza, Yuri, Zerhouni, Armillas (Perez), Aketxe, Prieto, Cordoba, Goni*

An easy win as expected but we should have scored more. Goni had a goal disallowed.

--

FIFA Club World Cup Final
v

Chivas 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Inigo Martinez 41)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo (Perdomo), Laporte, Inigo Martinez*, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)

We win the World Club Cup here with a below par performance but that was enough.

--

v

Atletico Madrid 1 (Griezmann 57)
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams (Aketxe), Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)

Our first defeat of the season. It was always going to be a tough ask coming back from the Club World Cup and then going away to Atletico and so it proved. Hey ho.

--

SUMMARY

A very busy month!!!! In the league we have scored big time - we went away to the Club World Cup and Barcelona failed to capitalize in our absence and despite losing our first game in months we end the year 3pts clear of Atletico Madrid with a game in hand!!!!

In the cups we won the Club World Cup easily enough but in the other cups we have a tasty derby against Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey and Manchester City in the Champions League so that is two very tough ties.

Finally in the World Cup my Spanish side will face Iran, Mexico and Ecuador which is a decent group for us and I expect to top it.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
INIGO MARTINEZ
View attachment 59553
​​
--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 59552
​​
​

 

[Klippybo]

JANUARY

v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Iribarren 9, Iribar 20, Muniain 33, Merino 50pen)
Villarreal 2 (Tavares 36, Trigueros 90)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Nunez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams, Iribarren, Muniain, Iribar* (Goni)

We bounce back from our first defeat in ages to put Villarreal to the sword here and we were pretty good. To score 4 past them is pretty good but the 2 goals conceded is an annoyance as is Iribar getting injured and missing a few weeks.

--

Copa del Rey 5th Round 1st Leg

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Goni 23, Muniain 65)
Real Sociedad 1 (Guidetti 9)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino (Zerhouni), Martinez, Williams, Iribarren*, Muniain, Goni (Galan)

We should have scored more here, especially since they had a man sent-off but in the end we sneak it by a goal. Hopefully their away goal wont prove to be costly.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Goni 6, 9)
Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Moreno 10)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams (Jimenez), Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Goni*

All the action in this match was in the opening 10min as Goni fired us into a quick 2 goal lead and then they pulled a goal back and that was it.

--

Copa del Rey 5th Round 2nd Leg
v

Real Sociedad 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Iribarren 90)
(Agg: 1-3)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez (Nunez), Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams*, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Goni (Jimenez)

This was an awful game and tbh it looked as though they were going to nick the winner but in stoppage time Iribarren struck to ease any nerves.

--

v

Celta Vigo 1 (Lobotka 86)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Goni 11, 43)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte, Nunez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams (Jimenez), Aketxe (Prieto), Muniain, Goni*

--

Copa del Rey Quarter-Final 1st Leg

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 2 (Laporte 56, Iribarren 88)
Levante 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams (Aketxe), Iribarren*, Muniain, Goni (Jimenez)

After 4 years it finally looks as though we are going to make it into the semis of the Copa del Rey!

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 4 (Muniain 23, Cordoba 66, 72, Williams 75)
Real Zaragoza 1 (Ejupi 3)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino (Armillas), Zerhouni, Williams, Iribarren*, Muniain, Goni (Cordoba)

This win puts us 7pts clear with a game in hand. We fell behind early on but we levelled before half-time. We were struggling but Cordoba came on and scored twice and that eased us to victory.

--

Copa del Rey Quarter-Final 2nd Leg
v

​​Levante 0
Athletic Bilbao 0
(Agg: 0-2)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Iriondo, Merino, Martinez, Williams (Aketxe), Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)

A poor performance but into the semis we go. I would have expected a victory but it is what it is.

--

v

​​Girona 1 (Ramirez 90)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Iribar 17, Munoz 87)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Iriondo, Merino (Zerhouni), Martinez, Munoz*, Iribarren (Prieto), Muniain, Iribar

Bottom side Girona proved to be tough competition here. Munoz came into the 1st team and starred - I would like him to play more and we shall see what happens next season.

--

SUMMARY

As ever January was a hectic month and it was a successful one. In the league we won every match and while we weren't at our best and failed to keep a clean sheet we do end the month
7pts clear at the top with a game in hand so it seems like the title is coming our way again.

The highlight of the month was undoubtedly our win in the Copa del Rey QF's. We weren't great against Levante but for the first time we have made it into the semis and we have a kind draw against Sporting Gijon so I expect to make it into the final.

I brought in two new players in the transfer window - both players were discovered by my scouts. I paid Atletico Madrid £2m for AMC Izan while I paid an initial £1m for PSG midfielder Eneko Alonso who despite is name is actually French and needs to learn Spanish. Izan is the better one of the two but we shall see how they develop.
View attachment 59482View attachment 59481

Leaving the club is Yuri as PSG recalled him as he was never playing and a week after he left Darko Garcia got injured so I have had to call up Iriondo from the B side. I loaned out a few youngsters while I rejected bids for two of my prospects, Jimenez and Sanz, from the big English clubs however I did sell a bang average midfielder to Liverpool for £1.7m.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
JON ANDER IRIBARREN
View attachment 59483
​​
--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 59484
​​
​

 

[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY

Copa del Rey Semi-Final 1st Leg
v

​​Sporting Gijon 1 (Gaspar 83)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Cordoba 72)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Iriondo, Merino (Zerhouni), Martinez, Williams, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)

Pathetic. We had a goal disallowed by Williams early on but even then we should have won this by a couple. Merino got injured and is out for a month or so.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 2 (Iribar 12, Martinez 53)
Real Sociedad 1 (Guidetti 40)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Iriondo, Zerhouni (Armillas), Martinez*, Williams, Iribarren (Prieto), Muniain (Munoz), Iribar

Martinez scored his 1st goal of the season and what a screamer it was. He lashed in a first time shot from 25 yards into the top corner to win us the derby. Last year he scored 11 so he needs 10 more to get level - not going to happen.

--

Copa del Rey Semi-Final 2nd Leg

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Iribar 31)
Sporting Gijon 0
(Agg: 2-1)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Iriondo, Zerhouni, Martinez, Williams*, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar

Into the final we go. The scoreline doesn't reflect our dominance here as we had 36 shots on goal. Atletico Madrid await us on the final.

--

v

​​Barcelona 1 (Ruiz 90)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Iribar 4)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte*, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia (Elustondo), Zerhouni (Aketxe), Armillas, Williams, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar

I would have taken a point before the match but to concede in stoppage time is heartbreaking. If we held on we would have been 12pts clear of them. Hey ho.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg
v

​​Manchester City 4 (Icardi 1, 4, Dembele 45, 75)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Iribarren 27, Iribar 35pen, 36, Zerhouni 83)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte (Nunez), Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Zerhouni, Martinez, Williams (Aketxe), Iribarren, Muniain, Iribar

WHAT A GAME!!!! We started horrendously as we were 2 down in the 1st 5min but half an hour later we were 3-2 up but by half-time it was 3-3 and they had a goal disallowed. We swapped a goal each in the 2nd half and it finished 4-4. Crazy!!!

--

v

​​Real Madrid 1 (Vinicius Junior 20)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Vallejo og69)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia*, Zerhouni, Martinez, Williams, Iribarren (Prieto), Muniain, Iribar (Goni)

Not bad. They battered us for an hour but when I made my subs we picked up a bit and got a fortunate equaliser. We had a couple of chances late on but I am happy with a point.

--

v

​​Malaga 2 (Postigo 32, Cantero 66)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 55, Goni 70)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez (Nunez), Darko Garcia, Armillas, Martinez, Williams*, Iribarren (Prieto), Muniain, Iribar (Goni)

Now this is a disappointing result. This was our game in hand and this draw means we have drawn our last 3 league games.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 2 (Iribar 17, 74)
Levante 1 (Diaz 58)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Zerhouni, Martinez, Williams, Iribarren (Prieto), Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar*

Yet again our performance was not up to scratch but at least we got the victory albeit thanks to some terrible defending. Levante have a regen wonderkid who looks great and will be in my Spain squad at some point probably.

--

SUMMARY

February was a weird month. We were unbeaten but we played poorly however at the same time to play Barcelona, Man City and Real Madrid in a row and remain undefeated is quite an achievement.

We are 10pts clear at the top of the table so its all over really and we now have to concentrate on our cup matches. Our 2nd leg against Man City could go either way while we have the Copa del Rey final against Atletico Madrid in April. Can we win every tournament available?

Youth intake next month!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDONI IRIBAR
View attachment 59478
​​
--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 59477
​​
​

 

[Klippybo]

MARCH

v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Iribarren 43, Horava og74, Williams 77, Aketxe 87pen)
Real Betis 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams*, Iribarren (Aketxe), Muniain, Iribar (Goni)

We were plodding along until they had a man sent-off and a minute later we took the lead. Even then we struggled but in the last 15min we scored 3 times to give the scoreline some added gloss. This is our first clean sheet in 11 games amazingly.

--

v

Getafe 1 (Castro 22)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Cordoba 10, 90)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza, Darko Garcia, Zerhouni (M. Alvarez de Lara), Armillas, Aketxe (Munoz), Prieto, Cordoba*, Goni (Galan)

With the Man City game coming up in a few days I decided to rest my players for that match (Darko Garcia is suspended). Cordoba was excellent and his last minute goal was a stunner.

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg

v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aketxe 73)
Manchester City 1 (Dembele 33)
(Agg: 5-5 - Athletic Bilbao win on away goals)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Iriondo, Merino (Zerhouni), Martinez, Williams, Iribarren (Aketxe), Muniain*, Iribar (Goni)

Through we go but it was a close run thing. Ager Aketxe scored from a free-kick for us to send us through.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Laporte 66, Goni 75)
Cadiz 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams (Aketxe), Iribarren*, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)

We should have won by a lot more tbh - we took the lead when Laporte went on a run and scored from 25 yards unbelievably.

--

v

Sevilla 0
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez (Zerhouni), Williams (Aketxe), Iribarren, Muniain, Iribar (Goni)

zzzzzzz. The only thing to mention here is that it secures our Champions League place and my transfer budget is a needless initial £205m!!!!

--

SUMMARY

The highlight of this month was our progress in the Champions League as we just edged out Man City and we will face Monaco in the next round which is not a bad draw. In the league yet again we are by no means at our best but we just keep getting results. To be 11pts clear with 8 games left and with my team struggling for performances is some achievement!!!

In the youth intake I got a decent looking winger and fortunately a LB who will be my backup from next season but he will need to develop and develop fast!!!
View attachment 59465View attachment 59464

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
AYMERIC LAPORTE
View attachment 59467
​​
--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 59466
​​
--

SPAIN

Friendly

v

Spain 2 (Iribarren 60, Cordoba 77)
Colombia 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin (Jonny), Inigo Martinez, Azpilicueta (Mere), Grimaldo (Moreno), Merino*, Thiago (Martinez), Williams, Iribarren, Asensio (Cordoba), Morata (Iribar)

--

Friendly

v

Saudi Arabia 2 (Kulaib 28, 86)
Spain 3 (Iribar 8, 90, Iribarren 53)

Lineup - De Gea (Arrizabalaga), Bellerin (Jonny), Inigo Martinez, Azpilicueta (Mere), Grimaldo (Moreno), Merino, Thiago (Martinez), Williams, Iribarren, Asensio (Cordoba), Iribar
​

 

[Klippybo]

APRIL

v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Goni 42)
Sporting Gijon 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza, Iriondo, Zerhouni, M. Alvarez de Lara, Aketxe (Munoz), Prieto*, Cordoba (Castillo), Goni (Jimenez)

As ever I am fortunate enough to be able to rest my top players for the next match in the Champions League. We weren't great but we won and that's the main thing.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 1st Leg

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 27, Williams 80)
AS Monaco 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Nunez, Darko Garcia, Merino (Zerhouni), Martinez, Williams*, Iribarren (Aketxe), Muniain, Iribar (Goni)

This should be good enough for us to go through to the semis. Muniain and Williams both scored their 8th goal of the season here.

--

v

Eibar 0
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Iribar 5pen, Iribarren 40, 48)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte, Nunez, Darko Garcia, Zerhouni, Martinez (Prieto), Williams, Iribarren*, Muniain, Iribar (Goni)

Eibar have been the surprise package this season but we won this derby match easily.

--

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg
v

AS Monaco 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Iribar 41, 80)
(Agg: 0-4)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Laporte (Galarza), Nunez, Darko Garcia, Zerhouni (Armillas), Martinez, Williams, Iribarren (Aketxe), Cordoba, Iribar*

Into the semis we go. Iribar is surprisingly not my top scorer would you believe - even after his 2 goals here. Goni is 1 ahead of him but Goni has played against all the weaker teams in the cups I suppose but he only has 2 less than Iribar in the league.

--

v

Valencia 0
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Muniain 11, Merino 28, Iribar 42, 58pen)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Nunez, Darko Garcia, Merino (Zerhouni), Martinez, Williams (Aketxe), Iribarren, Muniain*, Iribar

Undoubtedly this was one of our best performances this season, maybe just behind the Super Cup win over Bayern Munich. We were superb here but Valencia had 19 shots to our 22 surprisingly.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Cordoba 30)
Espanyol 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza (David Garcia), Iriondo, Zerhouni, Armillas, Goni, Aketxe, Cordoba* (Castillo), Jimenez (Galan)

CHAMPIONS!!!!

Our 4th trophy of the season is secured here as my backups did the business. Now we have 2 very tough games coming up....

--

Copa del Rey Final
v

​​Atletico Madrid 1 (Lopez 16)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Zerhouni 50, Iribarren 52, Cordoba 77, Goni 79)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Zerhouni*, Martinez, Williams, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)

WE WIN THE COPA DEL REY!!!!!!!

It all went wrong at the start as I forgot to do a team talk and we were a goal down at half-time but I gave my players a bollocking at the break and they came out and thrashed Atletico in the 2nd half. Iribar even had a goal disallowed.

--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Martinez 34)
Manchester United 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Zerhouni, Martinez*, Williams, Iribarren (Aketxe), Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)

Superb!!!! Martinez's 1st goal of the season was a stunning winner in the derby against Sociedad and his 2nd is the winner against Man Utd. Arrizabalaga saved a penalty in the last minute for us which was probably more important than the goal.

--

SUMMARY

We head into the final month of the season in fine fettle as this month saw us win the league and the Copa del Rey plus we have a narrow lead in our Champions League semi-final tie. The highlight of the month was our 4-1 thrashing of Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey final where we were awful for 45min but unbelievable for the next 45.

My players values have rocketed also. Iribar at £52m, Nunez somehow is at £49m while Perdomo is £26.5m and my 17y/o midfielder, Txomin Martinez is valued at £29m!!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
TXOMIN MARTINEZ
View attachment 59435

--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 59434
​​
​

 

[Klippybo]

MAY

​​

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aketxe 37)
Atletico Madrid 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza, Iriondo, Zerhouni, Armillas, Aketxe, Prieto, Cordoba (Galan), Goni*

My backups defeat Atletico Madrid!!! It was a dull game but we took the lead and although they had chances we managed to hold on. Arrizabalaga has kept 7 clean sheets in a row now in the league.

--

UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg
v

​​Manchester United 2 (Fekir 43, Rashford 77)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Iribarren 5, Skriniar og90)
(Agg: 2-3)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Iriondo, Merino (Zerhouni), Martinez, Williams (Aketxe), Iribarren, Muniain, Iribar (Goni)

We reach the final here with a very impressive away performance. Chelsea will be our opponents in the final.

--

v

​​Villarreal 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Prieto 63)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo (Galarza), Nunez*, Inigo Martinez, Iriondo, Zerhouni, Martinez, Williams (Munoz), Prieto, Muniain, Iribar (Goni)

--

v

​​Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Galarza og65)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Aketxe 8, 16, Goni 27)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza (David Garcia), Iriondo, Zerhouni, Armillas, Aketxe*, Prieto (Jimenez), Castillo, Goni (Galan)

My backups do the job again but Arrizabalaga's run of clean sheets in the league is over as we concede here. He had 8 in a row.

--

v
​​Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aketxe 37)
Malaga 0

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza (David Garcia), Iriondo, Zerhouni, Armillas, Goni, Prieto, Aketxe*, Jimenez (Galan)

Ager Aketxe's free-kick gave us a season ending win. My first team players should be well rested for the next match - the Champions League final!!

--

UEFA Champions League Final
v

​​Chelsea 2 (Morata 41, Musonda 55)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Williams 3, Iribar 18)
(AET - Athletic Bilbao win 3-1 on penalties)

Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte (Nunez), Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia (Elustondo), Merino, Martinez, Williams*, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar

WE RETAIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!!!!!

Just like last year it went to extra-time and penalties but this year we had it won, threw it away and then thought we had won it before we eventually did. We strolled into a 2 goal lead and it looked like it would be a stroll but they got level and took it into extra-time.

In extra-time Merino scored a late goal but it was disallowed so our celebrations were cut short and it went to penalties. Chelsea missed their 1st 3 pens and that was it!

--

SUMMARY

This month centred around the Champions League. We managed to get a result at Old Trafford to knock Man Utd out and then it was off to Vienna to face Chelsea in the final and we managed to retain the trophy by winning on penalties after throwing away a 2 goal lead.

In the league my backups had a few games and, impressively, they didn't lose a game despite having some tricky fixtures to navigate.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
AGER AKETXE
View attachment 59353

END OF SEASON POST TO FOLLOW

​​

​

 

[ninjaskill]

Impressive job retaining the CL. Also weird that your Club world cup final pitted a team that only uses Basque players against one that only uses Mexican ones

 

[Klippybo]

Impressive job retaining the CL. Also weird that your Club world cup final pitted a team that only uses Basque players against one that only uses Mexican ones

Didnt realise that Chivas did that!

 

[Klippybo]

END OF SEASON POST

What a season!!! 6 trophies available and 6 trophies were won as we somehow only lost 1 match this season and whats more we did that without performing at our best!!!!

Domestically we won the Super Cup against Real Madrid and in the league we romped it to be fair. We suffered one defeat, away to Atletico Madrid that came days after coming back from the Club World Cup, and despite playing my backups quite a bit we managed to get 99 points all told and finished a massive 20pts clear!!!!

My highlight of the season though was our Copa dle Rey campaign as we finally got past the quarter finals and ended up winning the trophy. We beat our rivals Real Sociedad along the way and put 4 past Atletico Madrid in the final.

Continentally we thumped Bayern Munich in the European Super Cup and the Club World Cup was easily won while in the Champions League we sailed through the group stage, just edged out Man City who came the closest to knocking us out, before eliminating Monaco and Man Utd before beating Chelsea on penalties in the final.

--

FINAL LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 59319

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD
View attachment 59318View attachment 59317

Once again just about everyone excelled. Goni and Iribar were my joint top scorers while the likes of Iribarren, Cordoba and Aketxe chipped in with a decent amount too. Zerhouni finally broke through and looks like a potential star while my CBs and Merino were fantastic.

The only complaint I have is the goals scored by Martinez, Muniain and Williams, Martinez only scored twice which is shocking considering he got 11 the previous season, Muniain should have got to double figures as should have Williams but I will let him off considering he got a staggering 26 assists.

--

AWARDS AND STUFF
View attachment 59316View attachment 59315View attachment 59314

Mikel Merino won the Spanish player of the year and I think Goni was the young player of the year.

--

B TEAM AND U19s

The B team had a fine season. They finished 5th and Villalibre and Jimenez scored over 50 goals between them in the 2nd tier. Hopefully they will kick on and with a constant stream of youngsters coming through every year I expect a top 6 place every year tbh.

The U19s were excellent as they won back their league title and won the cup while they were runners-up to Barcelona in the U19 European Cup.

--

HOPES FOR PRE-SEASON

Strangely enough all is not well in the garden here. Just about all my players wanted new contracts after winning everything and Andoni Iribar and Darko Garcia are unhappy with me and not willing to talk about renewing their contracts. Fortunately Iribar has 3 years and Garcia 4 years left on their contracts.

Also Cristian Jimenez wants to move to a bigger club!!! Other teams are circling around him and if I get a ridiculous bid I may sell.

So basically my aim is to try and sort this situation out!!!
​

 

[Klippybo]

SPAIN

Friendly

v

Spain 2 (Bellerin 41, Cordoba 86)
Scotland 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin* (Carvajal), Rodri, Vallejo, Grimaldo (Moreno), Thiago (Soler), Roberto, Suso, Isco, Asensio (Luis Alberto), Iribar (Cordoba)

Jesus Vallejo has come from nowhere to be 1st choice CB here as Azpilicueta is out of the World Cup - he got his 1st cap here.

--

Friendly

v

Spain 5 (Isco 1, 55pen, Iribar 22, Asensio 40, Williams 71)
San Marino 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Vallejo, Inigo Martinez, Grimaldo (Moreno), Merino, Roberto, Isco* (Williams), Iribarren (Luis Alberto), Asensio, Iribar (Cordoba)

--

SQUAD FOR THE 2022 WORLD CUP

[TABLE="width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD]NO
[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]NAME
[/TD]
[TD]CLUB
[/TD]
[TD]POS
[/TD]
[TD]AGE
[/TD]
[TD]VALUE
[/TD]
[TD]CAPS
[/TD]
[TD]GOALS[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]Kepa ARRIZABALAGA
[/TD]
[TD]Athletic Bilbao
[/TD]
[TD]GK
[/TD]
[TD]27
[/TD]
[TD]£51m
[/TD]
[TD]2
[/TD]
[TD]0
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]Hector BELLERIN
[/TD]
[TD]Arsenal
[/TD]
[TD]DR
[/TD]
[TD]27
[/TD]
[TD]£48.5m
[/TD]
[TD]21
[/TD]
[TD]2
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]Alex GRIMALDO
[/TD]
[TD]Paris Saint-Germain
[/TD]
[TD]DL
[/TD]
[TD]26
[/TD]
[TD]£53m
[/TD]
[TD]12
[/TD]
[TD]0
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]Sergi ROBERTO
[/TD]
[TD]Manchester City
[/TD]
[TD]MC
[/TD]
[TD]30
[/TD]
[TD]£56m
[/TD]
[TD]43
[/TD]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]Jesus VALLEJO
[/TD]
[TD]Real Madrid
[/TD]
[TD]DC
[/TD]
[TD]25
[/TD]
[TD]£30m
[/TD]
[TD]2
[/TD]
[TD]0
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]INIGO MARTINEZ
[/TD]
[TD]Athletic Bilbao
[/TD]
[TD]DC
[/TD]
[TD]31
[/TD]
[TD]£40.5m
[/TD]
[TD]23
[/TD]
[TD]1
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]ISCO
[/TD]
[TD]Real Madrid
[/TD]
[TD]M/AMRLC
[/TD]
[TD]30
[/TD]
[TD]£55m
[/TD]
[TD]57
[/TD]
[TD]16
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]Jon Ander IRIBARREN
[/TD]
[TD]Athletic Bilbao
[/TD]
[TD]AMC
[/TD]
[TD]21
[/TD]
[TD]£66m
[/TD]
[TD]18
[/TD]
[TD]9
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]Alvaro MORATA
[/TD]
[TD]Chelsea
[/TD]
[TD]ST
[/TD]
[TD]29
[/TD]
[TD]£60m
[/TD]
[TD]49
[/TD]
[TD]38
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]Mikel MERINO
[/TD]
[TD]Athletic Bilbao
[/TD]
[TD]MC
[/TD]
[TD]25
[/TD]
[TD]£61m
[/TD]
[TD]13
[/TD]
[TD]0
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]Marco ASENSIO
[/TD]
[TD]Manchester City
[/TD]
[TD]M/AMRLC
[/TD]
[TD]26
[/TD]
[TD]£70m
[/TD]
[TD]41
[/TD]
[TD]3
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]Inaki WILLIAMS
[/TD]
[TD]Athletic Bilbao
[/TD]
[TD]AMRLC/ST
[/TD]
[TD]27
[/TD]
[TD]£69m
[/TD]
[TD]35
[/TD]
[TD]11
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]13
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]Pau LOPEZ
[/TD]
[TD]Arsenal
[/TD]
[TD]GK
[/TD]
[TD]27
[/TD]
[TD]£16.75m
[/TD]
[TD]1
[/TD]
[TD]0
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]14
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]Inigo CORDOBA
[/TD]
[TD]Athletic Bilbao
[/TD]
[TD]AML/ST
[/TD]
[TD]25
[/TD]
[TD]£64m
[/TD]
[TD]8
[/TD]
[TD]4
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]15
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]SUSO
[/TD]
[TD]AC Milan
[/TD]
[TD]AMRLC
[/TD]
[TD]28
[/TD]
[TD]£58m
[/TD]
[TD]34
[/TD]
[TD]7
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]16
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]Andoni IRIBAR
[/TD]
[TD]Athletic Bilbao
[/TD]
[TD]AMLC/ST
[/TD]
[TD]20
[/TD]
[TD]£53m
[/TD]
[TD]11
[/TD]
[TD]5
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]17
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]RODRI
[/TD]
[TD]Juventus
[/TD]
[TD]D/MC
[/TD]
[TD]25
[/TD]
[TD]£59m
[/TD]
[TD]8
[/TD]
[TD]0
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]18
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]Dani CARVAJAL
[/TD]
[TD]Real Madrid
[/TD]
[TD]DRL
[/TD]
[TD]30
[/TD]
[TD]£40.5m
[/TD]
[TD]33
[/TD]
[TD]0
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]19
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]Alberto MORENO
[/TD]
[TD]Napoli
[/TD]
[TD]DL
[/TD]
[TD]29
[/TD]
[TD]£52m
[/TD]
[TD]16
[/TD]
[TD]0
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]20
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]Carlos SOLER
[/TD]
[TD]Liverpool
[/TD]
[TD]MC
[/TD]
[TD]25
[/TD]
[TD]£52m
[/TD]
[TD]9
[/TD]
[TD]0
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]21
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]THIAGO
[/TD]
[TD]Manchester City
[/TD]
[TD]M/AMC
[/TD]
[TD]31
[/TD]
[TD]£31.5m
[/TD]
[TD]56
[/TD]
[TD]1
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]22
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]LUIS ALBERTO
[/TD]
[TD]Lazio
[/TD]
[TD]M/AMC/ST
[/TD]
[TD]29
[/TD]
[TD]£33m
[/TD]
[TD]8
[/TD]
[TD]2
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]23
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[TD]David DE GEA
[/TD]
[TD]Manchester United
[/TD]
[TD]GK
[/TD]
[TD]31
[/TD]
[TD]£60m
[/TD]
[TD]76
[/TD]
[TD]0
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

​

 

[Klippybo]

Well that post above looked different to what it looked like when I pressed submit lol

Cant be arsed changing it

 

[Klippybo]

SPAIN

2022 FIFA World Cup

Hosts - Australia
Holders - Belgium

Group G

v

Spain 1 (Suso 90)
Iran 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Vallejo, Inigo Martinez, Moreno*, Merino, Roberto, Williams (Suso), Iribarren (Luis Alberto), Asensio, Iribar (Cordoba)

I think its safe to say things can only improve. Sure we had 18 shots to 1 but the only highlight that was shown was Suso's injury time winner. I slaughtered the players at full time and they all to a man reacted positively so lets hope we can improve.

--

v

Ecuador 0
Spain 2 (Vallejo 64, Roberto 69)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Vallejo, Inigo Martinez, Moreno, Merino (Thiago), Roberto, Isco*, Iribarren (Luis Alberto), Asensio, Iribar (Cordoba)

For an hour we were **** again like against Iran. No cut and thrust, no creativity, just plodding along. However 2 goals in 5min changed the complexion of things and we are through to the next stage.

--

v

Spain 3 (Iribar 29, Suso 47, Soler 65)
Mexico 1 (Pineda 52pen)

Lineup - De Gea, Carvajal, Vallejo (Inigo Martinez), Rodri, Grimaldo, Thiago, Soler*, Suso, Luis Alberto (Cordoba), Williams (Iribarren), Iribar

With us all but qualified I decided to rotate my squad and what do you know? We get a far better performance. Maybe somewhat surprisingly Mexico fail to qualify and Iran finish 2nd.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2nd Round

v

Italy 0
Spain 4 (Iribar 30, 60, 78, Bonucci og70)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Vallejo, Inigo Martinez, Moreno, Merino, Roberto (Soler), Isco, Iribarren (Suso), Asensio (Morata), Iribar*

UNBELIEVABLE!!!! Morata has returned from injury and was just not fit enough to start here and that obviously gave Iribar some motivation as he put Italy to the sword and scored a fantastic hat-trick.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quarter-Final

v

Ukraine 1 (Zinchenko 72)
Spain 3 (Iribarren 11, Carvajal 24, Morata 30)

Lineup - De Gea, Carvajal*, Rodri, Inigo Martinez, Grimaldo, Thiago (Soler), Roberto, Suso (Luis Alberto), Iribarren, Williams, Morata (Cordoba)

We are beginning to hit top form now. I was delighted with the kind draw after getting Italy in the previous round and it also meant I could rest a few players as I was confident of winning.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Semi-Final

v

Portugal 1 (Silva 13)
Spain 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Vallejo, Rodri, Moreno, Merino, Soler, Isco, Luis Alberto (Cordoba), Asensio (Williams), Iribar (Morata)

My first defeat as Spain manager. I didn't expect to lose this game tbh but we didn't turn up and Portugal deserved their victory.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3rd Place Play-Off

v

Spain 1 (Williams 72)
Germany 2 (Werner 22, Passlack 30pen)

Lineup - De Gea, Carvajal, Vallejo, Inigo Martinez, Grimaldo, Thiago, Roberto, Suso (Cordoba), Iribarren (Williams), Asensio, Iribar (Morata)

One defeat followed by another. Tbh we weren't at the races until I made my triple substitution and changed my formation. We pulled one goal back but couldn't find the equaliser.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OVERALL

A decent campaign. We started off slowly despite winning all of our group games and when we got drawn against Italy I feared the worst but my team put in a great performance to thrash them 4-0 and then follow that up with a 3-1 win over Ukraine to take us into the semis.

Unfortunately we didn't turn up against Portugal and were eliminated while in the 3rd/4th place play-off we weren't at it again and Germany beat us.

Tbh I made a mistake in my squad selection as I definitely needed another player who could play at CB. I will assess my squad though and maybe inject some new blood into the squad.

In the end Portugal beat Brazil 1-0 in the final while in the awards De Gea won the best keeper award and Vallejo was named in the team of the year.



​