PRE-SEASON
Just a short post this time as not much happened as I only signed 2 players and didn't really sell much either. To be fair I was busy with Spain in the World Cup and that took up a lot of time in the summer. I did manage to get Darko Garcia to sign a new deal which is fantastic and Jimenez is reportedly happy again but is unwilling to enter talks.
Andoni Iribar is still however sulking and not wanting to discuss a new contract.
So without further ado here are my transfer dealings so far...
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PLAYERS OUT
2 players from the B team have left - Unai Lopez and Oscar Gil - and I recouped £2.2m for Lopez and £800,000 FOR Gil. Both players were key players for my B team but I felt that I could do without them as I have a few youngsters that I want to test out at the 2nd level.
TOTAL INCOME - £3m
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PLAYERS IN
I paid Eibar £2.7m to bring in 16y/o Inigo Prieto who I noticed towards the end of last season. I think he will be a star but as he is a natural DMC I need to train him up to play further forward but the fact he can play at CB is handy. He is in my 1st team squad and will get a few opportunities this season. View attachment 59242
I also loaned a winger from Sevilla to get him Basque nationality. View attachment 59241
TOTAL SPEND - £2.7m
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FIRST TEAM SQUAD
Firstly I have demoted Pablo Armillas to the B team as he hasn't developed enough for my liking.
I have called up Miguel Munoz, Marcos Alvarez de Lara and Cristian Jimenez. Munoz will be my backup RW, Alvarez de Lara will take Armillas' place in the squad and Jimenez will be my 3rd choice striker. Obviously I have Inigo Prieto in the squad too so I actually have increased my squad size by a couple.
I have promoted a few U19s to the B team a year early. Calvo, Inigo Garcia and Antonio Jesus Alvarez de Lara have been called up while Josue Sanchez is back from his loan and despite playing every week in La Liga he has suffered and I hope a year in the B team will help.
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Athletic Bilbao 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0 (AET - Athletic Bilbao win 3-1 on penalties) Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez (M. Alvarez de Lara), Darko Garcia, Zerhouni, Martinez, Williams (Goni), Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar
This was a boring match but it wasn't without incident. There wasn't many chances but they had Ziyech sent-off early in the 2nd half but we couldn't take advantage. Iribarren was then sent-off for us in extra-time but there were no goals and we won the penalty shoot-out but even then we missed two penalties!!!
A decent opening match of the season. Deportivo were tough opponents but we got the opener on the stroke of half-time and then carved them open for the 2nd.
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Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 10, Iribarren 33, 45) Leganes 0
Iribarren returned to the side here and scored 2 fantastic goals from outside the area. I am a bit disappointed that we didn't score in the 2nd half though.
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SUMMARY
Lots going on this month. We won two trophies and made a decent start to the league campaign as we won both our games which is a decent start by anybody's standards. In the European Super Cup we beat Spurs on penalties while in the domestic one we drew with Atletico away before beating them at home.
We have been given a really tough Champions League group. Liverpool, Lyon and Inter Milan will be our opponents and that is a group of death but having won the trophy the last 2 years we should really be qualifying.
Finally in the transfer window I brought in a new 16y/o left back. I don't imagine him ever playing for the 1st team but my B team needed cover. View attachment 59146
Going out was a load of players on loan plus I sold Ager Aketxe to Genoa for £4m. Aketxe was a terrific squad player and technically excellent and great in dead ball situations. I felt that with Munoz waiting at RW and J.Prieto waiting at AMC I didn't really need Aketxe. He made 199 apps and scored 50 goals for me.
Finally it seems that the rest of La Liga decided to splash the cash! Real did let Pogba and Isco go mind you and some other teams did sell some decent players but joining La Liga are the likes of Lemar, Geubbels and Leno. View attachment 59149
Not good enough. Last season Atletico Madrid were the only side to beat us and here they are beating us in game week 3 of the league season.
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UEFA Champions League Group E
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Athletic Bilbao 0 Liverpool 0 Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez (Nunez), Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Munoz (Jimenez), J.Prieto, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar
Two games in a row without scoring and another match that we fail to win - things are going the shape of pears. Martinez got injured and is out for a few weeks and Williams is out for a month. At least we didn't lose I suppose.
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Celta Vigo 0 Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 37, Iribar 69)
Back to winning ways. Celta matched us in truth but a fine finish from Muniain and a scrappy goal from Iribar won us the match.
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Athletic Bilbao 1 (Iribar 26) Barcelona 1 (Berge 90) Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino (M. Alvarez de Lara), Zerhouni, A. Alvarez de Lara, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)
AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!! We almost had a great win but we conceded in stoppage time to drop 2pts. With Munoz and Williams injured Alvaro Jesus Alvarez de Lara came into the side and did ok.
The first 30min here was crazy. Inigo Martinez had a goal disallowed, we took the lead, Zerhouni got sent-off and then we scored 2 in 3min. In the 2nd half they missed a penalty.
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UEFA Champions League Group E v
Inter Milan 1 (Arias 54) Athletic Bilbao 1 (Munoz 50) Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia (Nunez), Merino, Zerhouni (J.Prieto), Munoz, Iribarren, Muniain, Goni (Cordoba)
Another draw and considering Inter lost to Lyon first time out I am a bit concerned.
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SUMMARY
I am not happy. This month was a struggle as we lost to Atletico Madrid, conceded a last minute equaliser to Barcelona and failed to win any of our 1st 2 Champions League games. We did win a couple but we are not playing at a level that befits a team of our standing.
We do have injuries I suppose but I expect my players to perform far better than they have been.
We finally get going in our Champions League group. We took a fortunate lead and were pegged back but we scored 2 quick goals in the 2nd half to win us the match.
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Athletic Bilbao 4 (Iribar 6pen, Muniain 16, 25, Goni 80) Cadiz 0
Out came my youngsters and backups here and we won easily enough. This game is perfectly timed as I get to rest my first choice team for the next game against Real Madrid.
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Real Madrid 1 (Lemar 90) Athletic Bilbao 1 (Iribar 38) Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams (Goni), Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar
Yet again we concede a last minute equaliser. This is getting silly as we have dropped 2pts to both Barcelona and now Real Madrid in stoppage time.
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SUMMARY
I am still not happy at how things are going. Sure we were unbeaten this month but I am not at all pleased with how we are playing. We are drawing far too many games both at home and abroad and we are really struggling at the moment.
In the league we are fortunate that both Real and Barcelona have somehow had worse starts to the season than us and we sit 3rd in the table 5pts behind Atletico Madrid.
v Athletic Bilbao 3 (Williams 12, Iribar 17, 67pen) Lyon 1 (Traore 80)
Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte (Nunez), Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino (Zerhouni), Martinez, Williams*, Iribarren (J.Prieto), Muniain, Iribar This win puts us top of the group by 3pts as we put in a decent performance. Laporte got injured and is out for a few weeks.
Two decent performances in a row!!!! We were helped when they had a man sent-off after 33min and after that we dominated. Iribar has been banging in the goals this season.
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v Athletic Bilbao 2 (Iribar 20, Williams 38) Sporting Gijon 0
Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino*, Martinez, Williams, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar
This was a hard fought match in which for once this season I am happy with a scoreless draw. This point secures qualification for the next round and a point in our next match will secure the group.
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v Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 12, Iribar 30) Sevilla 1 (Marajo 43)
Iribar has scored in our last 5 league games now. Inigo Martinez had a goal disallowed here.
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Copa del Rey 4th Round 2nd Leg
v Athletic Bilbao 3 (Zerhouni 5, Munoz 18, Rodriguez og24) Racing Santander 0 (Agg: 6-1)
Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza, Iriondo (Garmendia), Zerhouni*, M. Alvarez de Lara (I.Prieto), Munoz, J.Prieto, Cordoba, Goni (Jimenez)
A nice easy game to round off the month. Munoz has scored 5 goals this season already which is not bad for my backup RW.
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SUMMARY
November saw us win all of our league games, including some tricky fixtures, and secure qualification in both cups yet we are still not firing on all cylinders and I am at a loss to explain why! Tiredness after the world cup maybe?
However we are 2nd in the league and just a point off the top so I shouldn't be overly worried as Real and Barcelona continue to slip up. We have a fairly kind run of fixtures coming up although we will also have games in hand due to our involvement in the Club Worl Cup.
AMAZING!!! I had to change the starting XI so I changed tactics to a wide formation with wingers and went with a Bilbao front 4 and it worked a treat as 3 of them scored.
Finally a great performance domestically!!! Tbh they actually had 16 shots to our 20 so it probably should have been a closer scoreline. Iribar, Muniain and Williams all had to go off with injuries but fortunately none of them were serious.
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UEFA Champions League Group E
v Athletic Bilbao 4 (Goni 16, Munoz 33, 90, Cordoba 66) Inter Milan 0 Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza (Sanchez), Iriondo, Zerhouni, M. Alvarez de Lara (I.Prieto), Munoz*, J.Prieto (Calvo), Cordoba, Goni
2 great performances in a row!!!! - and this one from my reserves against Inter!!!! Munoz scored another 2, Cordoba finally got his first of the season and Inter finish bottom of the group.
Levante are surprisingly 3rd in the table and have that Basque regen striker that Inter paid £34m for on loan and a 33y/o Ander Herrera in their ranks so this was a decent win.
SUMMARY
This month had plenty going on. In the league we won all our games to end the year in 2nd place with a game in hand over Atletico Madrid while we topped our Champions League group and won the FIFA Club World Cup. I just noticed that we amazingly have only conceded 4 goals so far in the league - quite incredible.
In the cups we have been drawn against Sporting Gijon in the Copa del Rey and in the Champions League we got a favourable draw against Marseille. As for Spain in the Euro Qualifiers we will face Austria, Iceland, Estonia and Latvia.
Also I have a new chairman after the recent elections and he has improved our youth recruitment and our transfer budget - I have £295m to spend on nobody!!!!! Jon Ander Iribarren was named in the World Team of the Year.
Muniain starred here as he scored one and assisted the other two. Williams got injured and is out for a few weeks and joins Inigo Martinez and Iribar in the physio room.
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v Athletic Bilbao 3 (Goni 8, Iribarren 66, Munoz 77) Real Sociedad 0
Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte, Nunez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Munoz*, Iribarren, Muniain (Cordoba), Goni (Jimenez)
We thump our fiercest rivals here and were never in any danger. Illarramendi got sent-off for them and Munoz scores yet again - it seems like he scores every time he starts!
v Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 7, 44, 55) Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Cartabia 57) Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte, Nunez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez (J.Prieto), A.Alvarez de Lara, Iribarren, Muniain*, Goni (Jimenez)
A hat-trick for Muniain here as he was superb but conceding a goal was annoying!
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Copa del Rey Quarter-Final 1st Leg
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Athletic Bilbao 2 (Iribarren 41, A. Alvarez de Lara 45) Barcelona 0
AAAGGGHHH!!!! Our last 3 domestic defeats have all come at the hands of Atletico and they were lucky here to win. Iribar missed a last minute penalty for us that would have drawn us level but we are 2pts above them with a game in hand.
I decided to play my youngsters here as we have a few nightmare fixtures coming up in the next week or two. Munoz started - and got an assist this time.
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SUMMARY
January really saw the emergence of Mikel Munoz as my backup RW was amazing. He kept on scoring and amazingly has 11 goals so far this season - Inaki Williams has 3 in comparison!!! Munoz is classed as a wonderkid and he also signed a new long term contract.
We end the month top of the league with a game in hand and in the Copa del Rey we did great to knock out Barcelona but Real Madrid lie in wait in the semis.
In the transfer market I rejected a £70m bid from PSG for Inaki Williams which he wasn't too happy about. Also adding to my unhappy player list that includes Iribar (still) and Juan Luis Prieto.
Incoming was 3 regens. A CM I found at Espanyol that I paid £900,000 for. My DoF paid up to £1.4m for an Atletico Madrid winger called Cisse while I loaned another Atletico winger to give him Basque nationality. View attachment 58665View attachment 58664View attachment 58663
Levante are surprisingly 3rd in the table and have that Basque regen striker that Inter paid £34m for on loan and a 33y/o Ander Herrera in their ranks so this was a decent win.
Real Madrid 1 (Luan 13) Athletic Bilbao 1 (Williams 90)
Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams*, Iribarren (J.Prieto), Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)
We were pathetic here and but we equalised with an absolutely stunning goal in injury time from Williams as he ran onto a Prieto pass and finished first time across their keeper from the edge of the box into the top corner.
A fantastic draw. We fell behind twice but fought back twice against the run of play. If Barcelona won they would have jumped above us in the league.
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Copa del Rey Semi-Final 2nd Leg
v Athletic Bilbao 2 (Iribarren 11, Inigo Martinez 25) Real Madrid 2 (Morelos 5, 77) (Agg: 3-3 - Real Madrid win on away goals)
Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Zerhouni, Martinez (M.Alvarez de Lara), Williams (Munoz), Iribarren*, Cordoba, Iribar (Goni)
Our hold on the Copa del Rey is brief as Real knock us out here on away goals. I am incredibly disappointed as we would have played Deportivo in the final and would surely have won that.
We did enough to win this match but we didn't take our chances. That being said I am delighted with our last minute penalty as Merino got his 1st goal of the season and our vital away goal.
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v Athletic Bilbao 1 (Paredes og84) Celta Vigo 0 Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino (Zerhouni), Martinez, Williams*, Iribarren (J.Prieto), Muniain, Iribar (Goni)
We laboured to victory here but got the bit of luck required and took the points.
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v Athletic Bilbao 2 (Laporte 40, 63) Real Betis 1 (Mujica 90) Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte*, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Munoz, Iribarren (J.Prieto), Muniain, Iribar (Goni)
This was our all important game in hand and we sneaked it thanks to 2 goals from an unlikely goalscorer.
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v Athletic Bilbao 2 (Iribarren 74, Cordoba 76) Valencia 1 (Cancelo 38)
Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez, Williams (Zerhouni), Iribarren*, Muniain (Cordoba), Iribar (Goni)
A great comeback here as we were shocking in truth. The last few games have all been poor performances and Iribar, Muniain, Williams and to a certain extent Iribarren have all been struggling.
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SUMMARY
A strange month. On the whole it was disappointing as we really struggled to put in any decent performances and we were eliminated from the Copa del Rey yet somehow we were unbeaten!!!
I cant put my finger on why all of a sudden our performances have dipped but it goes to show how good we are in that we are 6pts clear at the top which as ever is vital as if I have a big enough lead I am able to rest my players for the Champions League ties.
One bit of good news though was that Andoni Iribar finally stopped sulking with me and he agreed to sign a new contract - then he stopped scoring lol.
Here is Domingo. I had him on loan donkeys ago to make him Basque.
Prieto is decent but couldn't lace Aitor's boots. Havent got anyone near as good as him yet but Martinez is close I suppose but is in a different position. It really has to be a 15/16 year old who goes straight into the 1st team which Martinez did but at CM he doesn't get the goals and assists as someone further forward does.
Is Munoz the difference? It seems recently that when he plays the whole team lifts their performance and that was certainly the case here. Merino got injured and is out for a few weeks.
I rested my first team here and my youngsters did a fine job. Munoz's 2 goals puts him1 behind Iribar as our top scorer while Cordoba got 3 assists to continue his great form.
A decent win although a below par performance. Martinez got injured and is out for a few weeks so my 1st choice midfield is now unavailable for a wee while.
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Athletic Bilbao 1 (Iribarren 52) Real Madrid 0 Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Zerhouni, M.Alvarez de Lara (I.Prieto), Williams, Iribarren*, Muniain, Iribar (Goni)
A fantastic result but what a poor match - it was so boring and the only highlight was our goal really. I would have rather have won our cup match against them though.
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Athletic Bilbao 2 (Williams 17, Iribarren 65) Villarreal 0
Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia (Elustondo), Zerhouni, M.Alvarez de Lara (I.Prieto), Williams, Iribarren*, Muniain, Iribar (Goni)
Villarreal sacked their manager - Giovanni Van Bronckhorst - immediately after this match.
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SUMMARY
March saw us kick on again as we played some decent stuff and managed to defeat Real Madrid in the league and Marseille in the Champions League. We are 10pts clear at the top of the table so another title should be coming our way but in the Champions League we have been drawn against Bayern Munich and that will be the test........
15y/o, valued at £8m and he looks an absolute beast of a player. He is a LW but can play LB and he goes straight into my first team squad. He has all the attributes that a top winger needs and the fact he is decent at dead ball situations makes him even more important. Just think, he has about 10 years of developing to do!!!!
Sevilla 0 Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 41, 55, 62)
Lineup - Arrizabalaga, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Zerhouni, Williams, Iribarren (Gabilondo), Muniain*, Iribar (Goni)
Muniain must have heard about the potential of Gabilondo as he scored a magnificent hat-trick to secure our Champions League place. To be fair he has had his best season this year arguably.
Next seasons transfer budget - an initial £330m lol.
Out came my backups and they destroyed Gijon. Jimenez came off the bench to score 2 and Gabilondo got 2 assists and a man of the match award from his first ever start.
We strolled into a 2 goal lead and at half-time there was no indication at what was to come. At 2-1 up with 10min to go we were looking good but they went 3-2 up and I was annoyed but content and then I was ecstatic when we levelled at 3-3. They went 4-3 up in the last minute and I was gutted but in stoppage time we levelled with an amazing strike from Merino as he volleyed in 1st time from 25 yards.
In the end Bayern had 29 shots to our 15 so I am happy with a score draw and 4 away goals.
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Girona 0 Athletic Bilbao 1 (Rodrigues og82)
Lineup - A.Iribarren , Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza, Gabilondo, Zerhouni, M.Alvarez de Lara, A.Alvarez de Lara (Castillo), J.Prieto (Calvo), Cordoba, Goni (Jimenez)
We retain the title here with 4 games to spare but I am sad. Why? Before the match my keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, damaged his cruciate ligaments and is out for 5-7 months so I am obviously distraught about that.
Time for 17y/o Ander Iribarren to step up!
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UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2nd Leg
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Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 40) Bayern Munich 1 (Hummels 76) (Agg: 5-5 - Athletic Bilbao win on away goals) Lineup - A.Iribarren, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez (Zerhouni), Williams, J.Iribarren (Gabilondo), Muniain, Iribar (Goni)
This match was much more calmer than the 1st leg and we just did enough here to get through. Muniain's goal makes him our top scorer this season.
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Athletic Bilbao 1 (Goni 61) Levante 0 Lineup - A.Iribarren, Elustondo, Nunez, Galarza, Gabilondo*, Zerhouni (I.Prieto), M.Alvarez de Lara, A.Alvarez de Lara (Castillo), J.Prieto (Calvo), Cordoba, Goni
Levante look to have secured themselves Champions League football so this was a good win from my backups. Gabilondo isn't even competent at left back yet but he apparently put in a MoM performance here.
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SUMMARY
This month saw us secure our 4th successive title and qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League but the over-riding feeling is one of loss due to Arrizabalaga's long term injury.
Ander Iribarren will come in and take his place and the 17y/o has bags of potential and has kept 2 clean sheets in the league and only let in 1 against Bayern so he has started well.
In the semis of the Champions League we will face Monaco.
Gabilondo looks like a future Ballon d'Or winner!! Just needs a bit of tutoring and he'll be unbelievable! Those set piece attributes will get him so many goals and assists as well, very jealous.
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Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 22, J.Iribarren 51, Inigo Martinez 59) AS Monaco 0 Lineup - A.Iribarren, Perdomo, Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez (M.Alvarez de Lara), Williams, J.Iribarren, Muniain (Gabilondo), Iribar (Goni)
Fantastic. We have one foot in the final after this result and I may even get to play my youngsters in the 2nd leg now too. Laporte even had a goal disallowed!
Meh. Tbh my young keeper looked dodgy at the goal here but overall it was a poor performance from my backups. They are usually superb so I cant complain.
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UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2nd Leg v
AS Monaco 0 Athletic Bilbao 1 (M.Alvarez de Lara 25) (Agg: 0-4)
Fantastic. My backups beat Sociedad to finish off the season with a derby victory. Munoz scored a last minute goal that was disallowed.
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UEFA Champions League Final
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Athletic Bilbao 4 (Iribar 5, Martinez 65, 82, J.Iribarren 75) Paris Saint-Germain 3 (Mbappe 47pen, Oberlin 85, 88) Lineup - A.Iribarren, Perdomo (Elustondo), Laporte, Inigo Martinez, Darko Garcia, Merino, Martinez*, Williams (Goni), J.Iribarren, Muniain (Gabilondo), Iribar
3 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE WINS IN A ROW!!!!! What a final. We took an early lead when Iribar pounced and so it stayed until half-time but straight away they levelled through a Mbappe penalty. Then Martinez stepped up and put us ahead, Iribarren added a 3rd and Martinez doubled his tally for the night and the season to make it 4-1 and game over.
But not so!!! PSG scored twice in the last 5min to make it a nervy ending but we held on.
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SUMMARY
The final month of the season was all about the Champions League as with the league title already won I could play my backups to give them experience in the final few games.
We comfortably disposed of AS Monaco in the semis and even got the chance to play my backups in the 2nd leg and then we faced the big French side PSG in the final.
PSG have Mbappe, Isco, Neymar, Pogba and Dybala in their ranks but we surged into a 4-1 lead before they made it a nervy finish but we held on to claim the trophy.
END OF SEASON POST
Season 6 is over and it was a weird kinda season. We were never really blowing teams away but still racked up 97pts. We won all of the trophies available apart from the Copa del Rey and we suffered the loss of Arrizabalaga to a long term injury but gained a terrific franchise player in Gabilondo. Overall it was a great season though.
It was also strange with my players. I had a few unhappy ones but most have come round to my way of thinking while Muniain somehow scored over 20 goals to be my top scorer and my backup RW got 14!!!
Everyone performed well. Iribarren was the star performer but a special mention has to go to Mikel Munoz who scored 14 goals from RW in so few appearances. However shame on Merino, Martinez and especially Inaki Williams as they only scored 9 goals in total. That being said if Martinez keeps scoring doubles in Champions League finals I will let him off lol.
The B team once again were superb as they finished runners-up in the 2nd tier to Espanyol. Aitor Sanz, Enrique Castillo and David Garcia were the standout performers while my on loan striker Echeverria scored 25 goals for Numancia in the same division.
The U19s won both of their domestic trophies but were eliminated by Atletico Madrid in the continental tournament.
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HOPES FOR PRE-SEASON
There will be a few changes. My biggest dilemma is what to do with Gabilondo. I would love to play him LW but Muniain has just had his best season and was my top scorer while Cordoba is valued at over £60m and is an international so what to do?
Darko Garcia, Jesus Goni and Ander Iribarren need new contracts so that is on the agenda too.
England 1 (Rashford 59) Spain 2 (Vallejo 30, Iribarren 120) AET
Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Vallejo*, Inigo Martinez, Moreno (Garcia), Merino, Roberto, Isco, Iribarren, Asensio (Williams), Morata (Iribar)
We win the Nations League again. We got lucky as they had a goal disallowed just before Iribarren scored the last minute winner. My very own Darko Garcia made his international debut.
