At least u can try again to go undefeated in all comps
 
omg ! but save games not loading . the save games could not loaded :( why ?
 
i dont know - i havent tried in nearly 2 months
 
Looking good in the league. Push for the title is on, good luck. On a different note though - I am thinking Benitez needs to think about just quitting football or try a different league......Read more

Regards,
Berry
 
THIS STORY IS COMING BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After watching the football manager documentary and seeing people talk about their favourite saves I cast my mind back to this save and remembered how much I loved it and wanted to play it again.

So I re-installed FM12, went to my MediaFire page and found two uploaded files. The first one was when Aitor was 24 but the 2nd one is in 2024 when he is 28 so I am going to pick up the story from the 1st of August 2024.

It coincidentally is the perfect time to restart. Aitor is in his prime, Cidoncha is 25, I still have the oldies such as San Jose, Azpilicueta and Muniain while Izurza, Gutierrez, Garmendia, Ruiz and Vinas are just 16 and 17.

Going to play it until FM15 comes out and will probably jump back and forth.
 
images


AUGUST 2024

I resumed this game just before the Euros (which I won with Spain) and decided to pick up the story from the first game of the season.

Here is a screenie of the squad..........
View attachment 334428

In the U19s I have Jaume Gutierrez, Sergio Ayechu, Toni, Damia and Gontzal Ruiz. I also signed Antonio for $2.5m as I seem to remember that he became quite good for Barcelona.

Anywho lets get back into things.........

--

Spanish Super Cup Final 1st Leg

Athletic Bilbao 4 (Hondo N'Dongo 26, Garcia 51, Ibanez 79, 90)

Real Madrid 1 (Brown 45)

Not a bad way to resume the save!!! Naturally Aitor Herrera assisted 3 goals and picked up the man of the match award.


--

Spanish Super Cup Final 2nd Leg

Real Madrid 1 (Katjiuongua 69)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Garcia 14, Herrera 82)
(Athletic Bilbao win 6-2 on aggregate)


A good win as we win our 10th successive Super Cup.

--

Athletic Bilbao 3 (Hamalainen og7, Garcia 24, Herrera 40)

Real Sociedad 0

A derby victory but it should have been by a lot more. I gave 16y/o Gontzal Ruiz his debut here.

--

Malaga 1 (Remirez 79)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 29, Garcia 45)


--

UEFA European Super Cup

Barcelona 3 (Florescu 22, Redaelli 45, Diarra 56)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Muniain 47, 78, Santano 59, Perez Villarroya 87)

WHAT A COMEBACK!!!!! At half time I lambasted my players and it had an immediate effect as we pulled a goal back but when we conceded a 3rd it was game over. However we battled back and dominated the final 30min to ****** the victory!


--

LINEUPS

OPPRESGKRBCBCBLBCMCMAMRAMLAMCSTSUBS
Real M4-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoBarandiaranDe la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerrera*GarciaIbanez 2, Izurza, Ordonez Lopez
Real M2-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoBarandiaranDe la TorreOrdonez LopezCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaIzurza, Garmendia, Ibanez
R. Soc3-0DavidAlonsoHondo N'DongoBarandiaranRuizOrdonez LopezCidonchaIzurzaPerez VillarroyaHerrera*GarciaGarmendia, Sanz, Gomez Comas
Mal2-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoBarandiaranDe la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerrera*GarciaAlfredo, Izurza
Barc4-3DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoBarandiaranRuizSantanoCidonchaMuniain* 2Perez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaGomez, Ordonez Lopez, Sanz


--

SUMMARY

This month was so much fun. I am so lucky to have uploaded a save from this time as I have all my favourites from my previous story here either fully developed or about to break through. I cant remember the exact details of what happened to either player originally but I can remember some things like regretting selling Cidoncha and Barandiaran getting an injury that ruined his career.

And then there is Aitor!!!!! Oh my. I know I always go on about him but he is the Football Manager god. He wasnt that great during the month I thought but he scored, assisted and picked up man of the match awards for basically being average by his standards.

LOVING IT!!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
AITOR HERRERA

View attachment 334419

--

LIGA BBVA
View attachment 334418
 
images


SEPTEMBER

Athletic Bilbao 2 (Garcia 7, De la Torre 26)
Real Valladolid 0

--

UEFA Champions League Group A
Athletic Bilbao 6 (Ibanez 7, 39, 90, Vinas 17, Sanz 35pen, Leandrao og83)

Shakhtar Donetsk 0

I played my backups here and they demolished Shakhtar. 16y/o Vinas got a goal on his debut.


--

Real Betis 1 (Sanchez 32)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Barandiaran 61, Hondo N'Dongo 68)

Lady luck was on our side here as Betis missed an early penalty and had a man sent-off moments before we scored the winner.


--

Athletic Bilbao 4 (Muniain 7, Garcia 17, 31, Perez Villarroya 74)
Real Oviedo 0

We should have scored more here as they had a man sent-off and Garcia had a goal disallowed. Barandiaran got injured and is out for a couple of months.

--

Valencia 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Gomez 52, Muniain 86)


A nice victory. I just noticed that the previous season we were unbeaten in the league so this was a potential banana skin.


--

LINEUPS
OPPRESGKRBCBCBLBCMCMAMRAMLAMCSTSUBS
R. Val2-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoBarandiaranDe la Torre*SantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaIbanez, Izurza
Shak6-0DavidAlonsoGomezSan JoseRuizOrdonez LopezVinasGomez ComasIbanez* 3SanzAlfredoAntonio, Bergara, Gutierrez
Real Betis2-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoBarandiaranDe la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerrera*GarciaAlfredo, Ibanez
Oviedo4-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoBarandiaranDe la TorreSantano*CidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarcia 2Ordonez Lopez, Gomez
Val2-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomez*De la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaAlfredo

--

SUMMARY


A good month was had here as we won every game with some pretty consistant and convincing performances. Next month we will face both of the Madrid sides so that will be tough.

Aitor Herrera made his 350th league appearance for us during the month and Iker Muniain broke the appearance record for the club when he played against Valencia.

Andoni Santano requested a move during the month but as I havent played the game for so long I dont want to sell him any time soon!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANGEL DE LA TORRE
View attachment 334403

--

LIGA BBVA
View attachment 334402

--

images


SPAIN

FIFA World Cup Quals Group 9

Estonia 0
Spain 7 (Herrera 10, 79, Granell 16, Perez Villarroya 28, Garcia 34pen, 62, 87)

Lineup
-
David, De la Torre, Hondo N'Dongo, Barandiaran, Granell, Santano, Cidoncha (Ruiz), Muniain (Muralha), Perez Villarroya, Herrera, Garcia*

Estonia had 2 men sent-off by the 20th minute so they never had a chance.
 
images


OCTOBER

UEFA Champions League Group A

PSV Eindhoven 1 (Montano 35)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Garcia 24, Muniain 78, Ordonez Lopez 89)

A good win but Aitor got injured and is out for a few weeks.

--

Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 23, Ibanez 79, Alfredo 87)
Espanyol 0

--

Real Madrid 0

Athletic Bilbao 0

A decent point but it ends a 47 game winning run in the league. We are now unbeaten in 122 league games.

--

UEFA Champions League Group A

Athletic Bilbao 2 (Gutierrez 13, Garmendia 49)
Celtic 0

Another chance for my backups and youngsters and they won the game easily.

--

Atletico Madrid 1 (Barraza 19)
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Hondo N'Dongo 37, Herrera 41, 77, Garcia 66, Perez Villarroya 84)

An amazing win this as Atletico were top of the table with a 100% record but we demolished them here.

--

Copa del Rey 4th Round 1st Leg
Lleida Esportiu 0
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Gomez Comas 4pen, 26, Alfredo 15, 62, 88pen)

--

LINEUPS

OPPRESGKRBCBCBLBCMCMAMRAMLAMCSTSUBS
PSV3-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaOrdonez Lopez*
Esp3-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez Villarroya*Ordonez LopezGarciaGarmendia, Alfredo, Ibanez
Real M0-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la Torre*SantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaGarmendiaGarciaAlfredo, Ibanez, Vinas
Celtic2-0DavidAlonsoSan JoseGomezRuizVinasGarmendiaIzurzaIbanez*GutierrezAlfredoAyechu, Gomez Comas, Eric
Atl M5-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerrera* 2GarciaGarmendia, Izurza, Alfredo
Lleida5-0DavidAlonsoSan JoseGomezRuizVinasEricGomez Comas 2IbanezIzurzaAlfredo* 3Valcarcel, Criville, Antonio


--

SUMMARY

We got some big results this month as we drew away to Real Madrid and thumped Atletico Madrid away from home. Also we picked up 2 good victories in Europe and won in the domestic cup.

We are really playing some good football and even when players are missing the youngsters come in and perform well. Everything is rosy!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
GASPAR PEREZ VILLARROYA
View attachment 334347
--

LIGA BBVA
View attachment 334349

--

images


SPAIN

FIFA World Cup Quals Group 9
Spain 13 (Garcia 10, 23, 51, 57, 64, 72, Perez Villarroya 13, Juan Carlos 17, Muniain 54, 83, Granell 60, Ibanez 69, Santano 74)
Belarus 0

Lineup - David, De la Torre, Hondo N'Dongo, Gomez (Kortadi), Granell, Santano, Cidoncha (Ibanez), Juan Carlos (Izurza), Perez Villarroya, Muniain, Garcia*

WOW!!!!!

--

FIFA World Cup Quals Group 9
Switzerland 1 (Ben Khalifa 53)
Spain 2 (Muniain 14, 82)

Lineup - David, De la Torre (Liendo), Hondo N'Dongo, Gomez, Granell, Santano, Cidoncha (Ruiz), Juan Carlos, Perez Villarroya, Muniain*, Garcia (Alfredo)

 
Amazing how you just fall in love with some saves. I remember a deportivo save that must of been around 2012 as well (we started in the adelante) retrained Andres Gaurdado to play cam & he dominated! Still wish i could go back & play it again but it is gone forever :'(
Enjoying the read btw, will get through it all eventually.
 
images


NOVEMBER

Almeria 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Santano 46, Perez Villarroya 54)

--

UEFA Champions League Group A

Celtic 1 (Wire 76)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Alfredo 4, Izurza 15)

Once again my youngsters and backups did me proud here.

--

Athletic Bilbao 2 (Herrera 70, 90)

Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Bravo 87)

This game is what Aitor is all about. We had Perez Villarroya sent-off and then had a goal disallowed and were struggling. I had to move Aitor to the LW and he finally put us ahead and then got a last minute winner to claim all 3 points.


--

Copa del Rey 4th Round 2nd Leg
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Alfredo 3, 16, 40, Alonso 29, Gomez Comas 74)
Lleida Esportiu 1 (Perez 67)
(Athletic Bilbao win 10-1 on aggregate)

Safely through to the next round.

--

Granada 1 (Jonatas 88)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Gomez 24, Garcia 61)


--

UEFA Champions League Group A

Shakhtar Donetsk 0
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Sanz 6, 28pen, Garmendia 45, San Jose 61)

This win secures qualification for the knockout stages.

--

Athletic Bilbao 1 (Herrera 13)
Sevilla 0


We arent playing at our best at the moment but we are getting the job done which is the main thing.

--

LINEUPS
OPPRESGKRBCBCBLBCMCMAMRAMLAMCSTSUBS
Alm2-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreSantano*CidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaIbanez, Ordonez Lopez, Sanz
Celtic2-1David*AlonsoSan JoseGomezRuizOrdonez LopezVinasIzurzaIbanezSanzAlfredoNoe, Antonio, Gomez Comas
Dep2-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerrera* 2GarciaGomez Comas, Alfredo, Ordonez Lopez
Lleida5-1DavidAlonsoSan JoseGomezRuizGarmendiaVinasIzurzaIbanezSanzAlfredo* 3Ordonez Lopez, Valcarcel, Gomez Comas
Gran2-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomez*De la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainIbanezHerreraGarciaOrdonez Lopez, Izurza
Shak4-0DavidAlonsoSan JoseGomezRuizGarmendiaVinasIzurzaIbanezSanz* 2AlfredoEric, Ayechu, Gutierrez
Sev1-0DavidAlonsoHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreOrdonez Lopez*CidonchaMuniainIbanezHerreraGarciaAlfredo, Izurza, Vinas

--

SUMMARY


We won every game this month which was good but probably due to the fact that I am continually giving my youngsters a chance optimal performances are hard to come by. That said I did beat Lleida 10-0 but I never saved it and my daughter switched off my laptop!!!!

Just a case of keep on keeping on lol

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ALFREDO

View attachment 334110

--

LIGA BBVA
View attachment 334109

--

images


SPAIN


Friendly
Spain 7 (Herrera 6, 22, 90, Garcia 11, 15, Perez Villarroya 27, Slavchev og29)
Bulgaria 1 (Ganchev 39)

Lineup - David, De la Torre, Hondo N'Dongo (Kortadi), Gomez, Granell, Santano (Ruiz), Cidoncha, Muniain (Juan Carlos), Perez Villarroya (Cano), Herrera*, Garcia

--

Friendly
Spain 2 (Santano 6, Al-Basha og38)
Saudi Arabia 0

Lineup - David, De la Torre (Liendo), Hondo N'Dongo (Albert), Gomez (Kortadi), Granell, Santano*, Cidoncha, Muniain (Juan Carlos), Perez Villarroya (Cano), Herrera, Garcia (Alfredo)
 
images


DECEMBER

UEFA Champions League Group A
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Alfredo 31, 90)
PSV Eindhoven 1 (Jacobs 19)

We complete the group with a 100% record thanks to Alfredo's late winner. He did have an earlier goal disallowed.

--

FIFA Club World Cup SF
Monterrey 0
Athletic Bilbao 6 (Ordonez Lopez 48, Ibanez 54, 66, Alfredo 68, 88, Gomez Comas 71)

A game of two halves indeed!!!! They had an early goal disallowed in the first half but once the 2nd half started it was all one way traffic.

--

FIFA Club World Cup Final
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Garcia 32, 76pen, Herrera 39)
Atletico Mineiro 1 (Zinho 45)

We win the cup as we completely dominated the match and even had 2 goals disallowed in the first 8min!!!

--

Sporting Gijon 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Herrera 17, Garcia 21)

This was my 1,000th game in management and it was won thanks to Aitor who has played in 648 of those 1,000!!!

--

Athletic Bilbao 2 (Herrera 76, Alfredo 89)
Levante 0

--

LINEUPS

OPPRESGKRBCBCBLBCMCMAMRAMLAMCSTSUBS
PSV2-1DavidAlonsoSan JoseGomezRuizOrdonez LopezVinasIzurzaIbanezSanzAlfredo* 2Bergara, Gomez Comas, Gutierrez
Mont6-0DavidAlonsoSan JoseGomezRuizOrdonez LopezVinasIzurzaIbanez* 2SanzAlfredo 2Garmendia, Gomez Comas
At M3-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreOrdonez
Lopez
CidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarcia* 2Barandiaran, Garmendia, Alonso
Gijon2-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreGarmendia*CidonchaMuniainIbanezHerreraGarciaVinas
Lev2-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreGarmendiaCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerrera*GarciaAlfredo, Barandian, Izurza


--

SUMMARY

A successful month as we won every game and picked up the Club World Cup title for the umpteenth time in the process!!! Isidro Jesus Ordonez Lopez won the award for being the best player in the tournament as he had a good month as did Alfredo who seems to score every time he starts.

I have decided that Roberto Gomez is going to be first choice alongside Oceano Hondo N'Dongo in defence as Ekain Barandiaran is so injury prone. I may cash in on him in the summer as he is valued at over $20m. When I first played the save injuries ruined him and I think I couldnt get rid of him.

Added to that, I have Valcarcel in the B team and I seem to remember him doing well originally.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ALFREDO
View attachment 334097
--

LIGA BBVA
View attachment 334096
 
images


JANUARY

Copa del Rey 5th Round 1st Leg
Granada 1 (Catanha 40)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Gomez 69)

--

Copa del Rey 5th Round 2nd Leg
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Herrera 13, Muniain 23, Garcia 38pen)
Granada 2 (Rojas 30, 87)
(Athletic Bilbao win 4-3 on aggregate)

We werent great here but just did enough to sneak through. They had a goal disallowed which if counted would have knocked me out.

--

Athletic Bilbao 3 (Santano 30, Ruiz 76, Muniain 90)
Tenerife 1 (Kastratovic 67)

Garcia got injured here to add to my injury woes (De la Torre and Cidoncha also out) but we managed to win anyway. This was only the 6th goal we have conceded in the league this season.

--

Copa del Rey QF 1st Leg
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Alfredo 11, 33)
Osasuna 1 (Ramirez 89)

Alfredo missed a pen late on and they broke on us to get themselves an away goal which was annoying.

--

Ponferradina 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Herrera 32, Alfredo 59)

--

Copa del Rey QF 2nd Leg
Osasuna 0
Athletic Bilbao 6 (Alfredo 9, Perez Villarroya 17, Herrera 37, 43, 78, Gomez 65)
(Athletic Bilbao win 8-1 on aggregate)

Aitor was on fire here as he scored a hat-trick and caused havoc in the Osasuna defence. A very impressive victory.

--

Real Sociedad 0

Athletic Bilbao 2 (Herrera 8, Hondo N'Dongo 74)

Another solid performance which gives us a derby win. We had 7 players booked though which is pretty bad.

--

Copa del Rey SF 1st Leg
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Alfredo 21)
Real Madrid 0

We have a narrow advantage for the 2nd leg as Alfredo's goal was enough for victory. Unfortunately he later got sent-off.

--

LINEUPS
OPPRESGKRBCBCBLBCMCMAMRAMLAMCSTSUBS
Gran1-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomez*RuizSantanoOrdonez LopezMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaGarmendia, Izurza, Alfredo
Gran3-2DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezRuizSantanoOrdonez LopezMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaGarmendia
Ten3-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezRuizSantanoOrdonez LopezMuniain*Perez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaSanz
Osas2-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezRuizSantanoOrdonez LopezMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraAlfredo* 2Garmendia
Pon2-0DavidAzpilicueta*Hondo N'DongoGomezRuizSantanoOrdonez Lopez MuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraAlfredoSanz, Ibanez, Izurza
Osas6-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezBergaraSantanoOrdonez Lopez MuniainPerez VillarroyaHerrera* 3AlfredoIzurza
R.Soc2-0DavidAlonsoHondo N'DongoGomezRuizSantanoOrdonez LopezIzurzaPerez VillarroyaHerrera*AlfredoSanz, Garmendia, Gomez Comas
Real M1-0DavidAzpilicueta*Hondo N'DongoGomezRuizGarmendiaOrdonez LopezIzurzaPerez VillarroyaHerreraAlfredo SOSanz, Ibanez

--

SUMMARY

Another perfect month which is quite something considering the amount of games we had to play and the amount of injuries we have had. The injury to De la Torre has enabled Gontzal Ruiz to get a run in the side and the 16y/o has been great.

In the World Player of the Year awards Aitor Herrera picked up both of them for the millionth time!!!

A special mention has to go out to Cesar Azpilicueta as the veteran was my player of the month as he got 2 man of the match awards and he also signed a new contract with a huge wage cut and has become a coach where he has 4.5 stars in defending!!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
CESAR AZPILICUETA
View attachment 334054

--

LIGA BBVA
View attachment 334055

 
Last edited:
images


FEBRUARY

Athletic Bilbao 3 (Herrera 30, Perez Villarroya 50, Garmendia 78)
Malaga 0

A fine victory and performance. Herrera picked up a knock and was replaced by Garmendia who scored the 3rd.

--

Copa del Rey SF 2nd Leg
Real Madrid 2 (Douglas Costa 71, Ruiz 90)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Sanz 66)
(Agg: 2-2, Athletic Bilbao win on away goals)

While I am happy that we made it through to the final I am angry that we lost our first game of the season - especially after they had a man sent-off with 10min to go.

--

Real Valladolid 0
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Santano 42pen, Buenanos og66, Perez Villarroya 68, Mallo og80)

We were without a few players here but we won thanks to a great performance from Jose Carlos Sanz who set up 3 goals.

--

Athletic Bilbao 9 (Muniain 9, Hondo N'Dongo 14, Perez Villarroya 18, 29, Garcia 21pen, Herrera 76, Sanz 77, 83, 86)
Real Betis 0

WOW!!!!! This was an amazing performance. Herrera and Perez Villarroya did the damage for most of the game and then Sanz came off the bench and helped himself to a hat-trick.


--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg

FC Porto 2 (Prado 42, Corbo 55)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Garcia 27, Herrera 50)

This was a tough match in which we did well to draw and get 2 away goals. Obviously giving away a lead twice in 1 match is disappointing but hey-ho.


--

Real Oviedo 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Perez Villarroya 47, Sanz 86)

--

Athletic Bilbao 4 (Perez Villarroya 23, 65, Hondo N'Dongo 45, Jose og88)
Elche 0

--

LINEUPS
OPPRESGKRBCBCBLBCMCMAMRAMLAMCSTSUBS
Malaga3-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezRuizSantanoCidonchaIzurzaPerez Villarroya*HerreraAlfredoSanz, Barandiaran, Garmendia
Real M1-2DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezBergaraSantanoCidonchaIzurzaIbanezGarmendiaSanzOrdonez Lopez, Ayechu
R. Val4-0DavidAlonsoHondo N'DongoBarandiaranAzpilicuetaSantanoCidonchaIzurzaPerez VillarroyaSanz*AlfredoAyechu, Gomez Comas, Vinas
Real Betis9-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezRuizSantanoOrdonez LopezMuniainPerez Villarroya* 2HerreraGarciaSanz 3, Garmendia
Porto2-2DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'Dongo*GomezRuizSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaBarandiaran, Ibanez, Ordonez Lopez
Oviedo2-0DavidAlonsoHondo N'DongoGomezRuizOrdonez LopezCidonchaMuniainPerez Villarroya*HerreraGarciaSanz
Elche4-0DavidAlonsoHondo N'DongoGomezBergaraSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez Villarroya* 2HerreraGarciaSanz


--

SUMMARY

This month saw us lose our first game of the season in any competition as Real Madrid beat us 2-1 in the Copa del Rey however we still made it to the final on away goals. In the league we were on fire as we scored 22 goals in 5 games including a 9-0 thrashing of Real Betis.

Jose Carlos Sanz was surprisingly a key player during the month but by far the best player during the month was Gaspar Perez Villarroya as he scored 7 goals and was man of the match 4 times!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
GASPAR PEREZ VILLARROYA
View attachment 333976

--

LIGA BBVA
View attachment 333975

--

images


SPAIN

Friendly
Austria 0
Spain 4 (Garcia 9, 16, 88, Buttner og39)

Lineup - David, Liendo (Alonso), Hondo N'Dongo, Gomez (Barnadiaran), Granell (G.Ruiz), Santano (Ordonez Lopez), Cidoncha (M.Ruiz), Juan Carlos, Perez Villarroya (Cano), Herrera, Garcia*

An easy win in which I gave a debut to my 16y/o defender Gontzal Ruiz.
 
images


MARCH

Athletic Bilbao 5 (Garcia 4, 86, Perez Villarroya 52, 65, Herrera 78)
Valencia 0

An amazing performance this. Fermin Garcia was superb as he scored 2 and assisted 2 but Perez Villarroya continued his fantastic form in this match.

--

Barcelona 1 (Redaelli 2)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Herrera 16, Ibanez 90)

As ever when we play Barcelona it is Redaelli v Aitor and they both scored here but we got the points thanks to Ander Ibanez's injury time goal.

--

Espanyol 1 (Delcourt 16)

Athletic Bilbao 1 (Garcia 80)

I dont know how we managed to escape with a point here as on the hour we had both Santano and Muniain sent-off!!!

--

UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Ibanez 13, Garcia 15, Muniain 68, 81)
FC Porto 2 (Ghidelli 65, Meza 88)
(Athletic Bilbao win 6-4 on aggregate)

Porto were tricky opponents but even without Aitor, Perez Villarroya and our 2 full backs, we were far stronger than them.

--

Athletic Bilbao 1 (Alfredo 71)
Real Madrid 1 (Orban 87)

We were unlucky not to win this match but I suppose not losing it was the main aim. I was missing a few players but De la Torre made his return from injury.

--

Athletic Bilbao 2 (Herrera 39, Alfredo 72)
Atletico Madrid 0

This win puts us 12pts clear of 2nd placed Atletico.

--

Athletic Bilbao 3 (Roger og9, Herrera 33, Muniain 51)
Almeria 0

--

LINEUPS
OPPRESGKRBCBCBLBCMCMAMRAMLAMCSTSUBS
Val5-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezRuizSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez Villarroya* 2HerreraGarcia 2Izurza
Barc2-1DavidAzpilicuetaBarandiaranGomezRuizSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaOrdonez Lopez, San Jose, Ibanez
Esp1-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezRuizSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaIbanez
Porto4-2DavidAlonsoHondo N'DongoGomezBergaraSantanoCidonchaMuniain* 2IbanezSanzGarciaGarmendia, Ordonez Lopez
Real M1-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreOrdonez LopezCidonchaIzurzaPerez VillarroyaSanzGarciaRuiz, Alfredo, Gomez Comas
Atletico2-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezRuizOrdonez LopezCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerrera*GarciaIbanez, Izurza, Alfredo
Alm3-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreOrdonez LopezCidonchaMuniain*Perez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaRuiz

--

SUMMARY

This was a tough month as we faced both of the Madrid clubs and also had to deal with Porto and navigate our way past Espanyol having had 2 men sent-off!! We did well though and are all but confirmed as champions while in the Champions League we will come up against Liverpool.

I signed up 2 players from the youth intake but nobody to go straight into the first team.
View attachment 333918View attachment 333917

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH
AITOR HERRERA
View attachment 333919

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LIGA BBVA
View attachment 333916

--

images


SPAIN

FIFA World Cup Quals Group 9
Spain 2 (Muniain 40, Hondo N'Dongo 90)
Poland 0

Lineup
- David, De la Torre (G.Ruiz), Hondo N'Dongo*, Gomez, Granell, M.Ruiz (Garmendia), Cidoncha, Muniain, Perez Villarroya, Herrera, Garcia (Alfredo)

A run of the mill victory here. I gave Garmendia his international debut.
 
images


APRIL

Elche 1 (Rodelin 9)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Hondo N'Dongo 85)

This was pathetic as we failed to beat the bottom club.

--

Deportivo La Coruna 0

Athletic Bilbao 2 (Garcia 66, Ibanez 83)

--

UEFA Champions League QF 1st Leg
Liverpool 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 35, Gomez 56)

A fantastic performance and result which puts us in a commanding position for the 2nd leg. Santano got sent-off again!

--

Athletic Bilbao 3 (Perez Villarroya 54, Barandiaran 78, 85)
Sporting Gijon 0


The day before this match I agreed to sell Barandiaran to Napoli and he responds by coming off the bench to score twice.

--

UEFA Champions League QF 2nd Leg

Athletic Bilbao 2 (Garcia 28, Muniain 58)
Liverpool 0

(Athletic Bilbao win 4-0 on aggregate)

Into the semis we go where Paris Saint-Germain await.

--

Levante 3 (Henriques 3, Eder 25, Dorst 64)
Athletic Bilbao 7 (Perez Villarroya 1, 9, 45pen, Gomez 12, Santano 29, 89, Herrera 39)

This was an entertaining affair which had 10 goals and a sending off. I dont think we have conceded 2 in a league match this season so for Levante to score 3 is quite something.

--

Athletic Bilbao 4 (Hondo N'Dongo 9, Diarra og14, Perez Villarroya 25, Muniain 71)

Barcelona 1 (Redaelli 86)

CHAMPIONS!!!!

What a way to wrap up another title as we demolished Barcelona. Redaelli as usual chipped in with a goal for them but the game was already over by then.

--

UEFA Champions League SF 1st Leg
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Perez Villarroya 61, Herrera 67, Alfredo 74)
Paris Saint-Germain 1 (Mateso 4)

This was a great comeback as we had Hondo N'Dongo sent-off on 28min but we bounced back in the 2nd half and scored 3 to take charge of the tie.

--

LINEUPS

OPPRESGKRBCBCBLBCMCMAMRAMLAMCSTSUBS
Elche1-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'Dongo*GomezDe la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaRuiz, Alfredo
Dep2-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreOrdonez LopezCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaIbanez*, Izurza, Ruiz
Liver2-0DavidAlonsoHondo N'DongoGomez*De la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaRuiz, Alfredo
Gijon3-0DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez Villarroya*SanzGarciaBarandiaran 2, Alfredo, Ibanez
Liver2-0DavidAlonsoHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreGarmendiaCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaSanzGarcia*Ordonez Lopez, Ibanez
Lev7-3DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezRuizSantano 2CidonchaMuniainPerez Villarroya* 3 HerreraGarciaAlfredo
Barc4-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'Dongo*BarandiaranDe la TorreSantanoVinasMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarciaAlfredo, Alonso
PSG3-1DavidAzpilicuetaHondo N'DongoGomezDe la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez Villarroya*HerreraGarciaAlfredo, Izurza, Barandiaran


--

SUMMARY

This month was nearly perfect with the only blot on the copy book being a draw with bottom side Elche. In other games we comfortably beat Liverpool home and away, thumped Barcelona and also got a great result against PSG.

Other than that I have tied up some transfers for next season and agreed to sell Ekain Barandiaran to Napoli for $19m.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
GASPAR PEREZ VILLARROYA
View attachment 333901

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LIGA BBVA
View attachment 333900
 
images


MAY

Tenerife 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Cidoncha 84)

FINALLY CIDONCHA SCORES!!!!!

The only reason I played him was because I wanted him to score this season and he duly did.

--

UEFA Champions League SF 2nd Leg
Paris Saint-Germain 2 (Milano 43, 90)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 19, San Jose 58)
(Athletic Bilbao win 5-3 on aggregate)

Into the final we go. I rested 8 players who were a booking away from missing the final.

--

Sevilla 0
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Alfredo 4, 45, Herrera 7, Alonso 11)


A fine performance from a young side put out by me here. Garmendia was the star of the show with 3 assists.

--

Athletic Bilbao 4 (Herrera 20, Izurza 40, Alfredo 54, 76)
Granada 0

--

Athletic Bilbao 3 (Alfredo 9, San Jose 73, Herrera 85)
Ponferradina 1 (Miranda 18)

San Jose announced his upcoming retirement before the game and it was fitting for him to score in what should be his last game for the club.

--

Copa del Rey Final
Barcelona 1 (Alonso og61)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Garcia 22, 31, 90)

Fermin Garcia hasnt had the best of seasons but he excelled here in this cup final with a well taken hat-trick.

--

UEFA Champions League Final
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Garcia 37, Herrera 73, Perez Villarroya 90)
Bayern Munich 1 (Muller 63)

Another European Cup is won!!! We were excellent here and deserved the win. I wasnt even worried when the veteran Thomas Muller levelled for them as I had faith in Aitor and despite picking up a knock he scored direct from a free kick to win us the match.


--

LINEUPS
OPPRESGKRBCBCBLBCMCMAMRAMLAMCSTSUBS
Ten1-0DavidAlonso*BarandiaranSan JoseRuizGarmendiaCidonchaIzurzaIbanezHerreraGarciaSanz, Vinas, Gomez Comas
PSG2-2DavidAlonsoBarandiaranSan JoseDe la TorreVinasCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaSanzGarciaGutierrez
Sev4-0DavidAlonsoBarandiaranSan JoseRuizGarmendia*CidonchaIzurzaIbanezHerreraAlfredo 2Damia
Gran4-0DavidAlonsoBarandiaranSan JoseRuizGarmendiaCidonchaIzurzaIbanezHerreraAlfredo* 2Damia, Sanchez, Sanz
Pon3-1DavidAlonsoBarandiaranSan JoseRuizGarmendiaCidonchaIzurzaGutierrezHerrera*AlfredoOrdonez Lopez, Gomez Comas, Sanz
Barc3-1DavidAlonsoBarandiaranGomezDe la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez VillarroyaHerreraGarcia* 3Ruiz, Garmendia
Bay3-1DavidAzpilicuetaBarandiaranGomezDe la TorreSantanoCidonchaMuniainPerez Villarroya*HerreraGarciaSanz, Ruiz, Izurza

--

SUMMARY


A fantastic end to the season!!! We won the Copa del Rey and the Champions League and also managed to see out the league campaign unbeaten.

During the month I rotated the squad and it gave me a chance to play youngsters and give Mikel San Jose a chance to say goodbye to the supporters and he did so in fine style by scoring a goal. Hopefully he will take up a coaching role within the club.

An end of season post is to follow.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
AITOR HERRERA
View attachment 333862
 
images


END OF SEASON POST

A decent return to the save it has to be said. We had an unbeaten league campaign and only lost 1 game in all competitions (I think). I cant remember if I had a perfect league campaign first time out so that is definately an objective and obviously while I am at it I want a 100% record in all comps.

But I digress. The league campaign was easy enough as we won the title by 16pts but amazingly we scored 17 goals less than the previous season and got 8pts less so theoretically we have gone backwards!!!

In the Copa del Rey we knocked out Real Madrid (who inflicted a defeat upon us) and a Garcia hat-trick won us the cup against Barcelona. In the Champions League we navigated an easy group and then had a pretty routine route to the final and surprisingly easily beat Bayern Munich.

The Super Cups and World Club Cup were all easily won too.

Player wise Aitor was obviously the star of the show as he scored nearly 30 goals and got even more assists. Perez Villarroya was also really impressive as was Alfredo when he got a chance. So much so he scored the same amount as Garcia despite playing much less games.

As for Fermin, he was the main disappointment. He scores plenty for me with Spain but somehow struggled domestically as he only scored 13 goals in the league. Considering he has scored 30+ in four seasons it shows how much his standards have slipped.

As for the youngsters Garmendia, Izurza, Ruiz and Vinas all improved well with Ruiz getting far more games than I had anticipated and that bodes well for the future.

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FINAL LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 333832

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FIRST TEAM SQUAD

View attachment 333833

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PLAYER OF THE SEASON
AITOR HERRERA

View attachment 333834

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YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON
GONTZAL RUIZ

View attachment 333835

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AWARDS

Spanish Player of the Year - A.Herrera
Spanish Young Player of the Year - U.Garmendia
Manager of the Year
Liga BBVA Player of the Year
- A.Herrera
Liga BBVA Goalkeeper of the Year - David
Liga BBVA Top Spanish Scorer - A.Herrera
Liga BBVA Team of the Year - David, O.Hondo H'Dongo, G.Perez Villarroya, A.Herrera (R.Gomez)
FIFA World Golden Ball - A.Herrera
FIFA World Player of the Year - A.Herrera
FIFA World Team of the Year - David, A.Herrera
Best Player in Europe - A.Herrera

 
images


SPAIN

FIFA Confederations Cup

Group A

Spain 7 (Hondo N'Dongo 2, Santano 14, Garcia 32pen, 45, Perez Villarroya 41, Cidoncha 61, Ordonez Lopez 85)
Fiji 0

Lineup - David, De la Torre, Hondo N'Dongo, Gomez, Granell (G.Ruiz), Santano (Ordonez Lopez), Cidoncha, Muniain, Perez Villarroya, Herrera (Sanz), Garcia*

--

Cameroon 1 (Aboubakar 12)
Spain 4 (Herrera 24, Cidoncha 36, Garcia 62, Hondo N'Dongo 82)

Lineup
- David, De la Torre, Hondo N'Dongo, Gomez, Granell (G.Ruiz), Ordonez Lopez, Cidoncha, Muniain (Juan Carlos), Perez Villarroya (Cano), Herrera*, Garcia

--

Mexico 0

Spain 1 (Herrera 48)

Lineup
- David, De la Torre, Hondo N'Dongo, Gomez, G.Ruiz (Liendo), M.Ruiz, Cidoncha, Juan Carlos, Perez Villarroya (Cano), Herrera*, Garcia (Alfredo)

View attachment 333824

--

SEMI FINAL

Spain 4 (Garcia 1, 55, Gomez 73, Juan Carlos 90)
South Korea 0

Lineup - David, De la Torre (Liendo), Hondo N'Dongo, Gomez, Granell, Ordonez Lopez (M.Ruiz), Cidoncha, Juan Carlos, Perez Villarroya (Cano), Herrera, Garcia*

--

FINAL

Mexico 2 (Torres 78, Prado 88)
Spain 3 (Hondo N'Dongo 41, Gomez 48, Perez Villarroya 50)

Lineup - David, De la Torre, Hondo N'Dongo, Gomez*, Granell, Ordonez Lopez (Santano), Cidoncha, Juan Carlos, Perez Villarroya, Herrera (Sanz), Garcia (Alfredo)

--

AWARDS

Best Player - A.Herrera
Best Goalkeeper - David
Top Goalscorer - F.Garcia
Goal of the Tournament - A.Herrera (v Mexico)

images
 
images


PRE-SEASON

I was quite busy this summer as I brought in several players to strengthen the squad both immediately and in the future. That said I did let a few people go too. Apart from transfers etc their is no news really.

--

PLAYERS IN

I only brought in one player who goes straight into the first team squad. Rafael was purchased from Villarreal for $1m and the left back looks as though he is going to have a bright future.
View attachment 333755

The others go into the youth team and I spent about $4m on them.
View attachment 333754View attachment 333753View attachment 333751View attachment 333750

--

PLAYERS OUT


The main one leaving permanently is Ekain Barandiaran who has joined Napoli for £19m. He made 257 appearances for the club and scored 45 goals for the club. I sold him because he is injury prone and I remember struggling to sell him first time out.

Alvaro Rodriguez (48/10) was sold to Real Betis for $7.25m and Borja Martinez Cid (15/0) went to Sporting Gijon for $5m. Several youngsters got released and I sold a couple of B team players.

Mikel San Jose retired and took up a coaching role within the club. Under my management he made 583 appearances and scored 122 goals for the club. He was also capped 121 times for Spain and scored 25 goals.

Out on loan went Gomez Comas to Real Valladolid while Jose Carlos Sanz went to Arsenal for the season for a $5m fee and Jon Aurtenetxe was also loaned out.

--

PLAYERS PROMOTED TO THE FIRST TEAM


Jaume Gutierrez, Sergio Ayechu, Gorka Palacios and Ander Valcarcel have all been given the call up to the first team squad and will provide cover for the first team.
View attachment 333748View attachment 333747View attachment 333746View attachment 333745

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LINEUP

There are 2 changes to the first XI. Gontzal Ruiz is my new RB as I feel it is time for Azpilicueta to hand over the reigns for that position. Jose Luis Izurza is my new right winger as Muniain picked up an injury during pre-season and is out for 4 months so due to his age I think it is time for him to step back a bit.

David

De la Torre - Hondo N'Dongo - Gomez - Ruiz

Cidoncha - Santano

Perez Villarroya (LW) - GOD - Izurza (RW)

Garcia


And this is my backup XI

Bilbao

Rafael - Valcarcel - Palacios - Alonso/Azpilicueta

Vinas - Garmendia

Gutierrez (LW) - Ordonez Lopez - Muniain (RW)

Alfredo
 
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