Basque Revolution

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Hector89

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Ernesto Valverde lead Athletic Bilbao to the seventh position in La Liga in the 2014-15 season. He knew he can do a lot better than that with his club. He thought of two ways to help the club succeed. One way is to change it's transfer policy and include non-Basque players at the club. But being a former Atheltic player he knows only too well that will never happen. Frankly, he did not have his heart set to do that as well. He loved the transfer policy at Bilbao. There was another option. He could ask the board to invest money to get the best Basque players available and pay good wages to its top players. Athletic have been a selling club to be fair. They have lost top class players to a few European giants over the years. Ander Herrera, Javi Martinez, Fernando Llroente have all chosen greener pastures. Hence, he had requested to meet with the board to discuss the club's future.

THE BOARD MEETING:

The president Josu Urrutia was heading the board. With him were the club's three directors offering advice.

Urrutia : Welcome, Ernesto. Good afternoon. What do you have in mind?

Valverde : Good afternoon, all of you. I have come to discuss a way to push Athletic into the top 4. Possibly even break the Madrid-Barca strong hold in the La liga in a few years. Atletico Madrid did it in the 2013-14 season and there is no reason we cannot do the same. After all, we are only club apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona who have always stayed in La Liga.

Urrutia : Please go ahead.


Valverde : We must invest money in the club to pay good wages and to attract top Basque talents to our club. We have to retain players like Herrera and Martinez. We must also have the muscle to buy other Basque talents if any come across. We will definitely qualify for the Champions League by 1-2 seasons if this is done.

Urrutia : We understand but we cannot invest a lot of money. Yes, we can break even or make a profit if we qualify for the Champions league but we cannot take this risk. If we do not qualify, then there is a chance of the club going to bankruptcy like Dortmund a few years back. We therefore reject this request.

Valverde : I have another plan. We should slightly change our transfer policy for the good and recruit players who are at least Spanish and below 20 years. This will help in us getting the best young players from the country and we can train them the Bilbao way. By doing this, we can have a title challenging squad by 4-5 years.

Urrutia : The club has to uphold the tradition of playing with only Basque players. The first request is improbable. The second request is impossible and we do not even want to hear such a proposal.

Valverde : I issue an ultimatum then. Any one request has to be considered and implemented. Else I'm out of this club.

The meeting ends the board considering the ultimatum.

Valverde is a wily manager. He knew that the second request will not be implemented. But by issuing an ultimatum and giving the board two options, he knew that the board might consider the lesser evil of the two and increase the funding.

He received an email from the board the next day.

"Mr. Valverde, The board have considered your requests. We reject both these requests as we feel the need to balance ambition and spending. We would like to add that we would still love to have you in charge in spite of this."


VALVERDE ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION:




Valverde : With a heavy heart, I would like to announce that I have resigned from the manager's post I had held at Atheltic Bilbao with immediate effect. The board and I had different views on how to take the club forward and we could not meet in the middle. I wish the club a great future and all my wishes to the person who will take the club forward from here. I also thank the fans who had supported me a lot. I know they will continue to love me as I love them. Everyone knows that I'm a Basque through and through and I will have a special place in my heart for Bilbao.
 
Great start!

I always enjoy a good Bilbao story; their transfer policy always keeps it interesting! :)
 

He wakes up after a few hours of sleep. He could hardly get any. Its not uncommon for a coach to become a manager of a club but he never thought he will become one this young. He thought of the days back at the shores of San Sebastian, the home of a proud club named Real Sociedad. He was born there and he had heard villainous tales of their great rivals Athletic Bilbao. He was programmed to hate Bilbao but he found something about the club that was unique and daring: the tradition.

He joined the Real Sociedad academy when he was 11 and went on to play for the B team. He was delighted after breaking into the Real Sociedad side for the 2003-04 season at just 20 years of age. The previous season the club finished 2nd in La Liga and this made him all the more happy to play. But within 3 months he had a career threatening ligament injury which kept him out for 9 months. Things fell apart as soon as they were about to fall in place. After the injury he had started playing with the B team again. He played with them for a year and moved to Baskonia. Little did he know that this move will start his association with Athletic Bilbao. He played until 2009 and made his decision to retire as a player as he was getting nowhere.

He applied for a coaching job and got one with Baskonia itself as they were desperate for some coaching staff. Baskonia were playing in the Tercera division(the fourth tier of Spanish football) since he knew them. His break came at the start of 2013-14 season. He was appointed Baskonia's manager. He took an average team which finished the last two seasons in the 10th and 12th postions respectively to the 4th position. The club played some delightful football and impressed the crowd and pundits alike. This was not unnoticed by Athletic Bilbao, the parent club of Baskonia. He was offered a coaching position in Athletic Bilbao as a tactical coach and an assistant to the former manager Valverde. He never hated Bilbao even though he was from San Sebastian. While many people identified their transfer policy as the club's weakness he thought this was the reason for the club to be proud. They nurture their talents and give them a chance to play in a huge league like La Liga. Not many clubs do that. He took the job and assisted the team and Valverde for a year. He had a good relationship with the players by the end of the year.

PRESENT DAY:

His name is Jaime Miro. He was called into an interview with Athletic Bilbao after Valverde resigned. The club felt they could use a coach who is a fresh face this time around. They had not really thought about him until he applied for the vacant position. But once he did apply, they thought they could give him a chance. He has proven that he could make a team play decent football. He has shown promise last year at the club and was close to the players. The board knew it was a gamble but a one they were willing to take.

THE INTERVIEW:

The panel comprised the president Josu Urrutia, of course and his directors. Urrutia headed the interview.

Urrutia : Welcome, Mr. Jaime Miro. Good afternoon.

Miro : Good afternoon, all of you. It's a privilege to be considered for the post.

Urrutia : Likewise. Let's get started then. What will you be able to achieve this season. The transfer budget will be 2.2m pounds and the wage amount left is 9000 pounds p/w.

Miro : Europa league is what I can promise at the stage. Anything above that is a bonus.

Urrutia : We have to compete from the Europa league third round this season. This means we have to go through two knock out rounds to reach the group stage and that is our expectation. Is this something you agree with?

Miro : Yes, I can take the team to the group stage. From there, we can see where we end up.

Urrutia : I hope you are familiar with our transfer regulations. Although it will be prudent to remind you that only Basque players can be signed for this club.

Miro : I am aware of it.

Urrutia : Do you have any requests?

Miro : I need three more technical coaches.

Urrutia : We will allow this once once we make a decision on the appointment.

In the next one hour, Miro presented his plan to the board. The players he will use and the tactical approach he will follow and all that. The board were cautious but they made their mind up in the end.
 
JAIME MIRO UNVEILED AS THE NEW ATHLETIC BILBAO MANAGER

A statement from the Board read, "We are happy to announce Mr. Jaime Miro as our new manager. We are really happy with the plans he has for the club. We would like all the club's members and fans to get behind him and offer him the maximum support to succeed." A statement from Jaime read, "I'm really please to have been appointed as the new Bilbao manager. I understand the club's tradition and continue to uphold the same. My aim is to take Athletic Bilbao to heights never seen before. It will be a great challenge for me but its a one I am looking forward to. Thank you all."


CLUB PROFILE


MAIN SQUAD

Goal Keepers: Gorka Iraizoz, Iago Herrain

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Defenders : Eneko Boveda, Jonas Ramalho, Xabi Etxeita, Aymeric Laporte, Carlos Gurpegi, Oscar De Marcos, Mikel San Jose, Mikel Balenziaga.


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Midfielders: Ander Iturraspe, Javier Eraso, Mikel Rico, Raul Garcia, Benat, Inaki Williams, Iker Muniain, Markel Susaeta, Unai Lopez, Ibai Gomez

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Strikers: Borja Viguera, Aritz Aduriz, Kike Sola.

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PRE SEASON 2015-16

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The first preseason of Jaime went really well. Yes, the team was beaten by the B side in which they were surprisingly fit with 99% match sharpness whereas the main team had around 50% sharpness. Other than that, there was an odd loss at the end. There were no transfers given that the transfer budget was 2m Pounds and it can't be spent recklessly. We tried to buy Ruffier but we couldn't cough up enough funds in the end. So the squad is set. No transfers IN. There were bids for De Marcos from Liverpool and for Balenziaga from Lyon but both the bids were duly rejected as they are very crucial next season.

Here is how the preseason went.

The highlight of the preseason is undoubtedly the 5-1 drubbing of Barcelona. The match was set up in order to raise money through gate receipts but a win like that would not hurt the team's morale. The other highlight is that we honored club icon Gurpegi with a 4-1 win over belgian club Anderlecht in his testimonial match.
 
AUGUST 2015

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We won't have a busier August than this one. It was due to the Europa league qualifiers. We had to go through 4 knock out matches in order to qualify for the group stage. We had 2 legs of Spanish super cup against the mighty Barcelona who will be looking to put us in our place after we thrashed them during the preseason. La Liga kicked off as well at the last week of August. Lets see how the month was.


EUROPA LEAGUE 3RD QUALIFICATION LEG 1

We drew TRNAVA, a team from Slovakia. At home, we had comfortable night and we managed to do the job with ease. A decent win in the end which puts us in the driver's seat for the next leg.

EUROPA LEAGUE 3RD QUALIFICATION LEG 2

We outclassed TRNAVA again. This time we managed to put a few goals past them. We are not going to be playing an easier match than this for a while I guess.

SPANISH SUPER CUP LEG 1

Well, we played decently. We created a few chances and bottled most of them but the same can be said about Barcelona. It ended in a 1-1 draw which gives Barcelona an advantage due to the away goal.

SPANISH SUPER CUP LEG 2

We do not have a squad to win at Camp Nou. But we did manage to put a goal past Bravo. But Barca put 3 past us and won the Super Cup. No surprises here. We knew we had to produce something special to come out with something at Camp Nou this early in the season.


EUROPA LEAGUE PLAY OFF LEG 1

We drew Vitesse from Eredivisie. Laporte went in with two feet and was sent off within 2 minutes. We played almost the entire match with 10 men. Credit to the boys for putting 3 past a 11 men side. The team did turn up this time around and that too away from home.


LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs BARCELONA



It's Barcelona time, y'all. They traveled to the Basque country where its always tough to pick up a result. We came up with the goods this time. It was a nervy affair but it was pleasing in the end. Aduriz showed his heading prowess and got us the goal after Pique put one into his own net. After Suarez's goal, we became nervous but held on for a massive 3 points.


EUROPA LEAGUE PLAY OFF LEG 2

Vitesse came to San Mames only to face a repeat of the match at Netherlands. Kike Sola's brace and new signing Raul Garcia's penalty booked us a place in the group stage of the Europa league. For a club like ours, this is important due to the money, however little, we can make by playing in Europe.



LIGA BBVA: EIBAR - ATHLETIC BILBAO

We were as profligate as we could have been here. Mikel San Jose missed a penalty and Aduriz missed a hat-trick of sitters. One of the games where managers can't explain why the ball is not ending up in the back of the net. But, Raul Garcia's strike gave us the win which was not as comfortable as we would have liked.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH

OSCAR DE MARCOS
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The right back put in really good performances and got us through a rather tough start. Looking forward for more from him.




LEAGUE TABLE

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SEPTEMBER 2015

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We qualified for the Europa league and the groups were drawn. We got a decent group alongside Belgium's Anderlecht, Croatia's Dinamo and FC Augsburg from Germany. If we play as well as we did recently, we can qualify to the knock out stages.

LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs GETAFE

A boring match which was scoreless for a long period. At the hour mark, Aduriz was substituted and Kike Sola came in. He scored a brace and kept our run going. It is fair to say that Getafe were completely outplayed here.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP STAGE MATCH DAY 1

We were facing FC Augsburg at San Mames on the first match day. We were expecting a win here. Our hopes were dashed as Callsen-Bracker scored from a Werner free kick. But Aduriz replied instantly and we were back on level terms. We had a chance to win it but Mikel San Jose missed another penalty after missing one against Eibar. It is safe to say that he will not be taking any more penalties. With that miss, we also missed a chance to win. Gutted.

LIGA BBVA: VILLAREAL vs ATHLETIC

Both the sides had chances. Both the sides did not take them. In the end, we were able to pinch a win thanks to Mussachio's own goal in the 8th minute.



LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs REAL MADRID


Madrid took the lead very early and we thought we were going to be in for a long night. But it was us knocking on the door for long periods of the first half. Aduriz equalized for us at the hour mark. Ronaldo left his mark on after 4 more minutes to give Real the lead back. But Sola equalized for us at the 68th minute. The action packed match came to an end with a deserved point for us. We were very happy with the result as Real had slaughtered opponents scoring 13 goals in their first four matches.

LIGA BBVA: REAL SOCIEDAD vs ATHLETIC vs REAL MADRID



The VASCO derby was upon us. We had to travel to Anoeta where Miro learnt his football. He came in with good memories but left with bad ones as we were handed our first defeat in the league. Even more painful was the fact that it came against Sociedad. We never kicked on here and Unai Lopez missed a sitter on the hour mark. Sola scored in the 88th minute but we couldn't find the equalizer. Bad, bad result.


We went to the top of the table after the Villareal match but slumped to 3rd by the end of September. The league performance was good until that defeat at The Anoeta. We should play well during the next month to not slide down even further. Muniain might come back from his long injury next month. Aduriz is out of form in spite of scoring against Real. Lets hope for the best.



PLAYER OF THE MONTH

OSCAR DE MARCOS

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De Marcos is the reason we are at the top end of the table. He was absolutely consistent and produced 8+ performances in almost all the matches.



LEAGUE TABLE


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OCTOBER 2015

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UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP STAGE MATCH DAY 2

We faced Dinamo here. Our boys had a job here. It was to win the match and they did just that. We scored 3 goals without reply thanks to Ibai Gomez's brace. However, we switched off in the second half and conceded 2 goals. We held on during the last 3 minutes to deposit a win.



LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs VALENCIA

This was one of the best results for us. Valencia were red hot this season but we controlled the match and won. Kike Sola was the man here. He was composed throughout and scored a brace to help our cause.




LIGA BBVA: DEPORTIVO vs ATHLETIC

A match we were expected to win given that we were on good form and the lads delivered. Garcia and Aduriz, the scorers.


UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP STAGE MATCH DAY 3

Match 3 saw us travel to Brussels to play Anderlecht. They played well but we held on for a draw. We could have won if our strikers hadn't fluffed their chances. But we lacked the lethal touch not for the first time this season.



LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs SPORTING

Profligate!!!! We should have scored a lot more and the score line does not reflect our dominance on the pitch. Our blunt striking force might cost us more than a few points during the course of the season. In this match, however, Inaki Williams' first goal after his injury gave us the win.



LIGA BBVA: REAL BETIS vs ATHLETIC

We played poorly. Yet, we can out with a win here. Raul Garcia was the only person who saved this match. Unai Lopez was the second best player by some distance is spite of conceding a penalty. No one else got going here. De Marcos was sent off here too. A lucky result that we'll gladly take.





A pretty good month here with 4 wins and a draw. We went to the top of the table after the Valencia result and we stayed there at the end of the month.



PLAYER OF THE MONTH

RAUL GARCIA

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New signing Garcia pulled us through this month single handedly. He was involved in many goals this month including all the 3 against Betis.



LEAGUE TABLE

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NOVEMBER 2015

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Our European fate depended upon November. We recorded only a single win so far from the first 3 matches. We needed wins desperately to qualify from the group stage. League wise, we were doing well. But to hold the top position will be very, very hard. Our season expectation was to qualify for the Europa league yet again but it would be quite bad if we do not aim to qualify for the Champions league.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP STAGE MATCH DAY 4

We played Anderlecht at Bilbao. We had to win here to make our lives easier going forward. But what happened was a bore draw. No goals here. Our only good news was that we were tied up with Anderlecht with 6 points from 4 games whereas leaders Augsburg had only 8 points. Dinamo's 3 points meant that they needed 2 wins in 2 matches to have any hope of qualifying.

LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs ESPANYOL

Espanyol gave a run for our money and we had to be thankful to pull off a draw at San Mames. Garcia managed to cancel Espanyol's 1 goal lead eventually. But they threatened more than we would have liked. A draw was really bad at home but a result we could afford at this stage. With that being said, we have to take care not to repeat such a performance again.


LIGA BBVA: GRANADA vs ATHLETIC

After 2 draws, we had to return to winning ways and we did that here. Laporte's goal was the difference in an otherwise even game. We had our air-tight defense to thank here as well.



UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP STAGE MATCH DAY 5


One of the most crucial fixtures and we needed something from the match in order to progress. A draw would mean that we had to depend upon the result from the other match between Anderlech and Dinamo. Our nerves were soothed when we started playing confident football from the off. Markel Susaeta found the net in 6 minutes and Inaki Williams doubled the scoring soon. We never looked back and held on for a massive win.

We moved to the top of the group after the win and we qualified to the knock out rounds as well.



LIGA BBVA: RAYO vs ATHLETIC

We produced a smashing performance here until 80 minutes. We attacked with swagger and scored 4 goals. Mikel Rico and Susaeta scored on either side of the half. Kike Sola scored a brace after that. Sola got injured and we took him off. After this, our team slipped up giving away two goals. Yet, an away win was all that we wanted here.


A successful month after a slow start. We qualified for the Europa League's knock out stages. We held on to the top of La Liga. We were helped a lot by Real's win percentage which was less than 50. Barcelona are catching up though in spite of some shocking losses for them against the likes of Getafe.



PLAYER OF THE MONTH

MARKEL SUSAETA

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Garcia, Sola, Laporte all played well this month. But Susaeta was the player of November due to his consistent outings. He scored and assisted well this month.



LEAGUE TABLE
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Nice start should be good, will be interested to see how you get on
 
Nice start man. Definitely like seeing a save with a team like Bilbao; very interesting team and have some nice talent also. Btw; Elbar are also a Basque team, so there's kinda a local rivalry there haha. Also, if he ever becomes available *like in a few yrs or so*, or is cheap enough, you should try and go for Xabi Alonso *fits into the transfer policy as he's from Basque and is a solid player to have* tho he's a Sociedad product.
 
PoetryInMotion said:
Nice start man. Definitely like seeing a save with a team like Bilbao; very interesting team and have some nice talent also. Btw; Elbar are also a Basque team, so there's kinda a local rivalry there haha. Also, if he ever becomes available *like in a few yrs or so*, or is cheap enough, you should try and go for Xabi Alonso *fits into the transfer policy as he's from Basque and is a solid player to have* tho he's a Sociedad product.
Click to expand...

Thanks, mate. Alonso is one of my favorite players. His contract was running out and I tried to Bosman him. But, sadly, he did not agree as we do not play in the Champions league yet. However, if no ones tries to snipe him, I will offer a contract again at the end of the season.
 
DECEMBER 2015

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SPANISH CUP 4TH ROUND LEG 1

We fielded a weak side here and came out with a 1-0 win. One goal wins have become a routine for us this season. It will be nice to win by more but the finishing has been appalling. But its an away win and an away goal. So we will take it.

LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs MALAGA


Surprise, surprise. Another one goal win here and it came at the very end. Inaki Williams was the scorer. A good goal and more importantly, 3 points.


UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP STAGE MATCH DAY 6

A win here will ensure that we finish at the top of the group. We went behind but came back really well after the team were shouted at during the half time break. Strikers Williams and Aduriz gave us a win. A good come back.


LIGA BBVA: ATLETICO MADRID vs ATHLETIC





Oh dear, Oh dear, Oh dear. This was a disaster. This is how teams will punish us if we do not take our chances. Missed a lot of chances after we controlled the first half. We tried to overload after their second goal and we were punished with two more goals against. Even the beautifully crafted goal by Muniain did nothing to hide our disappointment.




SPANISH CUP 4TH ROUND LEG 2

We came roaring back against minnows Cultural with Inaki Williams starring the show. San Jose took two penalties and converted them, amazingly. Our first penalty taker Garcia was out injured and San Jose stepped up with no one else assigned. A good result after the Atletico disaster.


LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs LEVANTE

The team from Valencia traveled to Bilbao only to face a good team performance from us. A good win with Susaeta, Munain and Williams getting on the score sheet as we comfortably notch up another 3 points.



LIGA BBVA: CELTA vs ATHLETIC

Trademark Athletic one goal win. Muniain continued his good form here chipping in with a goal. Otherwise, nothing to write home about here.



A good month ruined by one heavy defeat. We are still at the top of the table but do not know how long it will last as some tough games are coming up in January.



PLAYER OF THE MONTH

INAKI WILLIAMS

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A great month for our young star Inaki Williams. He found the net quite a few times this month. Muniain was a close second with his crucial goals.



LEAGUE TABLE

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HALF YEAR END POST

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We have had a good season so far. The goals were there but we should definitely improve on that front.
  • League wise, we finished at the top at the end of December. Barca have games in hand though.
  • In the Europa league, we qualified for the knock outs. We face Kuban Krasnodar from Russia, a team I used to play with in the previous installments of FM.
  • The final competition we are involved in is the Copa Del Rey. We face Granada here.
Now on to the interesting part.

TRANSFERS OUT: Javier Eraso, Carlos Gurpegi, Gorka Elustondo and Aritz Aduriz.

Eraso and Elustondo wanted to leave as they were not getting enough foorball. I sold them as they were not going to break into the side. Former skipper Gurpegi has advanced his years. We had no room for him as well. Finally, big man Aduriz exits after a series of underwhelming performances. Williams was knocking on the door and its only fair that I give the youngster a chance after some brilliant outings.

TRANSFERS IN: Stephane Ruffier, Naxto Monreal, Ruben Pardo

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We spent some big money on Ruffier and Monreal as the GK and LB positions were weak. The other signing was a huge bargain as we snapped up an unsettled Ruben Pardo from rivals Sociedad.



Our transfer budget was increased to 12m pounds from 1.5m pounds as the board's finances were healthy. An additional 5mP was added as we upgraded our expectations to 'qualify for the champions league'. We were able to buy players due to this.
 
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