ninjaskill
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Nice transfers and impressive work being top of league near the halfway mark
Basque Revolution
- Thread starter Hector89
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Thanks, mate. We had a lot of hard fixtures in January. Update coming soon.
An extremely busy month packed with Cup and League matches. Adding to this are the tough fixtures that awaited us here. Lets see how we fared here. By the way, Happy New Year all!!!
LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs LAS PALMAS
A match in which we were expected to win. But we failed to find the net at home wasting a lot of chances. Story of our season. The players were complacent and received an earful at the end of a disappointing draw. The only exciting moment I had while typing this was Martial's goal against Swansea
COPA DEL REY 5th ROUND LEG 1
A cup match where we did not play our best squad and we had to settle for a draw. What's worse was that they scored an away goal. We have to score at Granada to qualify for the quarter finals. Williams, our goal scorer again.
LIGA BBVA: SEVILLA vs ATHLETIC
Another bore draw. We have to do something in order to be incisive as we have to stay inside the top four.
COPA DEL REY 5th ROUND LEG 2
Kike Sola's only goal put us through to the quarter finals. We had a good game here and deserved to qualify.
LIGA BBVA: BARCELONA vs ATHLETIC
We meet Barcelona after a long time. The result? Aaaargh, bite me. We did not have a chance here but this score line is unacceptable.
COPA DEL REY QUARTER FINALS LEG 1
Guess whom we drew in the quarter finals? Barcelona again. We failed to find the net again whereas they found it twice. We had to be thankful for that after Boveda was sent off very early. Hardly any positives from the last 2 matches. We have to start scoring again and winning again, more importantly.
LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs EIBAR
We started scoring again against fellow basque team Eibar. Borja Viguera got a chance to play here thanks to fixture congestion and boy did he take it well. A brace from him and San Jose's goal gave us a solid win here. We finally had some relief.
COPA DEL REY QUARTER FINALS LEG 2
We had to produce something special here to qualify for the semi finals but Arda Turan's goal dashed all our hopes. Williams equalized but Messi converted a penalty. Susaeta replied instantly. Viguera found the net in this match as well but we ended up 2 goals shy. We were knocked out but we put up a fight here in spite of Monreal's early bath.
LIGA BBVA: GETAFE vs ATHLETIC
We traveled to Madrid to face Getafe in the last match of a hectic month. Laporte missed a penalty. We have missed a lot of penalties this season. Mensah's goal few minutes after the miss was a kick in the teeth. The hair dryer was turned on during the half time break. Markel Susaeta turned up in the second half and a brace from him meant three points.
A bad month where we had to endure frustrating results. Surprisingly, we were 5 points ahead of Barca in the league but they had 2 games in hand.
Honorable mention to Viguera but it was Iturraspe's month. The midfielder was very consistent and played well even in the matches where we were trounced. A calming influence on the pitch, he was.
We have been knocked out of the Copa Del Rey. We had a closely fought La Liga and the Europa league to look forward to. A highly awaited clash against fellow title chasers Real Madrid awaits us here.
LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs VILLAREAL
We had the match in the bag after the first half itself. Benat's penalty gave us the lead. Laporte's spectacular bicycle kick doubled the lead. The third goal was scored by Susaeta. Soldado's finish in the second half did not change anything.
LIGA BBVA: REAL MADRID vs ATHLETIC
We traveled to the Bernabeu to face a Madrid side who were under performing. Muniain scored in the first minute to send us into ruptures. We were all awe struck when Bale took the ball from near the corner flag of this goal and dribbled all the way to end and applied a brilliant finish. A controversial penalty in the second half robbed us of a point here.
EUROPA LEAGUE 1st KNOCK OUT ROUND LEG 1
A 1-1 draw here. Inaki Williams gave us an important away goal here.
LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs REAL SOCIEDAD
We were looking to avenge our loss at the Anoeta. Inaki Williams' goal created a loud noise inside the stadium. We were controlling the match and we were looking to score even more. Agirretxe scored in one of the very few chances they created. We had to settle for a draw. Gutted with the result.
EUROPA LEAGUE 1st KNOCK OUT ROUND LEG 2
We absolutely demolished Krasnodar in the second leg at San Mames. Williams stars again with a brace. Padro chipped in with a goal too. A brilliant result after a series of disappointments. We were also happy to find the back of the net quite a few times at long last.
LIGA BBVA: VALENCIA vs ATHLETIC
A bore draw to end the month.
A disappointing month here. Amazingly, we were still at the top of the table as Real and Barca were dropping points, not unlike us.
Inaki Williams had a great month again. It would have taken something special to surpass him. Laporte's bicycle kick and a series of consistent performances did just that.
A short month with only 6 matches here. Although, March is a pretty exciting month with the youth intake and all. We drew Trabzonspor in the Europa League round of 16.
LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs DEPORTIVO
Well, we have had a poor run of form in the La Liga recently and it continued in this match. They came back from behind to go in front after Ruben Pardo put us in the lead. Muniain's vital goal secured a point for us. Our morale was not very good due to this run of form.
LIGA BBVA: SPORTING vs ATHLETIC
Raul Garcia's brace early on sealed us the match. Or so we thought. Sporting came back fighting and scored two goals. The match was heading to another draw. But, Borja Viguera's scored a dramatic winner during injury time. We ended our four game win less streak in the league.
EUROPA LEAGUE 2nd KNOCK OUT ROUND LEG 1
We made easy work of the turkish side with Raul Garcia scoring twice and Borja Viguera scoring once, again. San Jose's unlucky own goal gave them an away goal. We dominated this match.
LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs REAL BETIS
A routine win for us with Williams and Muniain getting on the score sheet. Ruben Castro's 87th minute goal ensured a nervy finish. We missed many chances here not for the first time this season.
EUROPA LEAGUE 2nd KNOCK OUT ROUND LEG 2
We raced to a three goal lead thanks to Inaki Williams and Benat. But some how they pulled 3 back which was disappointing in spite of this not having any impact on the overall tie. De Marcos, however, got us the winner.
Our leaky defense needs some fixing.
LIGA BBVA: ESPANYOL vs ATHLETIC
We went two goals up thanks to Williams and Susaeta and we appeared to be cruising. But Caicedo pulled them back singlehandedly. A frustrating result here. Our defense, which was very tight during the first half of the season has to be restored to that point. Else we will drop points like this.
We slumped to the second place in the league after Barca completed their match in hand. We were dropping points at an alarming rate and we need to be more consistent in the last 8 matches in order to finish top. But its going to be very hard as the world's 2 best teams are whom we are competing against.
YOUTH INTAKE: I would have shown the high potential players if there were any to show. A really poor intake with not even half decent players.
We have a bright future if we hold on to the young striker. He is scoring consistently for us.
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The title race became very exciting this month. Real, Barca and ourselves were all in with a chance with Barca having the edge. We drew Liverpool in the Europa League quarter finals. A match against Atletico was the biggest one this month.
LIGA BBVA : ATHLETIC vs GRANADA
Muniain gave us the lead here. We were controlling the match as well. We thought it was going to finish 1-0 but they scored during injury time. Two points lost is how this will count.
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL LEG 1
We traveled to Anfield for the first leg. They scored and got the win. We were fine with the score line in spite of the defeat although we did miss a lot of chances to get that almighty away goal. We need to play well at Bilbao.
LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs RAYO
Borja Viguera was the star of the show as he scored an amazing hat-trick. We did not give Rayo a chance and we earned a well deserved win. A fine night after a long time.
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL LEG 2
At Bilbao, we knocked on the Liverpool goal a lot of times. Our players were marauding forward in search of a goal. But it wasn't meant to be. Instead Barbosa scored for them and we had to bow out of the Europa league. A sad exit as we played well here. Next year, we will be in the Champions league and will hope to not come here for the knock outs.
LIGA BBVA: MALAGA vs ATHLETIC
We vented our anger against Malaga after the Europa league exit. We outplayed them and scored 4 goals in the process. A good team performance as indicated by the four different goal scorers.
LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs ATLETICO MADRID
Another game where we failed to beat one of the bigger teams in the league. Griezmann's strike was cancelled by Inaki Williams and the game ended in a draw.
LIGA BBVA: LEVANTE vs ATHLETIC
We needed to get back to winning ways in order to have shot at the title. The first half went without any action. We smashed in 2 goals in the second half thanks to Raul Garcia and Inaki Williams. Morales' 88th minute strike caused a few worries but we held on to a win and that was more important at this stage.
LIGA BBVA: ATHLETIC vs CELTA
A match we were expected to win to keep marching on. Muniain scored early and gave us a lot of confidence here. An own goal by Sergio Gomez in the 24th minute was the last time the ball found the back of the net this match. A decent win again.
TITLE RACE: Well, La Liga IRL has never been this exciting. We were on top with 76 points with 2 games left. Madrid had 74 points with the same number of games left. Barca had the edge with 75 points and 3 games left. We needed them to lose their match in hand in order for us to have a chance at the title.
The league showdown is here. Barca have won their game in hand against Betis and are on top of the table with a 2 point lead. Moreover, they have a better head to head record against us. Real and Barca have the same head to head record. So if they tie on points, Real will win the league due to better goal difference.
To summarize, below is what each team needs to win the La Liga title.
ATHLETIC: Two wins from the last 2 games and Barcelona must lose at least one game.
BARCELONA: One draw and one win regardless of results else where.
REAL MADRID: Two wins with the hope that Athletic Bilbao lose at least one match and Barcelona gets only 2 points from their last 2 games.
MATCH DAY 37
LAS PALMAS vs ATHLETIC
The lads made short work of Las Palmas in spite of Viera's early strike. Muniain scored a marvellous hat-trick and assured our win. Williams continued his fine season as he struck once. We go one step closer to the title with this win. But we needed help from our enemy's enemy Espanyol.
BARCELONA vs ESPANYOL
Never has a goalless draw provided such excitement all over the country. Millions of eyes from Madrid and Bilbao were on Camp Nou. Adding to the excitement is the fact that this was a derby. Barca dropped 2 points here. It was the second best thing that could have happened for us.
REAL MADRID vs VALENCIA
Madrid razed through Valencia with a 4-0 win. Ronaldo scored a brace with Benzema and Ramos getting on the score sheet too.
Barcelona were still at the top and were level on points with us. Real were two points behind. They needed both of us to at least draw the next match in order to secure the title.
MATCH DAY 38
We enter the final match day of the season. We need Barca to drop points and pick up a win ourselves to win the title. We will be covering the Granada vs Barcelona match in parallel with our Athletic vs Sevilla match. Our match takes place at San Mames and the Barcelona match at Nuevo Los Carmenes.
KICK OFF
3' at SAN MAMES: Eugene Konoplayanka scores making it ATHLETIC 0 - 1 SEVILLA
12' at SAN MAMES: Muniain strikes causing the stadium's roof to blow. ATHLETIC 1 - 1 SEVILLA
18' at GRANADA: Pique gives the lead to Barcelona. GRANADA 0 - 1 BARCELONA
31' at SAN MAMES: Muniaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We go in front for the first time. ATHLETIC 2 - 1 SEVILLA
35' at GRANADA: A louder roar than the one at Granada goes up at San Mames as Lomban converts his penalty. GRANADA 1 - 1 BARCELONA
44' at SAM MAMES: Every story has a villain. Llorente is hated at Sam Mames and made the stadium jeer with his goal against his former club. Boooo!!!!! ATHLETIC 2 - 2 SEVILLA
HALF TIME: Well, Barca have the advantage as both the matches are level at half time. But the ones who would have won the title now would have been Real Madrid as they have taken a lead against Deportivo thanks to a penalty from Ronaldo. They are level in points with Barca and ourselves if this scenario holds but will win the title as they have a better head to head record with us and a better goal difference than Barca.
KICK OFF
47' at GRANADA: When this man scores, the team always wins. Iniesta struck and made it GRANADA 1 - 2 BARCELONA
48' at SAM MAMES: Adding insult to injury was Steven N'Zonzi after he scored and Sevilla had an intense celebration. ATHLETIC 2 - 3 SEVILLA
52' at SAM MAMES: If we are going to bow out of the title race, it should not be due to the lack of our effort. Raul Garcia nets one and celebrates in front of the Sevilla goal keeper's face. ATHLETIC 3 - 3 SEVILLA
63' at SAM MAMES: Munian celebrates a hat-trick. We had a new lease of life and we became hopeful that Granada will score. ATHLETIC 4 - 3 SEVILLA
68' at SAM MAMES: Raul Garcia doubles his goal tally which puts us in a comfortable place to win this match.
ATHLETIC 5 - 3 SEVILLA
71' at GRANADA: The genius doubles Barca's lead. It was Messi with a crucial goal for Barca. GRANADA 1 - 3 BARCELONA
73' at SAM MAMES: Raul Garcia claims a deserved hat-trick. But it does look like we will have to settle for the second place. ATHLETIC 6 - 3 SEVILLA
74' at GRANADA: Luis Suarez seals the league positions. GRANADA 1 - 4 BARCELONA
FINAL WHISTLE!!!!!!
Madrid win their game 2-0 but will have to settle for the third position.
It was one **** of a month with an exciting end to La Liga. But we were happy to finish 2nd considering the media predicted us to only qualify for the Europa League initially. We would have loved the title but we will take this.
RELEGATION: Deportivo and Sporting get relegated. Surprisingly, Villa Real go back to Liga Adelente too after 3 years. They finished 6th in their past two seasons.
When you score two hat-tricks in 2 matches, not many can better you. Brilliant Muniain.
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It has been a pretty good season with us fighting for the league until the last day. We performed decently in the cup competitions reaching the quarter finals of Copa Del Rey and the Europa League. We will try to go even further in the cups next season for sure. Only concern is that we do not have any trophies to show for our efforts. Champions league money is a plus though. We move on to the post season awards now.
BEST DEFENDER(EXCLUDING PLAYER OF THE SEASON)
AYMERIC LAPORTE
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BEST MIDFIELDER(EXCLUDING PLAYER OF THE SEASON)
ANDER ITURRASPE
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BEST ATTACKER(EXCLUDING PLAYER OF THE SEASON)
INAKI WILLIAMS
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TOP GOAL SCORER(LEAGUE)
IKER MUNIAIN
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TOP GOALSCORER OVERALL
INAKI WILLIAMS
YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON
INAKI WILLIAMS
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SIGNING OF THE SEASON
NATXO MONREAL
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PLAYER OF THE SEASON
OSCAR DE MARCOS
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De Marcos had a top season leading the assist charts as well. He is undoubtedly the player of the season. We have held on to all these players for the next season.
PoetryInMotion
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Good job on the season man. Some good transfers in Jan too, tho was disappointed to see Aduriz go *he usually kills it for me in my saves* bt Inaki Williams is looking like a beast for you haha.
Thanks, mate. Aduriz played well at the start. But he became very poor and I replaced him with Williams. It was a tough decision and feared I might regret it. But in the end, I did not.