Pays Basque

[franja]

Hello everyone and welcome to my new long term save for FM22. As you can tell from the title, we are going to Spain and we will manager Athletic Bilbao.

Bilbao is a must-do save on every FM series for me years back, and FM22 will be no exception. Surely you all know about the special transfer policy that this club runs, and that is not to buy players who do not have Basque citizenship. This is exactly what makes this save very interesting and makes things difficult for us. My goal is to make Bilbao the strongest Spanish club, and a special focus will of course be on developing the best academy in the country.

The reports will be on a monthly basis, and I will do my best to show you all the most important things that have happened in each month. There will be a longer report at the end of the season.

Club records
LaLiga: 8 times (last time in 1984.)
Copa del Rey: 24 times (last time in 1984.)
Supercopa: 2 times (last time in 2021.)

Key players

Iker Muniain is a club legend and captain. He has spent his entire career at the club, collecting over 300 appearances for Atheltic.

Another player who has spent his entire career at the club is Inaki Williams. He plays as a striker, and holds the record for more than 200 games in a row that he did not miss to play. That record lasts for more than 6 years

Unai SImon is the new first goalkeeper of the Spanish national team. He is a goalkeeper who is still facing his best years and I hope he will be at the club as long as possible.


Top prospects

Upcoming fixtures

We have 4 friendly matches to play before the start of the championship. It is important to play the team, so that the start of the championship would be as good as possible.

First transfer window is disabled, so we won't have any transfers untill winter.​

 

[franja]

SEASON 1 - July & August​

It's our first report of the season. Since the transfer window is disabled, we go immediately to the matches we played.

July/August (friendlies)
​

In July and August we played 5 friendly matches in preparation for the new season. As part of the preparations we did in England, we played two games, against Charlton and Derby. As a result, we recorded two easy victories, although the game was not at the highest level, especially in the defense phase.

Upon our return to Spain, we played a friendly match against third division side Tudelano, where we achieved a convincing victory. He came to the only friendly match at our stadium, the opponent was the Turkish giant Fenerbahce. Very difficult match and draw 0-0. We ended the preparations with a big victory against the lower league Somorrostro.

LaLiga
​

In the first three rounds of the championship on paper, we had easy opponents and I expected to win a maximum of 9 points. We opened the championship with a visit to Barcelona against Espanyol, where we achieved a convincing 6-1 victory. In the second round we routinely beat Mallorca at home, while the hardest job awaited us in the third round where we beat Celta Vigo with a penalty kick.

​

After the first three rounds, we take first place in the table with a maximum of 9 points, the same as Villarreal. We would be second because of the goal difference if Real had not drawn in the third round at home against Osasuna.

Upcoming fixtures
​

As you can see in the next three games we have a favorable schedule. But that's why we have a terrible schedule from the game against Seville, so it will be important to win as many points as possible until that game.

 

[franja]

Season 1

September

The last time we talked I said that until the game against Seville I want to win as many points as possible. That came true because we won all 9 points. In the game against Getafe, we were leading 3-0 before conceding 2 stupid goals in the last two minutes. The matches against Granada and Elche were convincing victories. The game against Seville was the first real test of the season for us. We played very well and in fact Sevilla can be happy that they won a point in that game. Our good game against Seville was a great encouragement to me before the difficult October that awaited us.

October

October quickly brought us back to reality and with a more difficult schedule, worse results started. Valencia really broke us at home and deservedly celebrated. We didn't celebrate against Real Madrid either, we recorded a convincing defeat at home and we can be happy that it ended with only three goals. Then came a mentally very important match for us, the Basque derby against Real Sociedad. If we had lost we would have fallen mentally and continued with bad results. However, in that match, our best player Inaki Williams appeared and defeated our biggest rivals with 3 goals. Barcelona was a better opponent at Cam Nuo, but we still win one point. For the end of the month, we defeated Rayo at home and still somehow survived this difficult month.

LaLiga

After 12 games played, we hold a respectable 4th place. The biggest hit of the championship so far, Villarreal is 5 points away from us in the first place. While it’s not a big difference in points, I don’t think we have the quality to fight for the title this season. I will be very pleased if we win the Champions League place.

Upcoming fixtures

In the next two months we will have a rather favorable schedule. I hope we can score 15 points and stay in the top 4.

​

 

[franja]

SEASON 1

November

By the end of the first part of the season we played a total of 6 more games, 3 in November and 3 in December. The schedule was very good, with only one difficult match, away in Madrid against Atletico. We used it in the best possible way and achieved all 6 victories.

Although we had 3 easy matches on paper in November, these 3 victories were not won so easily. All opponents offered very good resistance, but our individual quality was decisive.

December

After the previous 3 wins, we optimistically entered December, eager for new points. December brought potentially 2 awkward games, against Betis and Levante, and a very difficult away game in Madrid. We beat Betis easier than expected, 4-1. The match in Madrid was a classic Atletico game, but we still somehow managed to grab a minimal victory. It was a great result for us. This month and a great half-season we ended with a convincing victory against Levante.

LaLiga

Finally, the rhythm of Villarreal dropped, so we took advantage of that with the last 6 victories and took second place. First-placed Real Madrid is only 3 points away, so in the spring we want to continue at the same pace so that we can fight for the title for as long as possible.

Youth intake preview

Youth intake is the most important part of this save, but it is only now. Preview says this should be a great generation of young players, but when it comes to FM, caution is never enough. Still, I look forward to the players coming.

Upcoming fixtures

We have a very busy January ahead of us, in which we will play 7 games in 3 competitions, because the Super Cup and the Cup are starting. The Super Cup is irrelevant as a result, but I would like to win the trophy if possible. In the cup we should have an easy task against a lower league club, and in the championship we have a difficult away game against Villarreal.

In February also a difficult schedule with matches against Seville and Real Madrid. These two months will definitely show if we have the quality to win the title.