Success Comes From Within - An Athletic Bilbao Story

[issteo]

What's the final run in like? 2 players you got in potential look the part

 

[Klippybo]

MAY

v
Athletic Bilbao 0
Espanyol 0

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue*, Etxeita, Elustondo, Boveda, Eraso, Rico, Aranburu (Oteo), Jose Maria (Seguin), Sabin, Villalibre (Vicente)

We knew before we kicked off that Champions League qualification was secured so I rested my team for the upcoming European tie. 15y/o Jose Maria made his debut here and beat the record for the youngest player in La Liga that was held since 1939!

--
View attachment 98863
v
UEFA Europa League Semi-Final 1st Leg
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Aduriz 45, 86, Williams 62)
Bayer Leverkusen 2 (Hernandez 61, Volland 81)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe (Etxeita), Benat, Susaeta*, Williams, Muniain, Aduriz

Half way there although the 2 away goals are a worry but hopefully we can see it out.

--

v
Granada 3 (Foulquier 43, Victor Alvarez 45, Pereira 83)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Villalibre 36, 49, Eraso 42, 71)

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue, Etxeita, Elustondo, Boveda, Eraso*, Rico (Nolaskoain), De Marcos (Aranburu), Williams (Jose Maria), Sabin, Villalibre

Way to go back ups!!!! I had to start with De Marcos and Williams and unfortunately Williams picked up a knock and will miss the rest of the season I think. Eraso scoring 2 goals is pretty weird.

--

v
UEFA Europa League Sem-Final 2nd Leg
Bayer Leverkusen 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Benat 64, Aduriz 90)
(Agg: 2-5)

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe (Eraso), Benat*, Susaeta, De Marcos (Sabin), Muniain, Aduriz

Into the final we go!!! I am not sure how may direct free-kicks that Benat has scored this season but he got another one here. Leverkusen barely threatened in truth.

--

v
Sevilla 3 (Kranevitter 33, Pareja 74, Vietto 80)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aduriz 26)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos (Lekue), San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe, Benat (Raul Garcia), Susaeta (Aranburu), Jose Maria, Muniain, Aduriz

Sevilla appointed Roberto Mancini as their new manager earlier in the season and apparently he wanted to get one over me here - which he duly did but I aint too bothered as the league games are meaningless now.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 26, 66)

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue, Etxeita, Elustondo, Boveda, Eraso, Rico, Aranburu, Jose Maria, Sabin (Seguin), Villalibre (Vicente)

We went into this game knowing that Real needed to win to win the title and unfortunately for Barcelona I needed to rest my players for the final. Even before the game Iturraspe got injured and will miss the showpiece occasion while Aritz Aduriz announced his imminent retirement. As for the game itself- we missed a few early chances and then Real stepped up a gear and made us pay.

--

v
UEFA Europa League Final
Manchester United 0
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 53, Aduriz 60, Williams 77)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte*, Balenziaga, Raul Garcia, Benat, Susaeta, Williams, Muniain, Aduriz

WOOOOOO!!!!!

We win the Europa League with a fantastic performance against Man Utd. We soaked up their pressure and in the 2nd half struck on the counter 3 times. I was delighted that Aduriz scored in this showpiece occasion with it also being his final game of his career.

--

SUMMARY

This month was all about the Europa League as we used the league matches to rest my first team and give some youngsters some game time and the youngsters did not too bad in fact our worst league performance was when we played a strong side!

In the Europa League we were excellent and my decision to rest players for these games worked a treat. We beat Bayer Leverkusen home and away and also trounced Manchester United in the final to claim my first piece of silverware.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ARITZ ADURIZ
View attachment 98863

end of season post to follow....

​

 

[Klippybo]

SEASON REVIEW

I am naturally delighted with how my first season went. To finish comfortably in the league in 4th position, a run to the semis of the Copa del Rey and to win the Europa League was immense.

In the league we were in the title race up until about March when we eventually faded away but the fact that we lasted that long is encouraging. We failed to get anything against the big 3 however and that is definitely something that we need to improve on next season.

In the cup we did well to get to the semis but Real Madrid were too strong for us as they went on to win the cup. However in the Europa League we were great as we sailed through our group, comfortably beat 2 Belgian sides before a large first leg win was enough for us to defeat Shakhtar Donetsk.

In the semis we defeated Bayer Leverkusen both home and away and then in the final we thrashed Manchester United 3-0 to claim the trophy - hopefully the first of many.

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FINAL LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 98834

--

SQUAD

View attachment 98835

Overall I am happy with most of the performances. Benat was a class apart, Kepa developed nicely, my attacking 4 were great while San Jose and Laporte were solid. Balenziaga was a great surprise and he was very consistent.

With regards to my youngsters that I needed to develop Asier Villalibre did ok but a long term injury stunted it a bit. Inigo Vicente got more appearances than I expected while Yeray being unavailable for the 2nd half of the season was a major blow. However with the intake came Aranburu and I also managed to get Jose Maria in and they look like they could be great.

--

MY PLAYER OF THE SEASON
BENAT
View attachment 98836

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MY YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON
KEPA
View attachment 98837

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B TEAM

My B team did great as they finished 3rd in the league and then won promotion through the playoffs including two 3-1 victories over Barcelona B. Iker Hernandez was the top scorer while Seguin, Oteo, Bilbao, Remiro and Saborit did well as did the veteran Andoni Iraola who played the 1st half of the season before retiring.

So next season the B team will be playing in the 2nd tier!

--

U19s

Won the league winning every game apart from 3 games where they drew. They scored 117 goals with Vicente scoring over 30. My signing from Zaragoza, Millan, scored 24 while Nolaskoain scored 19.

In the cup they got to the semis where they lost out to Atletico Madrid.




​

 

[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON AND AUGUST

So season number 2 is upon us and hopefully we can maintain the positive momentum that we had in the first season. My aims for the league is to finish in the top 4 and get a victory against one of the top 3. Another decent cup run would be nice and in the Champions League I would like to make it out of the group stage.

My squad arguably is weaker than last season. I have brought one player in and a few have returned from loan spells but I have also sold a couple, relegated one or two and of course my main striker Aritz Aduriz has retired.

So who will replace Aduriz? I could put my faith in Asier Villalibre but at 19y/o it may come too soon for him. My alternative is Inaki Williams and for that I will need to pick another AMC. Hmmmm.

--

PLAYERS IN

I have brought one player in and that was Mikel Merino from Borussia Dortmund. I was quoted £12m for him but then he was listed for loan so I signed him on a 2 year loan with a £7.5m buyout clause and paid it immediately!!!
View attachment 98770

Merino at 21y/o will be a key player and a linchpin in the side for several years but for now he will be competing with Iturraspe.

I also brought in a couple of regens for a pittance but I did fail to get one from Sporting Gijon for £2,5m as he joined Barcelona.
View attachment 98769View attachment 98768View attachment 98767

Unai Lopez, Oscar Gil, Markel Etxeberria, Iago Herrerin, Urtzi Iriondo and Mikel Vesga arrived back on loan and will be in the B squad to help them in the Segunda Division. Ager Aketxe came back and will be with the first team.

--

TRANSFERS OUT

As you know Aduriz retired but I also sold a few backups. Kike Sola came back from loan and left for Tenerife for £475,000. Gorka Elustondo left for Alaves for £925,000, Iago Herrerin went to Almeria for £300,000 and Enric Saborit left for Leganes for £450,000. Finally Mikel Rico left to join Sporting Gijon for an initial £93,000 - big bucks lol.

I also released something like 50 players!

--

V
UEFA European Super Cup
Bayern Munich 0
Athletic Bilbao 0
(AET - Athletic Bilbao win 3-1 on penalties)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos (Lekue), San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe (Merino), Benat, Susaeta, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre (Aketxe)

WOW!!!! To go head to head against the mighty Bayern Munich and hold them is a great step for us. We didn't create much but defended well and managed to get it to penalties where for once a German side was dismal.

Aside from the match I noticed that Bayern have signed Cesar Azpilicueta - definitely a future transfer target.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Iturraspe 1, Williams 11, 26)
Villarreal 2 (Iturbe 2, Sansone 33)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte (Etxeita), Balenziaga, Iturraspe (Merino), Benat, Susaeta, Williams*, Muniain, Villalibre (Sabin)

Well that was an exciting start to the campaign. Iturraspe is under pressure for his place and he put us in front after 23secs. They levelled a minute later and then Williams took the game by the scruff of the neck and scored twice to win it for us before half an hour was up.

--

v
Valencia 2 (Nani 43, Rodrigo 65)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Laporte 16, Williams 39, Iturraspe 68, Benat 85)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe (Merino), Benat*, Susaeta, Williams, Muniain (Sabin), Villalibre (Aketxe)

Brilliant. We might have thrown away a 2 goal lead but to bounce back and win so convincingly was very impressive. Iturraspe scoring again was a pleasant surprise. Valencia lost their opening game 4-1 to newly promoted Tenerife so they haven't had a good start to the campaign.

--

SUMMARY

I am delighted with how this season has started. Our fixture list is pretty tough at the start of the league campaign with games against Villarreal, Valencia, Barcelona, Real Sociedad, Sevilla and Real Madrid all coming in the 1st 8 games so to win the 1st two is fantastic.

Naturally the highlight of the month was our victory in the European Super Cup as we defeated Bayern Munich on penalties after a goalless draw. In the Champions League we are in a favourable group alongside Celtic, Manchester United and Spartak Moscow.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDER ITURRASPE
View attachment 98759
​

 

[Klippybo]

SEPTEMBER

v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (San Jose 60pen)
Barcelona 1 (Neymar 70)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose*, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe (Merino), Benat (Raul Garcia), Susaeta, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre (Aketxe)

Finally we avoid defeat against one of the big three at the 9th time of asking. We almost won it in the final minute when Williams hit the post.

--

v
UEFA Champions League Group H
Celtic 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Villalibre 40)

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue (Etxeberria), Etxeita, Yeray, Boveda*, Merino (Eraso), Raul Garcia, Lopez (Oteo), Aketxe, Sabin, Villalibre

Out came the backups here and they did a good job and I am pleased that Villalibre got his 1st goal of the season.

--

v
Sevilla 3 (Vazquez 2, Balotelli 13, 82pen)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Susaeta 21)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe, Benat, Susaeta, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre (Raul Garcia)

Our unbeaten start to the season comes to an end here thanks to Roberto Mancini and his favourite bad boy Mario Balotelli. Meh.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Benat 54, Villalibre 57, Merino 79)
Tenerife 1 (Sola 18)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe (Merino), Benat* (Raul Garcia), Susaeta, Williams, Muniain (Sabin), Villalibre

For a while it looked like a player I sold in the summer, Kike Sola, would be our downfall here but I kicked the team up the backside at half-time and it did the trick. Merino scored a great goal. Unfortunately Williams got injured and will be out for over a month.

--

v
Almeria 1 (Perez 86)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Susaeta 12, Raul Garcia 66, Benat 90)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga (Boveda), Iturraspe (Merino), Benat*, Susaeta, Raul Garcia, Muniain, Villalibre (Sabin)

--

v
UEFA Champions League Group H
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 2, Villalibre 3)
Spartak Moscow 1 (Fernando 69)

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue, San Jose (Etxeita), Laporte, Balenziaga (Boveda), Merino, Benat (Aketxe), Susaeta, Raul Garcia, Muniain*, Villalibre

We came out of the blocks on fire here and were 2 goals to the good after the 3rd minute. After that we relaxed.

--

SUMMARY

We built on a great August with a decent September here. We got a great draw against Barcelona and although we lost to Sevilla we got back on track with two victories on the spin and we also won both of our game sin Europe which is great.

Regarding how we are playing I am itching to put Mikel Merino in from the start for a run of games but Iturraspe is playing well while Villalibre is lacking in goals but has had a few assists so I am wanting him to grab a few more for us - especially with Williams out injured.

I am contemplating calling up Aranburu to the first team as he is ripping it up at U19 level while both he and Jose Maria have come on considerably with their individual tutors. Food for thought indeed and I may act in January.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
BENAT
View attachment 98686

--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 98685
​

 

[Klippybo]

OCTOBER

v
Real Sociedad 1 (Podence 13)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Muniain 14, Villalibre 41, Juanmi og48, Raul Garcia 90)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose (Etxeita), Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe, Benat (Merino), Susaeta (Aketxe), Raul Garcia*, Muniain, Villalibre

GET IN!!! Derby day victory here as we come from behind to thrash Sociedad in the Vasco derby. Raul Garcia was immense, as was Muniain and even Villalibre seemed unplayable.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 10, 67)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe (Aketxe), Benat (Merino), Susaeta, Raul Garcia, Muniain, Villalibre (Sabin)

Defeat here but we did have enough chances to get something out of this game but Villalibre and Muniain missed them.

--

v
UEFA Champions League Group H
Manchester United 5 (Martial 3, 23, Ibrahimovic 22, 28, 67)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Blind og54)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos (Lekue), San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe, (Merino) Benat (Aketxe), Susaeta, Raul Garcia, Muniain, Villalibre

We were awful here as Man Utd gained revenge for the Europa League final of last season. Not happy.

--

v
Alaves 1 (Deyverson 28)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (San Jose 26pen, Raul Garcia 31, 47, 83)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte (Etxeita), Balenziaga, Merino, Benat (Iturraspe), Susaeta (Aketxe), Raul Garcia*, Muniain, Villalibre

That's better!! We could have had more as San Jose also missed a penalty in the 1st half. Villalibre could have had a hat-trick himself but instead he was the provider as Raul Garcia got 3 goals.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Muniain 20, Susaeta 48, Raul Garcia 55, Villalibre 89)
Sporting Gijon 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Benat, Susaeta*, Raul Garcia, Muniain, Villalibre

That's 3 times out of our last 4 league matches that we have scored 4 goals. We don't appear to be missing Aduriz or Williams lol.

--

v
Getafe 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Villalibre 8, Merino 78)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga (Boveda), Merino*, Benat, Susaeta (Aketxe), Raul Garcia, Muniain, Villalibre (Williams)

We keep the momentum going however both Villalibre and Susaeta had to go off in the 1st half with injuries.

--

SUMMARY

This month ends us on a fine run of form having won 3 matches on the spin. We did lose to Real Madrid but arguably the highlight was the 4-1 away victory in the derby match against Real Sociedad.

As for Europe - we got gubbed by Man Utd - I wont dwell on it lol.

A special mention goes out to my B side in the 2nd tier as they have won 9 out of 12 games to sit top of the table!!! At the start of the season I was hoping for them to get a place comfortably in mid table but they are doing brilliantly.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
RAUL GARCIA
View attachment 98673
--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 98672
​

 

[Sam91]

Good start so far Klippy. Atletico look superb though... gonna be tough!!

 

[Mr_Grieves]

Only 5..... United were feeling generous

 

[Klippybo]

NOVEMBER

v
UEFA Champions League Group H
Athletic Bilbao 0
Manchester United 3 (Herrera 17, Mata 41, 47)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Benat (Sabin), Aketxe, Raul Garcia, Muniain, Williams (Vicente)

Once again Man Utd teach us a lesson. Unfortunately we didn't learn from the first lesson. Spartak Moscow beat Celtic home and away so they are level on points with us now.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Benat 12, San Jose 25pen)
Granada 1 (Etxeita og9)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Etxeita (Yeray), Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Benat*, Aketxe, Raul Garcia, Muniain, Williams (Vicente)

Not great but I will take the 3pts. Etxeita's own goal was farcical as he scored with a sliding tackle from 18 yards!

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Raul Garcia 23, 47, Williams 43, Sabin 90)
Malaga 2 (Hervias 25, Ben Yedder 29)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte (Yeray), Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Benat, Susaeta, Raul Garcia*, Muniain (Sabin), Williams

This makes it 5 wins in a row in the league. We actually had a goal disallowed through Mikel San Jose's handball before we took the lead and then we threw it away before levelling just before the break. Raul Garcia scored to put us in front and then it was all Malaga as they missed several sitters before Sabin struck in injury time.

--

v
UEFA Champions League Group H
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Hubschman og52, Nolaskoain 85, 90)
Celtic 0

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue, Etxeita, Yeray (Gil), Boveda, Iturraspe (Eraso), Raul Garcia, Oteo (Nolaskoain*), Aketxe, Sabin, Vicente

It isn't often that a 2nd half substitute comes on to win the man of the match award but Peru Nolaskoain did it here as he came on with 25min to go and scored twice. We just need a draw away to Spartak Moscow to qualify now.

--

v
Espanyol 0
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Benat (Aketxe), Susaeta, Raul Garcia, Muniain, Williams (Sabin)

What a bore this game was. We barely threatened Espanyol and fortunately we didn't concede one ourselves.

--

v
Copa del Rey 4th Round 1st Leg
Cacereno 0
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Sabin 6, 29, Jose Maria 66)

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue, Etxeita, Yeray, Boveda, Iturraspe (Vesga), Nolaskoain (Eraso), Aranburu, Jose Maria, Aketxe (Seguin), Sabin*

Due to the U19S involvement in the Euro Youth League the likes of Aranburu and Jose Maria have been unavailable for me thus far so they came straight in here. 15y/o Jose Maria got off the mark for the club to become our youngest ever scorer while once again Nolaskoain impressed with 2 assists.

--

SUMMARY

A decent month all told. We, for now at least, are right in the mix for the league championship so we shall see how we get on in that front in the future. In Europe Man Utd thumped us again but we have one foot in the knockout stages anyway.

Having brought in some youngsters towards the end of the month I am impressed with how they both performed and are developing. Aranburu will be a beast for sure and so will Jose Maria considering he is a year younger. It was however Peru Noskaloain who impressed me most as despite only playing 90min over 2 appearances he scored 2 and assisted 2 to catch the eye.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
PERU NOLASKOAIN
View attachment 98391

--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 98390
​​
​

 

[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

v
Las Palmas 1 (Halilovic 45)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Williams 3, Muniain 80, 82)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat, Susaeta (Aketxe), Raul Garcia (Sabin), Muniain*, Williams (Villalibre)

We got an early lead here but then Williams went off injured and they equalised. The game was heading for a draw when I took off Raul Garcia for Sabin and moved Muniain to AMC and it worked a treat as Villalibre set up both of Muniains goals and he hit the post in stoppage time to deny him a hat-trick.

--

v
UEFA Champions League Group H
Spartak Moscow 1 (Glushakov 68)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (San Jose 15pen, Zobnin og25, Susaeta 31)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte (Yeray), Balenziaga*, Merino, Benat (Sabin), Susaeta (Aketxe), Raul Garcia, Muniain, Villalibre

As long as we avoided defeat we qualified and in the freezing snow of Moscow my players did a great job and won convincingly although Spartak gave us a helping hand with the 1st two goals.

-

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 56, Sabin 90)
Atletico Madrid 1 (Gameiro 14)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte (Yeray), Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Benat (Sabin), Williams, Raul Garcia, Muniain*, Villalibre

A win against the big 3!!!! However the scoreline doesn't tell the full story as they had a man sent-off in the 2nd minute and also another player sent-off midway through the 2nd half. I would have been severely ****** off we couldn't beat 9 men and fortunately Sabin came off the bench to score the winner in stoppage time.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Benat 39, Susaeta 54, Villalibre 81)
Celta Vigo 1 (Hernandez 69)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Benat* (Raul Garcia), Susaeta (Aketxe), Williams, Muniain, Villalibre

This win puts us top - for overnight at least lol. It also pretty much secures a top 4 finish as Celta are 13pts behind us in 5th.

--

v
Copa del Rey 4th Round 2nd Leg
Athletic Bilbao (Sabin 14, Nolaskoain 53, Yeray 69, Seguin 90)
Cacereno
(Agg: 7-0)

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue, Etxeita, Yeray, Boveda, Iturraspe (Vesga), Nolaskoain*, Lopez (Oteo), Jose Maria, Aketxe (Seguin), Sabin

Aranburu picked up a knock so couldn't play unfortunately but Nolaskoain came in and starred again. He is impressing for the B team in the 2nd tier too.

--

v
Real Betis 1 (Pezzella 77)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Petros og8, Donk og17, Sanabria og52)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Etxeita (Yeray), Balenziaga, Merino, Benat (Nolaskoain), Susaeta*, Raul Garcia, Muniain, Williams (Sabin)

Don't know what to say here - never had 3 own goals to my favour in the same game before!

--

SUMMARY

This was a great month both on and off the pitch with just one sour note. On the pitch everything was spot on as we won every match including a victory over Atletico Madrid which sees us ending the calendar year level top of the league.

In the cup we easily beat Cacereno however in the next round we are up against Atletico Madrid while in the Champions League we will play Italian champions Napoli.

As for the sour note - it appears that Asier Villalibre is injury prone. Last season he was out for 3 months and already this season he missed a month and now he is out for another 3-4 months which is a crying shame as he has enormous potential but he just cant keep fit.

Off the pitch Benat, Villalibre and San Jose signed new contracts while the youth facilities are getting improved and we are also expanding the stadium by 7,000 at a cost of £42m which will take the capacity up to 60,000.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
IKER MUNIAIN
View attachment 98384

--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 98383
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[Klippybo]

JANUARY


v
Copa del Rey 5th Round 1st Leg
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 23)
Atletico Madrid 2 (Griezmann 28, Gamiero 30)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos (Lekue), San Jose, Etxeita (Yeray), Balenziaga, Merino (Eraso), Benat, Susaeta, Raul Garcia, Muniain*, Williams

If this was the away leg then I would be happy but it wasn't and now we really face an uphill task to qualify for the next round.

--

v
Osasuna 0
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Etxeita, Balenziaga*, Merino (Eraso), Benat (Iturraspe), Susaeta (Lekue), Raul Garcia, Muniain, Williams

This local derby was played in terrible conditions which was befitting of such a terrible game. It extends our unbeaten run in the league to 11 games though.

--

v
Copa del Rey 5th Round 2nd Leg
Atletico Madrid 3 (Griezmann 9, 86, Gaitan 80)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (San Jose 59pen)
(Agg: 5-2)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Eraso), Benat, Susaeta (Aketxe), Raul Garcia, Muniain, Williams (Sabin)

We gave it a shot and did ok but in the end got punished for pushing players forward chasing the leveller.

--

v
Villarreal 0
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Raul Garcia 44, Muniain 55, Susaeta 82)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte (Yeray), Balenziaga, Merino, Benat, Susaeta, Raul Garcia (Aketxe), Muniain, Williams*

A fantastic victory over a struggling Villarreal side who just sold their best CB to a Chinese team. Williams may be struggling for goals up front but he got 2 assists here.

--

v
Barcelona 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Williams 45)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose*, Laporte, Balenziaga (Lekue), Merino, Benat, Susaeta, Raul Garcia (Iturraspe), Muniain (Sabin), Williams

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

What a victory this is. They battered us in the first half and Kepa even saved an early Messi penalty but we held on somehow and took the lead against the run of play when Williams latched onto a long through ball and rounded the keeper to score.

In the 2nd half I decided to set the team up to counter and with 30min left I changed my formation for the first time during a game as I withdrew my AMC and brought on Iturraspe to sit in front of the back four and we managed to hold on.

13 games unbeaten in the league now and clear at the top........

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Williams 12, 90)
Valencia 2 (Parejo 14, Piatti 33)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat, Susaeta, Raul Garcia, Muniain, Williams*

After the highs of the last match it was important to maintain momentum here and we were struggling for large parts after we took the lead and even when Parejo got sent-off for them in the 2nd half we couldn't muster a chance until right at the end when Williams netted his 2nd to grab a point.

--

SUMMARY

What a month this was. We end the month level top with Real Madrid and 2pts clear of Barcelona and Atletico. Undoubtedly the highlight was the away victory over Barcelona which was amazing. Sure we lost in the cup to Atletico home and away but I am not overly bothered about that.

Transfers wise the board increased my budget to £11m and there was 1 player I was monitoring but decided to stick with what I have. Nobody left permanently but I did loan a few youth and B team players out. Speaking of the B team they are currently in 2nd place in the 2nd tier!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
INAKI WILLIAMS
View attachment 98370

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LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 98369
​

 

[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY

v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Muniain 2, 28, 72, Sabin 49)
Sevilla 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe (Eraso), Benat, Susaeta, Raul Garcia (Jose Maria), Muniain*, Sabin

**** it - I am going to say it - even jinx it considering we have Real Madrid away this month but........ we do look like a side that can be champions. Even without my first 2 strikers and Merino we thrashed Sevilla here with Susaeta setting up all the goals!!

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Susaeta 19, Williams 44)
Almeria 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte (Yeray), Balenziaga, Merino, Benat, Susaeta*, Raul Garcia (Sabin), Muniain, Williams

Another terrific performance from Susaeta here - his goal was amazing as he volleyed in from 20 yards.

--

v
Tenerife 0
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Williams 3, 13, Susaeta 49, 59, Merino 52)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Francisco), Raul Garcia, Susaeta*, Muniain, Sabin, Williams

Markel Susaeta could score 20 own goals in the next 3 games and he would still get the player of the month award - what a goal he scored as once again he volleyed in from the edge of the area for his 1st. Muniain got 3 assists and 16y/o Francisco made his debut.

--

v
UEFA Champions League 1st Round 1st Leg
Athletic Bilbao 0
Napoli 0

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue, San Jose*, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Benat (Aketxe), Susaeta, Raul Garcia, Muniain, Williams (Sabin)

Not sure how to assess this match - should this be a game that we should be winning or not? Anyway at least we didn't concede the away goal.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Sabin 71, Laporte 75, Williams 90)
Real Sociedad 1 (William 25pen)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose (Etxeita), Laporte*, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat (Iturraspe), Susaeta, Raul Garcia (Sabin), Muniain, Williams

Derby day victory!!!! We were poor for the first hour but now I have to blow my own trumpet as my first sub, Sabin levelled and then moments after taking off Benat we got a free kick and Aymeric Laporte struck it in from over 30 yards - why he took it I don't know. It was plain sailing from then on.

--

v
Real Madrid 3 (Morata 63, 79, Isco 83)
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat (Iturraspe), Susaeta, Aketxe (Nolaskoain), Muniain, Williams

So our long 18 game unbeaten run in the league ends and deservedly so as we were awful here and didn't get a sniff. Hopefully my players confidence isn't dented too much.

--

SUMMARY

What an end to the season we have in store here! If the month ended before we played Real Madrid I would have been boasting of a 4pt lead at the top but as it is we are clear at the top but it is very tight.

We have been superb tbh and I am so excited to see how we finish as if we carry on as we are going who knows? I should point out that when I post I type my updates game by game so I don't know whats coming next so I am not dropping cliffhangers when I know what the outcome is - I honestly don't know!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MARKEL SUSAETA
View attachment 98297

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LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 98296
​

 

[TheBattman]

loving this

 

[Klippybo]

MARCH

v
Sporting Gijon 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Laporte 15, Benat 83)

Lineup - Iraizoz, De Marcos, San Jose (Etxeita), Laporte*, Balenziaga (Lekue), Iturraspe, Benat, Susaeta (Nolaskoain), Aketxe, Muniain, Williams

Back to winning ways. San Jose missed an early penalty and they had a man sent-off in the 2nd half. Iraizoz made his 1st appearance of the season here.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Iturraspe 12)
Alaves 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe*, Nolaskoain, Susaeta, Aketxe, Muniain, Williams (Sabin)

--

v
UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg
Napoli 3 (Insigne 5, 59, Callejon 20)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Aketxe 22, Muniain 67, Benat 74)
(Agg: 3-3, Athletic Bilbao win on away goals)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga (Lekue), Iturraspe (Eraso), Benat, Susaeta (Nolaskoain), Aketxe, Muniain, Williams

What a match!!! We started terribly and quickly went 2 down but Aketxe pulled one back before the break. When they went 3-1 up I thought it was all over but firstly Muniain pulled one back and then they had a man sent-off and moments later Benat scored from a free kick to send us through.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (San Jose 25pen, Susaeta 27, Benat 29, Muniain 34)
Getafe 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Eraso, Benat*, Susaeta, Aketxe (Nolaskoain), Muniain, Williams

Very impressive. We destroyed Getafe in a crazy 10 minute spell where we scored 4 times.

--

v
Granada 0
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Williams 39, San Jose 42pen, 77pen)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose*, Etxeita (Yeray), Balenziaga, Merino (Eraso), Benat, Susaeta, Aketxe (Villalibre), Muniain, Williams

Granada handed us the match here as we scored our 1st when Williams latched on to a short pass back and the 2nd came from the spot after they had a man sent-off and the 3rd was a penalty too - thank you very much!! Villalibre made his welcome return from injury here.

--

SUMMARY

Another fantastic month as we won all of our league games and managed to get a score draw away to Napoli to go through in the Champions League. In the league we are on fire as we aren't conceding many and we seem to be adding doses of lady luck alongside skill and ability.

Can we do it? We sit 1pt clear of Barcelona and have 2 tricky away fixtures against Malaga and Atletico Madrid to play so who knows. It will be close for sure!!!

In the Champions League we will play Bayern Munich who we defeated on penalties earlier this season.

And now for the youth intake - and I am delighted with it!!! We got 3 standout players and a few other decent ones too. The top 3 are a left back (thank god), a striker and a left winger.....
View attachment 98210View attachment 98205View attachment 98208

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
BENAT
View attachment 98204

​​--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 98203
​

 

[Sam91]

So tight at the top mate. Amazing achievement if you get the title this early!!

 

[Klippybo]

So tight at the top mate. Amazing achievement if you get the title this early!!

Just about to start April - in Spain its decided on the head to head record - would finish above Barca, below Real and it depends on our return game against Atletico as I won the first one 2-1

 

[Klippybo]

APRIL

v
UEFA Champions League Quarter Final 1st Leg
Bayern Munich 4 (Muller 21, Lewandowski 45, 51, 62)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Raul Garcia 20, San Jose 86pen)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos (Lekue), San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat, Susaeta (Aketxe), Raul Garcia, Muniain, Williams (Villalibre)

For 1 whole minute everything was fantastic - after that it all went downhill although Mikel San Jose's late penalty may just give us hope.

--

v
Malaga 1 (Jony 32)
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat, Susaeta, Raul Garcia (Sabin), Muniain, Williams (Villalibre)

It was bound to come - so many games this season we have got a major slice of luck but here it wasn't to be as we hit the woodwork 3 times and had a shot cleared off the line.

--

v
UEFA Champions League Quarter Final 2nd Leg
Athletic Bilbao 0
Bayern Munich 2 (Laporte og1, Muller 34)
(Agg: 2-6)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Benat (Raul Garcia), Susaeta, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre (Sabin)

An own goal in the 1st minute is not what you need when you are chasing a 2 goal deficit. 3 defeats in a row now.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Merino 17, Laporte 38, Muniain 44)
Espanyol 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte*, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat, Susaeta, Williams (Raul Garcia), Muniain, Villalibre

Back to winning ways with a comfortable victory here. Even better was that Barcelona lost at home to Atletico Madrid!!!

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (San Jose 23, 28, Williams 61, Benat 71)
Las Palmas 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose*, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat, Susaeta, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre (Sabin)

Another game, another win, 1 match closer to the title!!!! 4 games to go now.

--

v
Atletico Madrid 3 (Vietto 27, 39, 59)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Villalibre 30)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte (Etxeita), Balenziaga, Merino, Benat (Raul Garcia), Susaeta (Aketxe), Williams, Muniain, Villalibre

And now it is out of our hands. Atletico hammered us here and even though they had a man sent-off in the 2nd half we couldn't claw back a 2 goal deficit.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Benat 89)
Real Betis 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat*, Susaeta (Aketxe), Williams, Muniain (Sabin), Villalibre (Raul Garcia)

We kick-off 1 day before everyone else here so Benat's last minute winner could prove to be very, very, very important.

--

SUMMARY

We go into the final month of the season still in the midst of the title race. With just 2 games to play (Celta Vigo and Osasuna) we are 2pts behind Barcelona who do have a tricky fixture away to Valencia to negotiate. Can we do it? Unlikely but we wont give up!!!

In the Champions League we were knocked out by the holders Bayern Munich and overall I am content with our campaign in Europe although the heavy defeats by Man Utd weren't nice!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MIKEL SAN JOSE
View attachment 98143

--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 98142
​

 

[Klippybo]

MAY

v
Celta Vigo 1 (Keko 79)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 8, Merino 14)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino*, Benat (Raul Garcia), Susaeta, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre (Etxeita)

We got off to a great start as we were 2up in 15min but then San Jose got sent-off, the first dismissal for one of my players I think, and it was a case of holding on from then on.

As for Barcelona away to Valencia? They won 4-1 so just need to beat Almeria at home to clinch the title.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 0
Osasuna 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos (Lekue), Etxeita (Yeray), Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat, Susaeta (Aranburu), Williams, Muniain, Villalibre

What a dismal way to end the season - we didn't even threaten Osasuna here and completely bottled it. Well I say that but Barcelona thrashed Almeria 7-1 so even if we won we wouldn't have clinched the title.

--

SUMMARY

This was just a short post to end the league season and unfortunately for us it was to end in disappointment as we finish runners-up to Barcelona by 4pts. We managed to beat Celta Vigo but could only draw in the derby against Osasuna 0-0 for the 2nd time in the season.

Meh!!!!

END OF SEASON POST TO FOLLOW

​

 

[Cbarber871]

nice one finishing 2nd..hopefully you kick on and win it next year

 

[Klippybo]

END OF SEASON POST

I suppose if you offered me at the start of the season what we achieved I would have snapped your hands off but somehow there is a feeling of despondency around me. We did win the European Super Cup and progressed massively in the league over last season and even had a decent run in Europe as we reached the Champions League quarter finals although in the domestic cup we got knocked out fairly early.

The cup competitions I have glossed over as there is not much else to say as it was the league campaign that was exciting. We had a horrible run of fixtures at the start and did well and then put in an 18 game run which put us tip of the league which included victories over Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. For the last 3 months of the season we were top pretty much most of the time but with a couple of games to go Barcelona leapfrogged us and held on.

I have to be honest and say we massively over-achieved. With the loss of Aduriz due to retirement and with his replacement Villalibre being both injury prone and out of form to maintain a title challenge to the last day was incredible.

Aims for next season? Win a trophy! I want to continue to win a trophy every year and this time it will be tough as I will only be in the major 3 trophies unless we **** up in the Champions League.

--

FINAL LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 98089

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD
View attachment 98086

Without Aduriz I needed Villalibre to step up but unfortunately he didn't quite and the goals were shared around with 6 players getting into double figures. Nobody really stood out in the 1st XI although Markel Susaetas's 18 assists is noteworthy.

--

MY PLAYER OF THE SEASON
MIKEL SAN JOSE
View attachment 98087

--

MY YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON
ASIER VILLALIBRE
View attachment 98088

If Peru Nolaskoain played more he could have got it but even though Villalibre struggled a bit he was the best. I am planning on having a few youngsters in the first team squad next season so there will be stiffer competition.

--

B TEAM

With 10 wins from their 1st 14 games they were top of the 2nd tier and up until the last few months they were in the top 3 but they haven't won in 8 matches so a mid table finish looks likely with 3 games to go.

Individually Iker Hernandez has scored plenty and Peru Nolaskoain has starred.

--

U19s

Once again they won the league while being unbeaten. Aranburu and Jose Maria scored plenty but it was Millan who top scored with an amazing 57 goals which means he will be in the B team next season!

In Europe they made it through the group stage but lost to Red Star Belgrade and Espanyol defeated them early doors in the cup.

​