Success Comes From Within - An Athletic Bilbao Story

[Death Ball]

What a nice season. Keep the good work.

 

[Klippybo]

SPAIN

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group A

v
Spain 4 (Morata 9, 11, 41, Koke 50)
Kosovo 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Martinez, Ramos, Grimaldo, Koke, Thiago, Williams, Isco, Asensio, Morata* (Villalibre)

Comfortable enough this with Morata getting a hat-trick and Villalibre getting his debut.

--

v
Faroe Islands 0
Spain 5 (Mata 11pen, 85pen, Williams 18, 21, 62pen)

Lineup - De Gea, Azpilicueta, Martinez (Bartra), San Jose, Grimaldo (Bernat), Busquets, Saul, Williams*, Mata, Asensio, Villalibre

Nice and easy - getting 3 penalties helps!!! Williams struck a hat-trick but I was disappointed that Villalibre couldn't score.


​

 

[Sam91]

Well done on that season. Seems this year in FM certainly seems harder to dislodge the big two in Spain. I'm 5 seasons deep with Atletico and have won the league twice and lost the CL final 3 times!!

 

[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON
&
AUGUST

Quite a quiet pre-season tbh although one or two first team players were let go and I did break the transfer record for the club so maybe it wasn't quite so quiet!!!

My aims for the season is quite simple - win a trophy again!!! Sure I would like to win the league but I think I might have to wait until some of my youngsters develop a bit more until that is going to happen although we aren't that far away!!!

--

PLAYERS IN

I signed 3 regens but only one I think in hindsight will make the grade as I paid Sevilla £1.5m for Fidel Hernandez. He will play for the U19s and we shall see where he goes from there.

View attachment 96390

As for the player that I broke the club transfer record for? Well its a big welcome back for Ander Herrera as I paid Manchester United £14.5m to bring him back to the San Mames and he turned down Chelsea to sign for us - the fact I gave him his Spain cap probably helped!!

With Benat now 32 I felt it was vital to keep someone at the top of their game rather than on a gradual decline although Benat is still quality!

View attachment 96391

--

PLAYERS OUT

Two members of the first team are gone. Xabi Etxeita was sold to my beloved Newcastle for £1.9m. He was 32y/o and was on a decent wage and I am in mind to play Galdeano and maybe even call up Gil or Bilbao from the B team to cover.

Also leaving was Raul Garcia. Again at the age of 32 he was blocking the route to the first team for my youngsters and at £90k a week he wasn't cheap!! Las Palmas paid £1.2m to take him and I wish him well. He made 112 appearances for me and scored 21 goals.

--

SQUAD SUMMARY

Cant envisage to much other changes as we have no money to spend!!! Aranburu will start the season as my RW and I will look to give Galdeano, Goni, Ruiz and Francisco plenty of opportunities like last season as well as some of the U19s.

--

AUGUST

v
UEFA European Super Cup
Arsenal 1 (Ozil 30)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Villalibre 3, 90, Muniain 38)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Herrera (Benat), Aranburu (Hervias), Williams (Lekue), Muniain, Villalibre*

Season over - we have won a trophy!!! Lol. Its nice to have a trophy in our pockets already and we really put Arsenal to the sword here. Now lets try and get one of the big trophies!!

--

v
Alaves 0
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Villalibre 31, 71, Williams 64)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Galdeano), Herrera, Aranburu*, Williams, Muniain (Hervias), Villalibre

A decent start to the league campaign although Alaves had plenty of chances when the game was close but we managed to put the game to bed in the 2nd half.

--

SUMMARY

Only 2 games but they should have provided us with a good kick-start to the season as we claimed the European Super Cup by trouncing Arsenal and then following that up by comfortably beating Alaves.

In the Champions League we will face moneybags Paris Saint-Germain, Wolfsburg and Maccabi Tel-Aviv.

​

 

[Klippybo]

SEPTEMBER

v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Ruiz 79)
Real Betis 0

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

We were labouring to a bore draw here until I brought on Alfonso Ruiz and he immediately scored a screamer from the edge of the area.

--

v
Almeria 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Benat 82)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Herrera, Aranburu, Williams (Benat*), Muniain (Hervias), Villalibre (Ruiz)

This was much like our last match as we flattered to deceive and was very reckless as we had 6 players booked. They missed a penalty in the 2nd half but fortunately Benat scored from long range to give us all 3 points.

That's 2 games in a row where on e of my subs comes off the bench, scores the winner and gets the MOM award!

--

v
UEFA Champions League Group C
VfL Wolfsburg 1 (Osimhen 17)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Villalibre 29)

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

I am happy enough with a point here as I think its between the 2 of us for 2nd spot in the group. We aren't exactly playing well but we aren't losing so that's the main thing.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Williams 7, Villalibre 39, 41)
Barcelona 4 (Busquets 38, Neymar 44, Suarez 60, 71)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos (Lekue), San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Benat), Herrera, Aranburu, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre

AAGGHH!!!! We were on fire in the first half and were 3-1 up going into the break when Neymar struck and that was a massive blow. In the 2nd half we missed some chances and they were ruthless. A missed opportunity for sure and hugely disappointing.

Having said that this was the 1st game in the stadium since the expansion work was finished and the 64,644 saw an absolute belter of a game.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Williams 74, Muniain 90)
Atletico Madrid 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Herrera (Benat), Aranburu, Williams*, Muniain, Villalibre (Francisco)

Atletico are struggling again and after a turgid first 70min we got the lead when Williams struck. I was about to sub Merino when he got sent-off but we even managed to double our lead with 10 men which was pleasing.

--

v
Valencia 2 (Gameiro 23, Robben 61)
Athletic Bilbao 6 (Villalibre 35, 79, Aranburu 43, Williams 45, Benat 47, San Jose 86)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos (Lekue), San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Benat, Herrera (Vazquez), Aranburu, Williams, Muniain (Francisco), Villalibre*

WOW!!! We were amazing here. Williams had an early goal chalked off and then when they took the lead I was thinking it was going to be one of those games but then we stepped up a few gears and blew them away.

--

SUMMARY

This month was quite interesting. We struggled to find our top form for the first few games and relied on late goals to get 2 victories before drawing at Wolfsburg. Next up was the unveiling of our new stand at the San Mames and we were edged out in a 7 goal thriller against Barcelona and we followed that up with 2 great victories against Atletico Madrid (2-0) and Valencia (6-2).

So far so good!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ASIER VILLALIBRE
View attachment 96059

--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 96059


​​--

(Only 12 of those 25 are involved in my squads lol)

SPAIN

Friendly

v
Spain 6 (Mata 12, San Jose 29, Koke 45, Roberto 76, 84, Villalibre 80)
U.S.A. 0

Lineup - Kepa, Azpilicueta, San Jose, Bartra, Bernat, Saul (Roberto), Koke*, Sandro, Mata, Asensio, Villalibre

I didn't realise that when my assistant arranged this friendly I had 2 qualifiers straight up! With that in mind I played my backups here and they did great and Villalibre netted his first goal for Spain.

--

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group A

v
Spain 2 (Williams 33, Morata 45)
Czech. Republic 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin*, Martinez, Ramos, Grimaldo, Busquets (Roberto), Thiago, Williams, Isco, Asensio (Sandro), Morata (Villalibre)

--

v
Spain 2 (Mata 20pen, Sandro 52)
Belarus 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin (Azpilicueta), Martinez, San Jose, Bernat*, Busquets, Koke, Sandro, Mata, Asensio (Saul), Morata (Villalibre)

6 wins out of 6 in the group now and we are all but qualified!


​

 

[Klippybo]

OCTOBER

v
UEFA Champions League Group C
Athletic Bilbao 0
Paris Saint-Germain 3 (Cavani 5, Gabriel Barbosa 10, Di Maria 36)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Goni, Merino, Herrera, Aranburu (Susaeta), Williams, Muniain (Hervias), Villalibre (Francisco)

Koke, Coutinho, Lirola, De Gea and Gabriel Barbosa are just some of the players that PSG have bought and they taught us a lesson here. We did have chances and they had Koke sent-off near the end but they are on a different level to us.

--

v
Granada 1 (Deulofeu 76)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Villalibre 3, Williams 13)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga*, Merino (Galdeano), Herrera (Benat), Aranburu, Williams (Francisco), Muniain, Villalibre

We started off on fire here and then took our foot off the pedal but we got the win and that's the main thing.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aranburu 64)
Real Sociedad 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Herrera, Aranburu*, Williams (Francisco), Muniain (Hervias), Villalibre (Ruiz)

Derby day victory!!! It was a nervy affair and when San Jose missed a penalty early in the 2nd half I thought we were going to struggle but Aranburu scored a screamer from long range to grab us the points.

--

v
UEFA Champions League Group C
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 1 (Traore 48)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Francisco 18, Susaeta 45, 61)

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue (Etxeberria), Gil, Yeray, Goni, Galdeano, Francisco, Susaeta*, Aketxe (Nolaskoain), Hervias, Ruiz (Millan)

My backups did a great job here and I am pleased that we got our 1st win of the group.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Villalibre 34)
Malaga 1 (Camacho 21)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Galdeano), Herrera, Aranburu (Susaeta), Williams (Francisco), Muniain, Villalibre

Not good enough!! Not happy either as we could have went clear at the top had we won as both Barcelona and Real Madrid drew.

--

v
Las Palmas 1 (Roque Mesa 52)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Williams 62, Ruiz 74, 78)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga (Lekue), Merino, Herrera (Francisco), Aranburu, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre (Ruiz*)

Las Palmas are doing great and they made life difficult for us here but for the 2nd time this season Ruiz has came off the bench and scored the winning goals and claimed the man of the match award.

--

SUMMARY

This was a tricky month as we got handed a hiding by PSG and dropped points to Malaga but otherwise we did quite well as we picked up a tricky victory against Las Palmas most notably.

Next month will be just as tough as we have Real Madrid and Villarreal away as well as a huge game against Wolfsburg.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
MIKEL BALENZIAGA
View attachment 95935

--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 95936

--

SPAIN

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group A

v
Slovenia 1 (Sporar 42)
Spain 1 (Mata 62)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin (Lirola), Martinez, Ramos, Grimaldo*, Koke, Thiago, Williams, Mata, Asensio (Muniain), Morata (Villalibre)

If we won we qualified but we dropped our 1st points of the group here. Pol Lirola was handed his international debut here and Muniain made a long awaited return.

--

v
Kosovo 1 (Rahmani 1)
Spain 4 (Mata 51, Asensio 56, 58, Saul 84)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Martinez, Ramos (San Jose), Grimaldo, Koke (Saul), Thiago (Merino), Williams, Mata*, Asensio, Morata

My players were tired and in the first half they were awful but after I gave them a rollocking at half time they came out for the 2nd half and blitzed Kosovo with 3 goals in a 7min spell.

That's us qualified for the Euros!!


​

 

[Klippybo]

NOVEMBER

v
Real Madrid 1 (Aranburu og52)
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Galdeano), Herrera (Francisco), Aranburu, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre (Ruiz)

We didn't create much here but still probably deserved a draw but alas Real got a lucky goal and claimed the points.

--

v
UEFA Champions League Group C
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Hervias 8, Ruiz 41, Susaeta 48, Galdeano 50)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 0

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue (Etxeberria), Gil, Yeray, Goni, Galdeano, Francisco, Susaeta*, Aketxe (Millan), Hervias (Uriarte), Ruiz

My backups were great here and this victory means we only need a draw against Wolfsburg to qualify.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Villalibre 6)
Celta Vigo 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose (Yeray), Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Francisco, Aranburu*, Williams, Muniain (Aketxe), Villalibre

--

v
Villarreal 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 80)

Lineup - Kepa*, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte (Yeray), Balenziaga, Merino, Herrera (Francisco), Aranburu, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre (Ruiz)

This was a very hard fought victory and once again Ruiz came off the bench to make a difference as he set up Muniain's winner.

--

v
UEFA Champions League Group C
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Williams 48)
VfL Wolfsburg 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, Galdeano, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Herrera (Benat), Aranburu (Susaeta), Williams (Hervias), Muniain, Villalibre

Not a classic but the victory ensures that we have qualified for the next stage which is the main thing.

--

SUMMARY

This was a tough month with us being involved in 4 very close matches. We undeservedly lost to Real Madrid before edging out Celta, Villarreal and Wolfsburg with 1-0 victories although there was a convincing victory against Maccabi Tel-Aviv thrown in there too.

We end the month in 2nd place which is good considering we haven't quite clicked yet and aren't playing at our best. Hopefully we can build on our decent start!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
KEPA
View attachment 95916

--

LEAGUE TABLE
​​View attachment 95915
--

SPAIN

UEFA European Championship Qualifiers Group A

v
Belarus 1 (Kornilenko 90)
Spain 2 (Morata 10, San Jose 13)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin (Lirola), Martinez*, San Jose, Grimaldo, Koke (Saul), Thiago, Williams, Mata (Isco), Asensio, Morata

--

v
Spain 7 (Isco 3, Mohr og6, Saul 26, Ayoze Perez 27, Lirola 45, Villalibre 70, Ramos 90)
Faroe Islands 0

Lineup - De Gea, Lirola*, Martinez (Bartra), Ramos, Bernat, Busquets, Saul, Sandro, Ayoze Perez, Isco (Roberto), Morata (Villalibre)

A decent win to end the group stage. They had a man sent-off in the last minute.

View attachment 95917
​​

​

 

[Klippybo]

DECEMBER

v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Benat 26, Jony og75, Aranburu 83)
Espanyol 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, Galdeano, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat (Francisco), Aranburu*, Williams (Hervias), Muniain, Villalibre (Ruiz)

Benat missed a penalty in the 4th minute but managed to score from a 25 yard free-kick instead!

--

v
Copa del Rey 4th Round 1st Leg
Logrones 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Ruiz 51)

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue, Galdeano, Yeray, Goni, Vazquez (Uriarte), Francisco, Susaeta (Arrese), Jose Maria (Eraso), Hervias, Ruiz*

Not as convincing a victory as I had hoped for but my backups got a win and that's the main thing.

--

v
Sevilla 1 (Vazquez 10)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Villalibre 4)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, Galdeano (Yeray), Laporte, Balenziaga, Benat, Francisco (Uriarte), Aranburu, Williams, Muniain (Hervias), Villalibre

Sevilla usually give us a tough game and this was no different despite them being in a relegation battle and having changed their manager.

--

v
UEFA Champions League Group C
Paris Saint-Germain 5 (Lucas Moura 55, 65, Acerbi 69, Dembele 86, Lirola 87)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Laporte 80)

Lineup - Kepa (Remiro), De Marcos, Galdeano, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Francisco, Aranburu, Williams (Yeray), Muniain, Villalibre (Ruiz)

Everything went wrong for us in the 1st half here as Kepa got injured and Galdeano got sent-off. After that we were doomed. They even had a goal disallowed.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Aranburu 53, Villalibre 61, Francisco 89)
Deportivo La Coruna 1 (Jair 19)

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

We were poor in the 1st half but after I bollocked them at half time we put on a better display and swiped them aside.

--

v
Copa del Rey 4th Round 2nd Leg
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Jose Maria 61, Arrese 81)
Logrones 0
(Agg: 3-0)

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue, Galdeano*, Yeray, Goni, Vazquez, Francisco, Susaeta (Arrese), Jose Maria, Hervias (Aketxe), Ruiz (Eraso)

Easy enough. Arrese got his 1st goal for us here. Cadiz somehow managed to knock out Atletico Madrid elsewhere!

--

v
Real Valladolid 1 (Santos 43)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Villalibre 10, 47)

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

Victory is nice but what makes it nicer is that we are now top of the league!!!

--

SUMMARY

December was a month with plenty of highs a few lows and a few things going on in around my world of management.

On the pitch we did well in some matches - most notably against Espanyol - and our league form enabled us to end the calendar year in first place. In the domestic cup we beat Logrones and will play Real Madrid in the next round - EEK!!!

In the Champions League we got thrashed once again by PSG and we will play Juventus in the knock out round.

Off the pitch there was plenty going on. I completed another coaching course, got offered the Scotland job, I got offered Javi Martinez for £12m and regarding Spain in the World Cup qualifiers we got drawn in a group of death alongside Holland, Denmark, Turkey, Luxembourg and Kazakhstan.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ASIER VILLALIBRE
View attachment 95884

--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 95885



​

 

[Klippybo]

JANUARY

v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 59, Susaeta 73, Benat 83)
Osasuna 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Galdeano), Herrera (Benat), Susaeta*, Francisco, Muniain, Villalibre (Ruiz)

The derby match against Osasuna usually is no problem for us and so it proved here. Nice to see the 2 veterans Susaeta and Benat get a goal.

--

v
Copa del Rey 5th Round 1st Leg
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Ruiz 85)
Real Madrid 2 (Ronaldo 23, Kovacic 89)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Herrera (Benat), Susaeta (Aranburu), Francisco, Muniain, Villalibre (Ruiz)

Meh. I think we are jinxed in the Copa del Rey as we always seem to get Real or Barcelona early on. We gave it a go here but with 2 away goals against us it is a long shot.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Aranburu 23, Villalibre 39)
Elche 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Galdeano), Herrera (Benat), Aranburu, Francisco (Ruiz), Muniain*, Villalibre

The win is good but what is not was the fact that Herrera and Merino were taken off injured and will be out for 2 and 1 months respectively.

--

v
Copa del Rey 5th Round 2nd Leg
Real Madrid 5 (Ronaldo 5, 8, 31, Odegaard 12, Bale 47)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Ruiz 89)
(Agg: 7-2)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Goni, Benat, Francisco, Aranburu (Susaeta), Williams (Aketxe), Muniain, Villalibre (Ruiz)

Humiliated!!!!!

--

v
Real Betis 1 (Sanabria 70)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Villalibre 47, Williams 49)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Goni, Benat (Aketxe), Francisco (Galdeano), Aranburu, Williams*, Muniain (Hervias), Villalibre

A standard win but a special mention goes to Aranburu - he has been immense this season and his run and cross to set up the 1st goal was amazing - a superstar in the making perhaps?

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (San Jose 8pen, Williams 15, Benat 43, Villalibre 46)
Alaves 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Lekue, Iturraspe (Uriarte), Benat, Susaeta, Williams*, Muniain (Aketxe), Villalibre (Eraso)

Going into this game I was riddled with injuries as you can see here.
View attachment 95870

My players were fantastic and if anyone actually reads the team selections you will notice a new but old name in there.......

--

SUMMARY

January is always hectic and this month was no different. In the league we were excellent and won every game without any trouble and if we keep ending each month top of the table I will be delighted. In the cup we just need to forget about it as Real Madrid humped us.

There was lots of activity transfer wise. I considered signing Javi Martinez but over £10m for a player about to turn 32 was too much. Then I had the afore mentioned spate of injuries and so I had a quick look to see who was available and there was Ander Iturraspe transfer listed!!! I brought him back for £1.8m (£5m profit) and he will feature heavily in the run in.
View attachment 95869

I also brought in this regen with amazing sideburns for £350,000.
View attachment 95865

Going out was Aker Aketxe on loan as he wasn't really featuring and I have a host of youngsters who are almost ready to come in to take his place. I also loaned out a few yooungsters but I also took a hit as one of my regens departed as Benfica met the £3.4m release clause to sign Inaki Herrera and they immediately loaned him out.
View attachment 95868

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
INAKI WILLIAMS
View attachment 95867

--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 95866
​

 

[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY

v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Muniain 15, 28, Villalibre 16, 50)
Almeria 1 (Fernandez 13)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte (Yeray), Lekue, Iturraspe, Benat, Susaeta, Williams (Francisco), Muniain*, Villalibre

We got a scare early on here but rallied to thump Almeria here. They had a man sent-off when the game was already over and the only worry was that Inaki Williams picked up a knock early on.

--

v
Barcelona 3 (Suarez 19, Messi 54, Neymar 70)
Athletic Bilbao 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga (Goni), Merino (Iturraspe), Benat, Susaeta, Francisco, Muniain, Villalibre (Ruiz)

We weren't at the races here and Barcelona easily beat us. This season we have just not performed against better sides.

--

v
Atletico Madrid 2 (Vietto 29, Griezmann 56)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Williams 11)

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

This doesn't bode well. Sure we have just had 2 massive away games but to not pick up a point makes me doubt our title chances. At least Real Madrid drew!

--

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

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

I am content with this result as we are in with a decent chance of progressing. We almost won it late on but it was not to be.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 6 (Villalibre 4, 90, Susaeta 32, Williams 34, Muniain 45, 58)
Valencia 2 (Balenziaga og17, Gameiro 56)

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

That's much better!!! We thumped Valencia 6-2 away earlier in the season and we repeated that feat here to get our tilt at the title back on track.

--

SUMMARY

This month was incredibly difficult and was very testing as inbetween thrashing Almeria and Valencia was defeats to Barcelona and Atletico Madrid as well as a draw against Juventus.

Next month will be just as tough as we have the derby match against Real Sociedad, our 2nd leg against Juventus and also the big match against Real Madrid!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
IKER MUNIAIN
View attachment 95785

--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 95784
​

 

[Klippybo]

MARCH

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Villalibre 19, 87)
Granada 0

Lineup - Kepa, Lekue (Goni), San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Benat (Francisco), Hervias, Williams (Cano), Muniain, Villalibre*

Back to the top of the league we go!!! Real Madrid were beaten 4-3 by Villarreal so we leapfrog them to go top!

--

v
Real Sociedad 1 (Ortuno 78)
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Villalibre 3, 54, 57, 86)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Benat, Aranburu (Hervias), Williams, Muniain, Villalibre*

What a show from Villalibre on derby day!!! Sociedad were put to the sword here and Villalibre was deadly as he struck all 4 goals and we could have had more!

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Williams 44, Villalibre 45, 85)
Las Palmas 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte*, Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Benat (Francisco), Aranburu, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre

That's 10 goals in 4 games for Villalibre!!!

--

v
UEFA Champions League 1st Round 2nd Leg
Juventus 2 (Higuaín 20, 35)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Villalibre 31, 48)
(Agg: 2-2 - Athletic Bilbao win on away goals)

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

Through we go!!! Higuaín (who has Basque parents I think) and Villalibre were in the business of swapping goals and we were doing fine until Balenziaga got sent-off with 20min left. After that it was all hands on deck and we managed to hold on.

--

v
Malaga 1 (Falque 14pen)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 8, Williams 13)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Galdeano, Balenziaga, Merino, Herrera(Benat), Aranburu*, Williams (Hervias), Muniain, Villalibre (Ruiz)

This win keeps our run going but also probably ends our title challenge as we had 4 players taken off injured. Villalibre and Herrera are only out for a few days but Muniain and Williams are out for a month or so - just in time for our crunch game with Real Madrid.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Villalibre 20, Navas og56)
Real Madrid 4 (Ronaldo 3, Ramos 22, Rodriguez 69, Morata 89)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte (Goni), Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Herrera, Aranburu, Francisco, Hervias (Ruiz), Villalibre

AAAGGGHHH!! We were doing so well here but my injury jinx struck again as both Merino and Hervias picked up knocks and had to be taken off. They are now 1pt ahead of us now.

--

SUMMARY

I love March. It is always where the season gets juicy and of course there is the small matter of the youth intake!!!!

In the league everything was absolutely fantastic - that is until we played Real Madrid. We easily won every game, including a great 4-1 away win in the derby against Real Sociedad where Asier Villalibre scored all 4 goals.

Then came Real Madrid who beat us 4-2 at the San Mames to go top by 1pt. They now have a better head to head record over us so if we are to win the title we will have to overtake them.

In the Champions League we just managed to overcome Juventus on away goals and in the quarter finals we will play - REAL MADRID!!!

Now for the youth intake and I am pretty pleased. We got a decent looking striker and a centre half who I am sure will be a star called Alain Martinez.
View attachment 95547View attachment 95546

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ASIER VILLALIBRE
View attachment 95548--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 95549

--

SPAIN

Friendlies

v
Finland 0
Spain 2 (Saul 6, Suso 56)

Lineup - De Gea, Lirola (Bellerin), San Jose, Bartra, Bernat (Gaya), Koke (Roberto), Saul* (Busquets), Aranburu, Isco (Mata), Suso, Morata (Moreno)

I gave my own player - Alejandro Aranburu - a debut here as well as Jose Gaya and Gerard Moreno. I had a few call offs for these friendlies so it was nice to give a few other lads a go.

--

v
Spain 1 (Morata 67)
Ivory Coast 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin (Lirola), Martinez, Ramos (San Jose), Bernat, Busquets (Saul), Thiago (Koke), Aranburu, Isco (Mata), Suso, Morata (Villalibre)

​

 

[Klippybo]

APRIL

v
Celta Vigo 1 (Nunnely 22)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Susaeta 77)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte*, Balenziaga, Merino, Herrera, Aranburu (Lekue), Francisco (Williams), Hervias (Susaeta), Villalibre

Celta Vigo are 4th in the league and are doing well so a point here is not bad - especially since Real Madrid also drew!

--

v
UEFA Champions League Quarter Final 1st Leg
Real Madrid 2 (Ronaldo 4pen, Odegaard 51)
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Williams 49)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos (Lekue), San Jose, Laporte, Goni, Merino, Herrera (Benat), Aranburu, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre (Ruiz)

All I could ask for was to still be in with a realistic chance going into the home leg and we have that as Williams' away goal could be crucial.

--

v
Espanyol 2 (Boakye 20, Ferreira 38)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Ruiz 57, 71)

Lineup - Kepa, Goni, Galdeano, Yeray (Martinez), Lekue, Iturraspe, Benat (Uriarte), Susaeta (Cano), Francisco, Hervias, Ruiz*

I may have blown it here. I decided to rest my first team for the Champions League game but my backups couldn't win and Real Madrid could so they go 3pts clear. That said I am happy that we rescued a point although its 4 games without a win now.

--

v
UEFA Champions League Quarter Final 2nd Leg
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Villalibre 29, Merino 47, Williams 50, Laporte 75)
Real Madrid 1 (Ronaldo 13)
(Agg: 5-3)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga (Lekue), Merino*, Herrera (Benat), Aranburu (Hervias), Williams, Muniain, Villalibre

AMAZING!!!! At the 6th attempt we have beaten Real Madrid this season and in some style. They took the lead and I thought we were out but Villalibre scored a screamer to draw us level. Then in the 2nd half Merino nodded in his 1st of the season, Williams tapped in shortly after and Laporte wrapped it up - San Jose even had a penalty saved late on. A truly stunning victory.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 4, Williams 46, Villalibre 64)
Villarreal 1 (Mina 77)

Lineup - Kepa (Remiro), De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte, Balenziaga, Merino, Herrera, Aranburu, Williams*, Muniain (Hervias), Villalibre

A good solid win with the only negative being that Kepa picked up a knock although he isn't out for long.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Williams 70, Ruiz 85)
Sevilla 0

Lineup - Remiro, De Marcos, San Jose, Laporte (Galdeano), Balenziaga, Merino, Herrera, Aranburu, Williams*, Muniain (Hervias), Villalibre (Ruiz)

A good win but it comes at a cost as Laporte got injured and will miss the next month.

--

v
Deportivo La Coruna 2 (Jordan 42, Baena 45)
Athletic Bilbao 5 (Merino 1, Villalibre 29, 86, Williams 58, 66)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Galdeano (Yeray), Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Herrera, Aranburu, Williams*, Muniain (Hervias), Villalibre

This could have been 15-2 in truth as we missed so many chances including a penalty. I was given hope when I saw that Almeria were beating Real Madrid but they rallied late to win.

--

v
UEFA Champions League Semi Final 1st Leg
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Marquinhos og22, Muniain 59, Williams 79, Ruiz 87)
Paris Saint-Germain 1 (Dembele 61)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Galdeano, Balenziaga, Merino (Iturraspe), Herrera (Benat), Aranburu, Williams*, Muniain, Villalibre (Ruiz)

WOOOOOO!!!! PSG beat us 5-1 and 3-0 in the group stage so I wasn't holding out much hope here but we were magnificent - especially on the break - as we thrashed the French side here. A truly great result and we have one foot in the Champions League final.

--

SUMMARY

What a month this was! In the league we scraped 2 draws in 2 tricky away games against Celta and Espanyol before we won our next 3 which leaves us 3pts behind Real Madrid who have the better head to head record with 3 games left. However looking at the run in we still have a good chance......

Athletic - Osasuna (a), Valladolid (h), Elche (a)
Real Madrid - Barcelona (a), Valencia (h), Atletico Madrid (a)

As for the Champions League we were immense and have almost made the final. We lost narrowly at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid but in the 2nd leg we destroyed Real 4-1 to sail through and in the 1st leg of the semis we won 4-1 again to defeat PSG.

Now a bit about Inaki Williams. He has been on fire and has been awarded the MOM award in each of his last 4 games and he has scored plenty and got an assist or 2 also. I haven't known a player to hit this kind of form since I have came here so it realy is quite something special.

Finally regarding the national side, my Spain team have been drawn against Wales, Slovenia and Austria in the European Championships. I have arranged 2 friendlies against my native Scotland to see how they are and a confidence boost attempt to get a big win going into the tournament against Gibraltar.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
INAKI WILLIAMS
View attachment 95191

--

LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 95192
​

 

[Klippybo]

MAY

v
Osasuna 2 (Carrillo 2, Leon 36)
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Aranburu 28, Williams 31, Oier og67)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Galdeano, Balenziaga (Goni), Merino, Benat, Aranburu*, Williams (Francisco), Muniain (Hervias), Villalibre

A hard fought derby victory with Alejandro Aranburu being the star of the show. Elsewhere Real Madrid got thumped 3-0 by Barcelona so we are level top with 2 games to go......

--

v
UEFA Champions League Semi Final 2nd Leg
Paris Saint-Germain 4 (Diogo 13, 22, Verratti 21, 26)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Ruiz 3, 90pen)
(Agg: 5-6)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, Martinez, Yeray, Goni, Iturraspe (Uriarte), Benat (Jose Maria), Susaeta, Francisco, Hervias, Ruiz

Into the final we go!!! I took a major risk and decided to rest my big players hoping that a 4-1 1st leg lead would be enough and it worked a trick - for 3 minutes or so as we took an early lead but then conceded 4 goals in 13 minutes to be on the brink of exiting.

In the 2nd half they missed chance after chance and then in stoppage time Ruiz was brought down in the box, Grimaldo got sent-off and Ruiz tucked away the penalty.

We will play Bayern Munich in the final at the Amsterdam Arena. Oh and Alain Martinez at 15y/o became the Champions League's youngest ever player.

--

v
Athletic Bilbao 4 (Aranburu 12, Muniain 27, Villalibre 29, Francisco 89)
Real Valladolid 0

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos, San Jose, Galdeano, Balenziaga, Merino, Herrera (Francisco), Aranburu, Williams*, Muniain, Villalibre

TOP OF THE LEAGUE WE GO!!!! A nice easy win for us here but over at the Bernabeu Real Madrid drew 1-1 with Valencia so if we beat Elche away we will win the league.

--

v
Elche 1 (Matos 73)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Herrera 44, Villalibre 55)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos (Lekue), San Jose, Galdeano, Goni, Merino, Herrera* (Benat), Aranburu (Susaeta), Williams, Muniain, Villalibre

CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!! We weren't at our best here but took the lead just before half-time when Herrera finally got his 1st goal of the season. Villalibre doubled our lead to almost seal the title but then they pulled a goal back and missed a few chances but we managed to hold on.

Real Madrid won 2-0 by the way.

--

v
UEFA Champions League Final
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Villalibre 7, Williams 41, Herrera 60)
Bayern Munich 2 (Dybala 42, 73)

Lineup - Kepa, De Marcos (Lekue), San Jose, Laporte, Goni, Merino (Galdeano), Herrera (Benat), Aranburu, Williams, Muniain, Villalibre

WE WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!!!!!!

What a final this was. We took an early lead through Villalibre and then soaked up some pressure before a great move allowed Williams to slot in and we were on easy street however Dybala immediately pulled one back before half-time.

In the 2nd half it was again a case of soaking up the Bayern pressure and hitting them on the break and it worked a treat as Herrera scored his 2nd goal of the season (in the last 2 games too) to put us in control. Dybala struck again but we managed to hold on.

--

SUMMARY

What an end to the season!!! We managed to claw back Real Madrid to win the title in fantastic fashion as we ended the season on a 6 game winning streak. That was fantastic but better was to come as we just managed to keep PSG at bay and then in the final of the Champions League we defeated Bayern Munich 3-2 in a thrilling final.

I cant believe we won the league and Champions League this season!!!!

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
ANDER HERRERA
View attachment 95169


END OF SEASON POST TO FOLLOW
​

 

[Klippybo]

END OF SEASON POST

What a season that was!! Truly incredible. At the start of the season I just wanted a trophy. I thought we could muster a decent tilt at the title but I really wanted a decent run in the cup and whater happened in Europe was a bonus. In the end we won the league, Champions League and European Super Cup but failed miserably in the domestic cup. Dammit lol

In the league we started off well with only 2 defeats in our opening 22 games but then we lost 2 in a row and then came back but also had a 3 game winless run which gave Real Madrid the edge in the title race but fortunately we had a decent run in and won all of our final 6 games while Real Madrid had a horrible run in and they slipped up a few times and we grabbed the title.

Real Madrid knocked us out of the domestic cup and we beat Arsenal in the European Super Cup and as for the Champions League we somehow emerged victorious. We were in a group with Maccabi Tel-Aviv, PSG and Wolfsburg and finished 2nd as PSG thrashed us in both of our matches. We then knocked Juventus out on away goals to qualify for the quarter-finals.

What followed showed that to win a cup competition over 2 legs is that if you have one terrific performance you can get away with it. After a narrow away defeat to Real Madrid we destroyed them 4-1 in the 2nd leg to go through and that was at the same time where Williams was on fire and the team was looking great and winning with ease. PSG were then beaten 4-1 in another amazing performance before my backups saw out the tie and then in the final we managed to edge out Bayern Munich 3-2 in a tense but entertaining final.

Cant wait for next season!!!

--

FINAL LEAGUE TABLE
View attachment 95153

--

SQUAD
View attachment 95156

Villalibre will get the plaudits for his 41 goals, Muniain was great and Laporte was solid as usual, Aranburu starred on the RW but Inaki Williams was truly outstanding and his form at the end of the season was truly incredible. I was however disappointed with the lack of goals from Merino and Herrera although Herrera did pick great moments for his 2 goals!

--

MY PLAYER OF THE SEASON
INAKI WILLIAMS
View attachment 95154

--

MY YOUNG PLAYER OF THE SEASON
ALEJANDRO ARANBURU
View attachment 95152

--

B TEAM

Mid table for them. I think I am going to cash in on some of my older B team players and promote some members of my U19 squad as I now feel that my U19s are good enough to hold their own in the 2nd tier. It will also be good to see how much more they would develop. I intend to put a lot of work assessing the balance of the squad for the start of next season.

--

U19S

Unbeaten in the league but couldn't win either of the 2 cups as they were knocked out at the semis in both. Daniel Eraso scored over 50 goals and starred while Jose Maria, Cesar Ruiz, Javier Vazquez and Fernando Arrese also impressed.
​

 

[Klippybo]

SPAIN

Friendlies

v
Spain 5 (Saul 7, Asensio 36pen, 43pen, 56, 65)
Scotland 1 (Griffiths 50)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Martinez (San Jose), Ramos (Bartra), Grimaldo (Bernat), Koke (Busquets), Saul, Williams (Aranburu), Isco, Asensio*, Villalibre (Sandro)

The game against Gibraltar was meant to be the big win game to boost confidence going into the Euros but we demolished Scotland here. Disappointed that Villalibre didn't score as he is in a battle with Morata to start the Euros. Asensio was immense.

--

v
Spain 6 (Mata 45, 77, 89pen, Williams 46, Ramos 53, Bernat 81)
Gibraltar 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Martinez, Ramos, Grimaldo (Bernat), Koke, Thiago (Busquets), Aranburu, Williams, Mata*, Villalibre (Sandro)

Routine victory but it came at a price as Thiago got a serious injury and will miss the Euros. Sergio Ramos broke the record for caps won here and celebrated it with a goal.

--

2020 UEFA European Championship Squad Announcement

Goalkeepers

NAME	CLUB	AGE	VALUE	CAPS	GLS
David DE GEA	Paris Saint-Germain	29	£50m	55	0
KEPA	Athletic Bilbao	25	£1.9m	2	0
Sergio RICO	Sevilla	26	£3.4m	2	0

Defenders

NAME	CLUB	AGE	VALUE	POS	CAPS	GLS
Marc BARTRA	Borussia Dortmund	29	£14.5m	DRC	19	0
Hector BELLERIN	Arsenal	25	£32m	DR	22	0
Juan BERNAT	Bayern Munich	27	£33m	DL	18	3
Alex GRIMALDO	Paris Saint-Germain	24	£44m	DL	23	0
Pol LIROLA	Paris Saint-Germain	22	£42.5m	DR	5	1
Javi MARTINEZ	Bayern Munich	31	£8.25m	D/MC	51	1
Sergio RAMOS	Real Madrid	34	£3.5m	DC	168	14
Mikel SAN JOSE	Athletic Bilbao	31	£10.25m	D/MC	13	3

Midfielders

NAME	CLUB	AGE	VALUE	POS	CAPS	GLS
Alejandro ARANBURU	Athletic Bilbao	19	£10.25m	AMR/ST	4	0
Marco ASENSIO	Chelsea	24	£53m	M/AMRLC	18	10
Sergio BUSQUETS	Barcelona	31	£9m	D/MC	119	2
ISCO	AS Monaco	28	£38m	M/AMRLC	37	3
KOKE	Paris Saint-Germain	28	£60m	MC	54	8
Juan MATA	Manchester United	32	£8.75m	M/AMRLC	73	26
Mikel MERINO	Athletic Bilbao	23	£33.5m	MC	2	0
SAUL	Atletico Madrid	25	£27m	D/M/AMC	20	5
Inaki WILLIAMS	Athletic Bilbao	25	£49m	AMRLC/ST	18	7

Forwards

NAME	CLUB	AGE	VALUE	POS	CAPS	GLS
Alvaro MORATA	Real Madrid	27	£29m	ST	46	27
SANDRO	Bayern Munich	24	£27.5m	AMRL/ST	14	1
Asier VILLALIBRE	Athletic Bilbao	22	£41m	ST	10	2

Missing Out
Ayoze Perez (Newcastle United), Jose Gaya (Manchester United), Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago (Bayern Munich), Hugo Mallo (Tottenham Hotspur), Suso (AC Milan), Gerard Moreno (Inter Milan)

​

 

[Klippybo]

2020 UEFA European Championships

Group B
v
Wales 0
Spain 3 (Williams 10, Villalibre 36, Asensio 53pen)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin (Lirola), Martinez, Ramos, Grimaldo, Koke, Saul (Merino), Williams, Isco (Aranburu), Asensio*, Villalibre

A great start to the competition. Wales are the hardest team in the group in my eyes and we easily swatted them aside here and we already have one foot in the next round.

--

v
Spain (Isco 39, 85, Villalibre 52, Busquets 73, Aranburu 80)
Slovenia

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Martinez, Ramos, Grimaldo (Bernat), Koke (Busquets), Saul, Williams (Aranburu), Isco*, Asensio, Villalibre

Erm this was weird. We went a goal up, then they had a man sent-off, then we went 2up and then they had another man sent-off and then had their keeper, Oblak, go off injured but they had already made their 3 subs so they were down to 8 men for the final 20min!

--

v
Spain 1 (Morata 2)
Austria 0

Lineup - De Gea, Lirola, San Jose, Bartra*, Bernat, Busquets, Merino, Aranburu, Mata, Sandro, Morata

3 wins out of 3 and it was very easy. Mata missed a last minute penalty.

--

View attachment 94897

--

2nd Round

v
​​Hungary 0
Spain 3 (Villalibre 43, 45, 64)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Martinez, Ramos, Grimaldo (Bernat), Koke, Saul (Merino), Williams, Isco (Mata), Asensio, Villalibre*

Easy. Asier Villalibre has been immense in the tournament and his hat-trick here makes it 5 goals in 3 games for the Euros.

Poland 1-2 Switzerland
Sweden 0-2 Austria (aet)
Russia 2-3 Belgium
Croatia 1-0 Wales
Germany 0-1 England
Northern Ireland 0-1 France
Ukraine 0-1 Denmark

--

Quarter Finals

v
Spain 1 (Villalibre 64)
France 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Martinez, Ramos (San Jose), Bernat, Koke (Merino), Saul, Williams (Aranburu), Isco, Asensio, Villalibre*

Villalibre strikes again!! This was a very tight game and it was settled by a fantastic finish from Villalibre. On we go!!!

Croatia 1-2 Denmark
England 1-3 Austria (aet)
Switzerland 1-4 Belgium

--

Semi Finals

v
Belgium 0
Spain 2 (Villalibre 41, Asensio 58)

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin (Lirola), Martinez, Ramos (San Jose), Bernat, Koke, Busquets, Williams, Mata, Asensio*, Villalibre (Morata)

I am delighted with this win. I thought that after beating France, Belgium may have been a step too far but we managed to win in fine style. Villalibre again struck in the 1st half and then Williams crossed for Asensio to kill them off. Belgium rarely threatened tbh.

Denmark (P) 0-0 Austria

--

Final

v
Spain 1 (Williams 25)
Denmark 0

Lineup - De Gea, Bellerin, Martinez, Ramos, Bernat*, Koke (Busquets), Merino, Williams (Aranburu), Isco, Asensio (Sandro), Villalibre

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS!!!! To be fair the Belgium game was realistically the final as the Danish side should never be able to match my Spanish team. We got the only goal when Isco crossed for Williams to head in at the back post and that was that!

--

European Championship Best Player - Marco Asensio (Spain)
European Championship Golden Boot - Asier Villalibre (Spain)
European Championship Best Young Player - Asier Villalibre (Spain)

Dream Team

De Gea (Spain)
Meunier (Belgium)
Martinez (Spain)
Busquets (Spain)
Alaba (Austria)
Asensio (Spain)
Schopf (Austria)
Tielemans (Belgium)
Hazard (Belgium)
Wertelaers (Belgium)
Villalibre (Spain)

(Busquets made 2 starts and 1 sub appearance - all at CM - and he gets a place as a CB!!


​

 

[issteo]

Congrats on winning the Euros! Well deserved

 

[Death Ball]

Neat! Great euro there.

 

[Klippybo]

Just realised I won it without conceding a goal lol

 

[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON

For the first time I get to do a pre-season report without any first team games as we have 4 or 5 games in August with all the Super Cup fixtures to be played.

There were a few changes during the summer. I had to let one player go that I didn't want to, I promoted 3 players into the 1st team squad and I seriously changed the look of both my B team and my U19s.

So without further ado.........

--

PLAYERS IN

I have signed 2 regens so far. I paid £1.7m to Villarreal to bring in Saul Montegud. He is highly rated although he is too small to be a serious contender at CB and also he needs to improve his passing to be a CM for me I fear. I also paid £800k to Rayo Vallecano for speedy winger Abel Reguillon.
View attachment 94636View attachment 94634

--

PLAYERS OUT

The big one and the one I don't think I could afford to lose was Inigo Lekue. I had to sell him to Marseille for £9.75m as he was out of contract at the end of the season and he didn't want to sign a new deal. Lekue made 93 apps for me and was a decent player.

I also sold Markel Susaeta to Sassuolo for £300,000. He had been at the club all his career but wanted regular first team football and considering his age and his wage I felt it was right to let him go.

I also raked in nearly £10m by selling Ager Aketxe and several B team players. Iker Hernandez could be a big miss for the B team as he has scored 94 goals in 4 seasons for the B team. The other players leaving are Mikel Vesga, Inigo Cordoba, Jorge Oteo, Mikel Olavide and Unai Bilbao.

--

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

Regarding my first team XI there is one new player and that is Ekaitz Goni. Goni has had 2 years in the first team playing backup and even at the tender age of 18 I feel he is ready to be the number one left back.
View attachment 94630

Into the first team squad comes Fidel Hernandez, Jose Maria and Fernando Arrese. Herandez and Arrese will be back up RB and RW respectively and Jose Maria will get the odd game or five.
View attachment 94633View attachment 94632View attachment 94631

--

AIMS FOR THE SEASON

As ever I want to win a trophy but that should be a given. Retaining the league is the ultimate goal and to finally win the Copa del Rey would be nice!



​