Aitor Herrera - Back in Bilbao

[Klippybo]

AITOR HERRERA - BACK IN BILBAO

He, we, I am back!!!!!

I stopped posting stories for the last few months of FM22 but with a new game comes a renewed vigour to post updates on my FM adventures and despite toying with the idea (and getting up to the first day of the season) with Newcastle I felt that the pull to manage Athletic Bilbao was too much. That and the fact I hadnt mentioned Aitor Herrera for a few months lol.

Going Athletic for a first save lets me play the game without interfering with the wider FM world as due to the signing restrictions with Athletic all the wonderkids find their own path naturally and I dont hoard them all so its also a research mission for future saves.

The aim is always the same every year. Take Athletic to the top of world football as my best ever newgen - Aitor Herrera and also to find his successor. It amazingly has been 10 years or so since Aitor arrived in the world and I have yet to have someone come through any youth system who could lace his boots yet.

Please follow, and comment and I hope you enjoy the save!​

 

[Klippybo]

THE CLUB

Founded in 1898 Athletic, along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, have the destinction of playing in the top division every season since its formation and have won the title 8 times although the last time was back in the 1983-84 season when they won the double. They have won the Copa del Rey 23 times (last time in 1983-84 again) and the Supercopa 3 times.

Playing at the San Mames stadium (capacity 53,289), Athletic - nicknamed "Los Leones" - The Lions, famously only sign players who were born or who began their youth careers in the Basque region so developing young players is vital. Their B side play in the 3rd tier of Spanish football with their C team (Basconia) in the lower divisions.

Their main rivals are Real Sociedad so signing players from there will be nigh on impossible while the other Basque clubs are Osasuna, Alaves and Eibar which arent such big rivals.

--

SEASON BY SEASON RECORD​

SEASON	LA LIGA	COPA DEL REY	CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
2022-23	3rd	4th Round	-

 

[Klippybo]

THE SQUAD

So I arrive at the club eager to get down to work and get on with things. Like my beloved Newcastle United we have no European football this season so I hope that that plays to our advantage and the minimum aim for me is a European spot for next season which thankfully is aligned with the fans expectations.

Upon my arrival the squad looked like this.............

==

Goalkeepers

Along with the striker position, finding a top quality keeper is tricky in any Athletic save but thankfully we have 1 top notch keeper in the shape of Spain no1 Unai Simon and a top prospect in Julen Agirrrezabala. Simon will be my first choice keeper for several years to come so Agirrezabala may be loaned out to improve or he may just sit on the bench. There is a decent young keeper in the youth ranks called Alex Padilla so we shall see how he progresses but unless Simon gets injured there wont be much opportunities.

==

Defenders

There is an obvious flaw here as we only have 3 central defenders!!!! We have 4 or 5 out on loan so I will need to address that situation. Thankfully the 3 that I do have are top quality with Inigo Martinez, Vivian and Yeray. I do have Aitor Paredes in the B team who can act as cover but we shall see what is out there in the transfer market.

At RB Ander Capa will be first choice while on the other side Yuri will start and both are solid and experienced players. Lekue can cover either position while club legend Oscar De Marcos is about to have a testimonial but his days are numbered as is Mikel Balenziaga's. Again if 1 goes they will need replaced.

==

Midfielders

We are stacked with quality midfield players. I play with 2 CMs and they will be Unai Vencedor and Oihan Sancet. Both are top quality young players and will be the pairing in the middle for years to come. It is nice to see Ander Herrera back at the club as he is a quality player and we can purchase him for £220,000. I think he played with Aitor Herrera back in the original save way back then!!!!!!

Mikel Vesga, Oier Zarraga and Dani Garcia are all just backup players really.

I will play with an AML, AMC and AMR. On the left will be another club legend in Iker Muniain. A true one club man he can also play in the middle and he will be key in the first few seasons. He is also the clubs youngest ever player and scorer. Alex Berenguer will be his backup.

On the right my best winger is Inaki Williams but it will be his youngest brother who will play there. Nico is just 19y/o and will be a key player for a decade or more and has the potential to be a real world beater. He has chosen to represent Spain instead of Ghana unlike his brother so he wont be missing during the African Nations Cup.

At AMC I will probably play the old man that is Raul Garcia. His attributes are disgustingly good for a 36y/o and he can also play up front which may happen as you are about to find out. To get a long term option at AMC is key otherwise I may have to try out a new formation.

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Forward

Nothing to see here....... well almost!!! All I have is the trumpet playing Asier Villalibre who can do a job but is no world beater. I will be playing Inaki Williams up front as first choice which will cover the absence of a top notch striker for a few years but it is a position that we need to address quickly. Raul Garcia can also play up there but thats it!!!!

==

TRANSFER PLANS

It depends on the departures naturally but I will need to find a CB, AMC and striker pretty sharpish! I have £21m to spend but some of that will go on new contracts for Sancet, Nico Williams and Vivian as their release clauses are ridiculously low. I will also look to overhaul the backroom staff.

I will offer out Oscar De Marcos and Mikel Balenziaga as well as a host of B team players to see what I can get but I dont expect to see loads of movement.​

 

[Sam91]

Been waiting for this!!

 

[Klippybo]

SUMMER TRANSFERS

I write this on the day of my first game of the save and I have to say I am pretty excited with the business that I have done!!!! I have offloaded some older players and added some more youthful exuberance to the first team squad.

Here are the departures...........

Mikel Balenziaga and Oscar De Marcos were always going to be on their way but infuriatingly De Marcos rejected 2 moves away for £800,000 and only left on loan to join Levante just a week after he received his testimonial. Zarraga was a squad player at best and his contract was up at the end of the season so I cashed in on him while later on in the summer I decided to cash in on Dani Garcia as he was in the same situation and at 32y/o to get £3m for him was a no brainer.

Now to my incomings..............


====

Dani Rodriguez from Barcelona on loan

Now I know I can sign any 16y/o Spaniard to make them Basque but this lad is genuinely Basque and he was immense in last years game so I snapped him up and chucked him in my U19s and will look to sign him permanently at the end of the season.

--

Julen Jon Guerrero from Real Madrid for £9.5m

This is an exciting signing. Son of club legend, Julen Guerrero (372 apps, 101 goals), I prized this young asset away from Real Madrid to take him back home to Bilbao. He is a supporter of the club and will be in my first team squad to get mentoring off of Raul Garcia and will get plenty of game time to aid his development.

--

Javi Lopez from Alaves for £3.5m

I was shocked to find this lad transfer listed and I was delighted to see him made available as I needed a replacement for the departing Balenziaga. At just 20 years of age he still has room to improve and could well be our first choice left back ahead of Yuri sooner rather than later.

--

And that was that. But then I was made aware that someone who was on my shortlist was transfer listed for a price that I could afford. Now this would be a game changer and upset all my plans but I had to go for it so I did..................

Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad for £23.5m

What are Real Sociedad thinking???? They were asking for just £11m for their best CM and that is what Ajax offered and our price was more than double that due to our bitter rivalry. That didn't matter to me so I structed the deal to make us pay £10m up front and the rest in installments which will be the only time I will do this.

He is coming up to his best years and I honestly can't believe that I have managed to get him. The only way I figured I could get him was if he moved abroad for say £30-50m and then I get him for his next move but here he is.

It isn't all perfect though. Upon registering him into my 25 man squad for La Liga I was over the £1m budget with 3 spaces to fill so alas Jon Morcillo ended up being the fall guy for him. I will be relying on youth players to fill out the bench for the season and hopefully the budget will increase next season.

So much for signing a new central defender!!!!!!!!

--

Here is my new first XI. The signing of Merino put the cat amongst the pigeons and has resulted in me moving Sancet into the AMC role and relegating Raul Garcia onto the bench. I wanted to have a central midfielder with an attacking role but I reckon it will be better to use him as a box to box midfielder as he has great defensive attributes too.


--

SEASON AIMS

Quite simple. Finish in a European spot and develop the young players like Sancet, Vivian, Vencedor, Nico Williams, Javi Lopez and Guerrero amongst others!

A top 6 finish should be easily achievable but if we suffer a load of injuries we are going to struggle as we have such a small squad.​

 

[Sam91]

That Merino deal is a madness. Saw him go to City for nearly double that on one of my saves

 

[Klippybo]

AUGUST

Lineup - Simon, Capa (Lekue), Vivian (Yeray), Inigo Martinez, Yuri (Javi Lopez), Vencedor (Herrera), Merino, N.Williams, Sancet, Muniain (Berenguer), I.Williams*

My first ever game in FM23 was a great success. We had the better of things in the first half as Merino was denied a debut goal by the crossbar but in the 2nd half Inaki Williams took things into his own hands to win us the match. For the first he shot against the post while one on one but managed to convert the rebound and he sealed things late on when he was played in by his younger brother.

One worry though. The supporters group before the match said they were looking forward to us making the most of set pieces and to playing a direct style of football. Errrr not my style of play lads but you will hopefully be persuaded otherwise!!!!

--

Lineup - Simon, Capa (Lekue), Vivian, Inigo Martinez, Yuri (Javi Lopez), Vencedor, Merino, N.Williams, Sancet (Guerrero*), Muniain (Berenguer), I.Williams (Raul Garcia)

What a debut for Julen Jon Guerrero!!!! He came off the bench to score our equaliser against his old side as we deservedly draw against Real Madrid. It was a boring game with hardly any chances but Guerrero stole the show when he came on.

--

Lineup - Simon, Capa (Lekue), Vivian, Inigo Martinez (Yeray), Javi Lopez (Yuri), Vencedor (Guerrero), Merino, N.Williams, Sancet, Muniain (Berenguer), I.Williams*

A nice comfortable home win. Inaki Williams struck twice to win us the game and I was impressed with the pressing of my players as they didnt give Getafe any time on the ball and therefor resulting in them barely troubling our goal.

--

Lineup - Simon, Capa, Vivian, Inigo Martinez, Yuri (Javi Lopez), Vencedor (Herrera), Merino, N.Williams*, Sancet, Muniain (Berenguer), I.Williams (Villalibre)

Another 2-0 win! The first half was a non event but we got our act together in the 2nd half and Asier Villalibre came off the bench to put us in front. We saw the game out and Nico Williams sealed things late on.

--

SUMMARY

We have had a great start to the season with 3 victories and a draw against Real Madrid. We look solid defensively and are scoring goals although we havent battered anyone yet but it is early days.

I managed to sell Jon Morcillo to Espanyol for £3m. He was a victim of circumstances unfortunately as he would have got some game time but needs must and he wasnt going to be registered here so off he popped.

I dont think I am going to do monthly updates. I dont think I have it in me to do game after game so I will play it by ear. Maybe flit in and out with in depth analysis (lol) and vague monthly screenshots.

--

PLAYER OF THE MONTH
NICO WILLIAMS

--

LA LIGA

​

 

[Klippybo]

SEPTEMBER-NOVEMBER

When we left it at the last post we had just beaten Espanyol and then in our very next fixture we thumped Real Betis 3-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Inaki Williams. We then followed that up with a disappointing defeat to Celta Vigo which was our first of the season.

We bounced back however with a derby win over Osasuna and then Inaki Williams smashed in 4 (and had 1 disallowed) as we hit Cadiz for 5 and we were on fire. We shortly lost to Villarreal a couple of games later however. We have though ended the calendar year with a terrific set of results as we beat Atletico Madrid 2-0 at home before easily beating our bitter rivals Real Sociedad 3-0 away in the Vasco derby before finishing the year with another away win over Sevilla - amazing!!!

As you can see Inaki Williams has been on fire with 10 goals over the period but despite that it is his younger brother who has our highest average rating as he has assisted 7 goals. What has helped us is the lack of injuries and suspensions. Remarkably from the first day of the season out of our 13 games I have played the same starting eleven 11 times with 1 change on each occasion.

We then broke for the World Cup but not before the board agreed to invest in training facilities, junior coaching and youth recruitment which is vital to any Athletic save.

--

LA LIGA

We find ourselves in the middle of a title race between the 2 major Spanish clubs but I doubt that we have the squad to go all the way. A Champions League spot is looking on the cards though and the revenue that brings would be a huge boost for the club as I long to buy the San Mames.


--

2022 WORLD CUP

As a Scotsman I am delighted with this result obviously. Morocco were the surprise packages and knocked out Spain so naturally they sacked Luis Enrique. I have applied for the job but it has come far too soon I expect despite me being a global level footballer lol. I think in the original save Aitor had 180 odd caps and 70 odd goals but the game has given me 25 and 3..........
​

 

[Klippybo]

DECEMBER & JANUARY

The last 2 months have been hectic with games coming thick and fast and with offers coming in for my players also coming in regularly. I didnt get offered the Spain job as expected but Serbia did come calling however that wasnt for me.

As for the results well lets just say that we are on fire!!!!!

We bounced back from the break with a terrific win over Barcelona and we just kept on going. Inaki Williams has scored 11 in the last 6 and out of our 45 league goals he has 25 of them!!!!! We really need to find goals from elsewhere however especially from Muniain (1 goal), Sancet (3) and Nico Williams (4).

Despite being on a 9 game winning streak in the league we still havent got top spot as Real Madrid just keep on winning as do Barcelona - except against us lol.

--

Copa del Rey

We were given 3 very kind draws in the cup so I played my backups and youngsters and they did the job. We actually played Diocesano in the first round so I dont know why it appears 2nd in the screenie. Anywho we were knocked out by Real Madrid and I can have no complaints as we were terrible in that fixture.

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TRANSFER NEWS

No incomings and not really any outgoings however I received bids for Muniain, the Williams brothers, Vivian, Yeray, Inigo Martinez and PSG even bid for one of my B team players! I managed to keep hold of all of them however I was stupid as I renewed someones contract which put me over the wage cap again so I have been forced to ditch Raul Garcia and his £140k a week wages just to meet regulations. Nico Serrano has returned from his loan spell and is registered but I will be using youth players to pad the bench for the rest of the season.

Speaking of youth this is the projected intake........

The only players that did leave were Mikel Vesga to somewhere in the middle east for £6.75m and Inigo Lekue out to Levante on loan.​

 

[Klippybo]

FEBRUARY & MARCH

Realism has very much bit in in these last 2 months as our form has been patchy and our small squad has been pushed to the limits.

Here are the results.

As you can see we have won a few games but we have also been battered a few times also. Defeats at home to Valencia and Villarreal were tough to take as was the loss to Osasuna. I have had a glut of injuries to my forward players so the likes of Ares, Serrano and the wonderfully named Luis Bilbao have had opportunities with mixed results.

--

LA LIGA

Whereas once we were right in the mix in the title race we are now in a bit of no mans land. A top 4 finish is all but secure barring a total collapse so it is just a case of seeing the season through now.

--

YOUTH INTAKE

Pretty poor tbh although there was a decent left winger.​

 

[Klippybo]

END OF SEASON

We ended the campaign pretty strongly with just one defeat - a 4-0 thrashing by Barcelona - in our final 9 matches. That defeat against Barcelona proved to be costly however and cost us a 2nd placed finish........

Overall I am pretty happy with our 3rd place finish. I didnt think we would finish 13pts clear of Atletico Madrid at the start of the season so that is some achievement and we look forward to having Champions League football at the San Mames next season.

--

SQUAD

Going by the numbers it was the Williams brothers who impressed me the most although Oihan Sancet, Iker Muniain and Mikel Merino all impressed to. Sancet had a couple of months out through injury hence why his appearances were less than the others.​

 

[Klippybo]

PRE-SEASON & AUGUST

I went into the summer with a couple of plans in mind and I came through with them but there was a surprise or two! I had about £20m to spend to strengthen the side and we needed to do that with ourselves back in European football.

Here are my transfer dealings.........


PLAYERS OUT

Obviously the main one is the departure of Iker Muniain to Inter Milan for £27m. I didnt want to sell the club legend but his contract was due to end at the end of the season and he wasnt signing a new deal so I had to accept Inter's offer Ander Capa left for £3.9m while not on the screen is Yuri who joined Fiorentina for £725,000.

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PLAYERS IN

Most of these signings were youngsters but I will show you the big ones. Jon Moncayola was brought in to replace Ander Herrera whose loan spell ended. He is a decent midfielder and should do a job for us when called upon.

Next up is Alvaro Odriozola. I had ear marked him for the RB slot right from the start so when he was transfer listed by Real Madrid I jumped at the chance to bring him in. He is certainly an upgrade on Ander Capa!

Ivan Martin and Dani Rodriguez were brought in as squad fillers. Dani Rodriguez was on loan last season but with European football comes more opportunities.

--

FIXTURES

Not a bad start to the season. 2 wins out of 2 and 6 goals scored but I am delighted for Nico Serrano who I have given the chance to take over from Iker Muniain and he has responded with 3 assists!

--

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW

Tricky but not impossible. We should get 3rd place at least.​

 

[Sam91]

Cant believe Iker Muniain has left.....

 

[Klippybo]

Cant believe Iker Muniain has left.....

Yeah. Tbh I am not feeling this save and losing Iker Muniain kinda put a dampner on things. I kept thinking of other save ideas so that has spoiled the save for me also.

 

[Sam91]

Yeah. Tbh I am not feeling this save and losing Iker Muniain kinda put a dampner on things. I kept thinking of other save ideas so that has spoiled the save for me also.

I'm doing a Build A Nation save over in Norway at the moment and really enjoying it!! Maybe fire up another save and dont do a story for a bit, see if you can get your teeth into it

 

[CallumR]

I know your situation very well. I had an incredible Wolves save years ago, and try it every year as well to get the same feeling with my "all time FM heartbeating club", but never feel the same.