Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 17pen, Laporte 47, De Marcos 81) Granada 0
A fine win and whats better is that Real Madrid drew 0-0 which means we move 4pts clear!!!!
--
Valencia 0 Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 7, Parejo og43, Iturraspe 81)
A magnificent effort this. We got an early goal and then they had a man sent-off in the 12th minute and it was essentially all over. Benat got sent-off late on for us.
--
Villarreal 1 (Pereira 16)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 59pen, 78)
We were awful here but somehow came away with the 3pts. As every game passes by we are getting closer and closer to the title.
--
Athletic Bilbao 3 (De Marcos 44, Iturraspe 56, Herrera 90) Getafe 1 (Colunga 77)
We should have won this by 6 or 7 but I cant complain lol
--
Elche 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Ibai Gomez 75, 88)
Another win here and once again we were not at our best but we dug in and got the goals to get the points.
-- Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 11) Atletico Madrid 1 (Leo 73)
Our winning streak is ended here. We had won our last 9 but we just didnt take enough of our chances here. I gave 2 of my players from the youth intake their debuts here.
The Bilbao bandwagon marches on and on. We so very nearly had the perfect month but it was not to be. In the end we finish the month 5pts clear with 7 games to go. Can we hold on???
APRIL Levante 0 Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 8, Benat 18)
Before kick-off Levante found out they were relegated and we piled more misery on them with a comfortable win. This win secures Champions League football for next season.
--
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 17) Malaga 0
A very tight game this and we just nicked it.
--
Barcelona 2 (Sanchez 7, 61)
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Sola 46, Toquero 88)
A fantastic result. We were without the suspended Muniain but Kike Sola came in and did a fine job. Real Madrid won to claw back 2pts but I am still happy with a point.
--
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Herrera 81) Sevilla 1 (Aduriz 51pen)
I felt relief at getting the late goal for the point but we really should have won as we created enough chances to do so. Typically the player I sold in January scored against us. Susaeta made his comeback from injury here.
An unbeaten month with some tough fixtures but our lead at the top with 3 games to go is now down to 1pt only!!! To be fair we dropped points against 2 good teams so maybe I shouldnt be too worried.
Our remaining 3 games are at home to Real Sociedad in the derby which is sandwiched between away games at Rayo Vallecano and Almeria.
This is going to be a very tight end to the season!!!!!
Ander Herrera asked to be removed from the transfer list when we secured Champions League football for next season and he has signed a new long term contract thankfully.
Rayo Vallecano 0 Athletic Bilbao 4 (Muniain 2, 70, Iturraspe 6, Laporte 9)
A great win and a very comfortable one. Somehow Iraizoz got the man of the match award though while San Jose got sent-off late on.
Real Madrid drew with Valencia so we are 3pts clear!!!!!
--
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 2, Iturraspe 25, Ibai Gomez 81) Real Sociedad 2 (Agirretxe 13, 57)
I get my first win in the Vasco derby and it was fully deserved as we slaughtered them. They had 3 shots on target and somehow scored twice while we had 16 attempts on target alone.
Real Madrid won 3-0 so we just need a point away to Almeria to win the title.
We were poor here as they had a man sent-off in the 5th minute and we still couldnt win but we overcame our nerves to grab the point required to ****** the title.
Well we did it!!!! I will review the season as a whole in the next post. The final month of the season saw plenty of goals and in the end it was Real Madrid who bottled it rather than my young players.
I was delighted that I got my first win over Real Sociedad in the derby and that win really all but secured the title.
So glad to see another FM out and then I knew it was only a matter of time before a Bilbao game would start from you. Cracking first season! Good going as always. Look forward to seeing who the next wonder kid will be.
What can I say? We were excellent this season and I would never have dreamed that we would win the league. Lots of things went our way from Barcelona's horror start to the season and all those penalties that we got in key games.
We ended the season on a 21 match unbeaten run and we scored in every single game that we played this season be it league or cup. Maybe having Aitor as an international footballer helped but I dont know. I do believe however that my tactic that I have used/created works brilliantly for my Bilbao players.
Amazingly we only used 24 players throughout the season but I still have far too small a squad as we will have Champions League football next season.
Muniain obviously grabbed the goals and took to the poacher role brilliantly and Herrera and Benat were the creative forces but I was surprised and delighted with Balenziaga and Iturraspe especially.
Solid at the back and should be my CB for a long while to come.
--
AWARDS
Manager of the Season Top Spanish Goalscorer - I. Muniain Liga BBVA Team of the Season - A. Laporte, Benat, A. Herrera, I. Muniain (O. De Marcos)
--
B TEAM AND U19s
My B team started the season so well but failed miserably after Christmas. They were in the top 4 until the last month of the season but they only won 1 game in their last 12 to finish mid table and their manager Jose Angel Ziganda got sacked. They also got to the quarter finals of the Federation Cup.
My U19s finished 2nd to Real Sociedad in their league despite scoring 133 goals in the league!!!! They also reached the quarter finals of the cup.
--
AROUND EUROPE
Barcelona beat Man Utd to win the Champions League
Man City beat Spurs to win the Europa League.............
..... but Spurs pip Man City to the Premier League
PSG, Dortmund, Vitesse, Juventus, Celtic and Porto win their titles
--
LOOKING AHEAD
Even if I dont sign anyone we will be stronger next season as we will have Ramalho, Aurtenetxe and Ruiz de Galarreta back from their loan spells. I am looking to let a couple of players go but I dont have a clue about new recruits as it depends on the size of budget that I get.
I have found 1 or 2 decent youngsters that I would like to grab though!!!
This pre-season was very frustrating. I missed out on two fantastic looking youngsters. One went to Barcelona and one went to Real Madrid. I also couldnt afford Inigo Martinez who moved to Barcelona for ?18.25m.
I did manage to get rid of a lot of rubbish and I also managed to bring in 2 players. One for the future and one that will go straight into the first team...........
--
PLAYERS IN
I had ?14m to play with so I was always hopeful of bringing in a few players. I paid ?7.5m for goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier from Saint-Etienne. He will be my first choice. The other player signed was a 15y/o left back called Jorge Etxeberria and he came in from Osasuna for ?5.25m. A host of top clubs went in for him so I offered him a raised contract to get him. View attachment 461254View attachment 461253
--
PLAYERS OUT
I managed to take in a couple of million. Kike Sola and Inigo Perez left for ?1.3m each while Iago Herrerin and Xabier Etxeita left for a total of ?1m. I released a couple of dozen B team players and youths who were pretty rubbish.
I received big bids for the likes of Herrera, Muniain and Iturraspe but I rejected them all naturally.
--
SUMMARY
Not a lot of change really. I think we are stronger with the addition of Ruffier in goal and other than that the players coming back from loan spells have added more depth to the squad. Added to the numbers is the fact that my young players are naturally improving year on year.
AUGUST
Real Valladolid 1 (Valiente 66) Athletic Bilbao 3 (Ibai Gomez 10, 53, 85pen)
A good start to the league campaign. We opened last season against them too and won by 2 goals so this result could be a good omen.
--
Spanish Super Cup 1st Leg Real Madrid 4 (Benzema 9, 56, Cristiano Ronaldo 38, Varane 45) Athletic Bilbao 2 (Ibai Gomez 87, Susaeta 88)
This was a bit of a thrashing although we werent helped when Laporte got sent-off mind you. Somehow we managed to get 2 goals back late on that keeps us in with a chance.
--
Spanish Super Cup 2nd Leg Athletic Bilbao 1 (Herrera 75) Real Madrid 2 (Di Maria 19, 62) (Real Madrid win 6-3 on aggregate)
Meh.
--
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Ibai Gomez 9, Susaeta 20, 88)
Valencia 1 (Camacho 57)
A very nice win that helps to erase the pain of the 2 defeats to Real Madrid.
A satisfactory start to the season. To lose the Super Cup was a blow but we did manage to get 2 good league wins.
I did have a hectic transfer deadline day though. I let Ruiz de Galarreta leave on loan while I sold Erik Moran for ?675K. Regarding incomings I just failed to get Asier Illarramendi who decided to join AC Milan on loan instead but I did manage to sign a young player from Espanyol. Antonio Manuel was brought in for ?3.5m. View attachment 461242
In the Champions League we were put into a very tough group as we will face Monaco, Chelsea and Shakhtar Donetsk.
View attachment 461241
Barcelona splash out ?66m on Inigo Martinez, Sirigu, Peruzzi and Zieler amongst others
Yet they lose 4-0 to Hercules!!!!!!
Dede, Herrmann, Hugo Mallo and Barbosa sign for Real Madrid
SEPTEMBER
Real Sociedad 2 (Vela 25, Dos Santos 90) Athletic Bilbao 2 (Laporte 12, Herrera 86)
A decent point but I am so annoyed at not being able to hold on to all 3pts.
--
UEFA Champions League Group F AS Monaco 1 (Falcao 83) Athletic Bilbao 2 (Muniain 19pen, De Marcos 72)
A fantastic victory. I must admit that I had my doubts about our chances in this one but we were brilliant. Muniain missed a last minute penalty also.
--
Hercules 3 (Ruffier og19, Eldin 42, Font 64) Athletic Bilbao 4 (Benat 10, Muniain 36, Herrera 41, Iturraspe 46)
Hercules were plucky here and caused us a few problems. They had plenty of efforts on goal but only had 3 on target. They also had a man sent-off late on.
--
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Muniain 18pen) Barcelona 0
GET IN!!!!!
We were excellent and fully deserved this victory although we were helped by the referee when he sent-off Mascherano late in the first half.
-- Athletic Bilbao 1 (Ibai Gomez 52)
Atletico Madrid 2 (Leo 50, Villa 90)
****!! We deserved at least a point here and to lose at home is both unexpected and annoying.
--
UEFA Champions League Group F Athletic Bilbao 0 Chelsea 3 (Hazard 24, Willian 67, Lampard 69)
Two home defeats in a row!!!! We were doing ok but when Herrera got sent-off on the stroke of half-time it was game over.
A poor and very frustrating month. We got some decent results, notably the win against Barcelona and Monaco, but the draw against Real Sociedad and the 2 home defeats at the end of the month is not acceptable.
We need to get a run of victories going to establish ourselves as title challengers again and hopefully next month we will do that.
Before the game I gave Muniain a rollocking as he has been shocking and he responded with 2 goals.
--
UEFA Champions League Group F Athletic Bilbao 3 (Muniain 50, 56, Antonio Manuel 60) Shakhtar Donetsk 0
A fine victory this and we should be qualifying for the next stage. Antonio Manuel scored a goal on his debut.
--
Alaves 0
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Herrera 20, San Jose 40)
This month couldnt have gone any better as we won all 5 games and scored 15 goals in the process. The rollicking I gave Muniain did the trick and he banged in 6 goals. Youngsters Jorge Etxeberria and Antonio Manuel got chances to shine and did well while my back 4 and keeper were solid as we only conceded the 1 goal.
Next month sees us have 2 home games and 2 games in the Champions League where hopefully we will get the win that would secure qualification.
Great first season mate!! Naturally. Thanks for the shout out on page 4 too
Impressed you've managed to keep hold of Muniain but I guess winning the league probably helped keep him happy!! Might start either a Chelsea youth story or a Southampton one in a week or so keep an eye out bud
Athletic Bilbao 2 (Laporte 12, Ibai Gomez 38) Celta Vigo 1 (Vila 9)
--
UEFA Champions League Group F Shakhtar Donetsk 0
Athletic Bilbao 1 (Aurtenetxe 37)
This win secures our qualification into the next stage.
--
Athletic Bilbao 3 (Toquero 23, 66, San Jose 26pen) Espanyol 0
A very good win and an excellent performance considering we were missing several players. Our winning streak continues!
--
UEFA Champions League Group F Athletic Bilbao 3 (Rico 18, M.Etxeberria 32, Ibai Gomez 52pen) AS Monaco 2 (Kondogbia 33, Griezmann 82)
SUPER TOQUERO!!!!! I am pleased that my backups got the win but that doesnt tell the whole story as in the last minute Ruffier got sent-off while giving away a penalty. I put Toquero in goal and he saved it!!!!
--
Elche 2 (Pelayo 25, Colunga 53) Athletic Bilbao 4 (San Jose 24, 37, 64, Muniain 29)
Another win is secured here thanks to Mikel San Jose somehow scoring a hat-trick!!!
5 games and 5 wins so I cant complain about that!!! We are playing some fine football at the moment and are banging in the goals. I rotated my squad quite a bit this month and as you can see with my lineups I selected several youngsters to aid them in their development.
Already I can see that I dont really need to sign any defenders for a long while yet although if the chance to get Inigo Martinez or Azpilicueta I wouldnt refuse it! lol
