FM16 - Rise of the Basque Country

[Abe Sargent]

For the home match vs Eibar, Viguera is back from injury, I am also starting Yeray and Rico, for tired players. Williams is tired and benched. Pick up where you left off! Suseata hits Artiz for a score in the 9th. Then they get some cards, and Muniain hits Artiz for a score just before he is injured and I pull him for Balinzinga, and then half, 2-0. Don’t get complacent. They don’t. I sub in Gorka and Eraso. We win 2-0. MOM is Artiz.


Muniain is out for a week or so.

Given how important today;s 2nd away leg is vs. Villareal, I need my best in, so I have Inaki Williams at ML, and DC Xabi and Benat all in. Keep it going! I begin controlling. Iturraspe gets an early yellow. They foul Aduriz, and Benat sinks the DFk in the 16th. I ease to counter. In the 33rd they score after a lot of moving forward and lots of pressure. On a counter, Ardiz finds Garcia for a score. Half, we are up 2-1 here and 5-3 aggregate. Don’t get complacent! On a corner, Benat finds Aduriz, but he’s blocked, so he finds San Jose for a score in the 53rd. I send in Gorka at DMC for the yellowed predecessor. Then Gomez for a tired Williams. They score off a corner as well in the 73rd. Boveda in. We win 3-2 here as well, 6-4 aggregate. Good win!


We face Real Madrid in the Semis, and Barcelona faces Espanyol.

[Abe Sargent]

The transfer window is about the close. Anybody I want to chase? I would like another Striker on my senior squad. It would be nice for injury rotation, putting in someone when they are tired and more. Right now, all of my Strikers start most games at AMC, ML, ST and ST with Garcia, Williams, Jorguea and Aduriz as my 4 STs. But we have none to promote and none to play.


Our last game of the month arrives vs Getafe. I start Yeray and move San Jose to DMC. Heavy rain today. Boring game. Subbed in Muniain, Boveda, and Gomez. Inaki Williams was injured a bit. 0-0 draw broken by them in the 81st, and then Gomez hits Vinguera in the 89th to equalize and it’s a 1-1 draw. MOM is Viguera. Far from pleased with that draw against the 17th best team in the liga.

Williams out for a week.

[Abe Sargent]

If you recall, we were predicted to finish 6th in Liga. We are, in fact, In 6th right now after 22 games. And we are about to have a Madrid heavy February. I make Iker Munian a major new contract, given that he’s quite good. Now I expect Jonas Ramalho to walk. The other young injured player, but Munian is really, really good, young, and has a lot of potential. Ramalho will take a 3 year rotation year for less than 20k a year, but even with me running 3 DCs right now that is Laporte, San Jose, Yeray, Xabi Exeite, are all better than him. Maybe injury slowed him, but Munian was not slowed and looks sexy as all get. He can play M or AM at all three positions well, and unconvincing at ST. I wouldn’t play him at ST. 13 finishing isn’t where you want to be, although 18 Flair is good.

Let’s take a closer look at Munian, who I expect is a key part of my team moving forward.




Youngest Athletic player ever to appear for the senior team at 16 years old.




Just turned 23.
17-14 speed, 14/15 cross, pass, 16 technique, 1st touch, 17 dribbling, 13 finish, 12 long shots, 17 agility, 16 balance, just 6 STR, and 7 jump, 18 flair, 15 work rate, Off the ball, brave, anticipation, determination, 14 composure, vision, etc.

Again, like Laporte and to a lesser degree Williams, who is still improving, this guy feels like a wonderkid that was developed here.

Williams injures himself in training and will be out for a few days and miss the next match certainly.

[Abe Sargent]

February

Feb 3 – Real Madrid, Home, Copa del Rey, 1st Leg
Feb 7 – Home vs Villareal
Feb 10 – Away vs Real Madrid, Copa 2nd Leg
Feb 14 – Away vs Real Madrid
Feb 18 – Home vs Girondins ds Bourdeaux, EURO 1st Leg
Feb 22 – Home vs Real Sociedad, Liga vs our main rival
Feb 25 – Away vs Girondins de Bourdeaux, 2nd Leg
Feb 28 – Away vs Valencia

Now that’s a packed schedule! If we were not in the Copa or EURO anymore, we’d only have 4 liga games, but instead we have 8 games in 28 days, 2 games a week. And they are not easy games. Real Madrid three times? Euro knockout vs a good French team twice? Our rival? Valencia, away, is 3rd in the liga right now, and Villareal was hard to beat and we barely did twice, 3-2 each time, in the Rey and they cannot be taken lightly. This could be the month that we put everything together and begin to remind people of who Athletic is. Get hot in February, against the 1st and 3rd best teams in the league right now, and we can help to push up from 6th. But you can see the congested schedule there.

Olympiakos makes an offer to Jonas. He begins to work on taking Greek courses now. I take an offer to loan Espericueta to PAOK, they want to use him as a key midfielder. But the paperwork falls through (They reached out to us a few hours before the Greek deadline).


Did you know, in real life, in this year in the Copa del Rey, Athletic Bilbao lost to Barcelona in the Quarters? So by making it to the Semis, we are one step past them. Of course, last year, Athletic made it to the final before losing to Barcelona.


For the 1st leg today, I cannot start Benat, he is too tired, so Rico is starting for us. Iturasspe is back at DMC, and I have Wlliams injured, with Munian in. The match vs Real Madrid is here. It’s raining! Get us vengeance! My goal is to play well at home and get a win, even a narrow one, and then set up a tie on the road. Like normal, I begin controlling at home. DC Xabi Ex gets a yellow very early on. In the 22nd minute, Suseata finds Artiz for a score. Rico drove and bounced the ball outside to an unmarked and driving Suseata who crosses for the header to Artiz. A few of the Real Madrid starts appear to be tired early. They get two yellows in the 27th and 29th. They are starting to move forward hard, so I move to counter for the rest of the half. A lethal shot from Ronaldo is just barely turned aside by Iraizoz. More shots turned aside. In the 44th, Artiz is driving on a counter, slides the ball to Munian who drives past two defenders and scores. Half, 2-0 us. Good job, don’t get complacent given this is Real Madrid. I move to things like retain possession. I pull Xabi for...Yeray? No, how about Gurpegi? That works. I’d rather the 35 very old savvy vet than the young unblooded DC in a Cup match of this level. As of the half, we have 6 shots, 4 on target, they have 10 and 2. They sub two in the 50s. And a third in the 63rd, so all of their subs are out very early. Hmmm... Normally I have my squad tackle light. Do I want to change that and try to bruise them? Not with our own congested schedule, I don’t want to injure one of my own players. I put in Lekue for Suseate to try and get him a game later as he begins to tire. They keep coming, but we have occasional moments where we push as well. Garcia is too tired to make the next game, but Itaurraspe is not, so I pull him for Espericueta. In the 85th minute, Real Madrid has 22 shots, 8 on target and keep coming. Can we hold the 2-0 lead? With no away goal allowed? That would set us up marvelously next week. Game. 2-0 us. Nobody gave us a chance, well done! MOM is Iker Muniain.

Barca lost at home 1-0 to Espanyol. Both underdogs won today.

I assign some rests. We need to get people healthy. DC Xabi is banned for the next Cup match due to collecting too many yellows. Muniain signs the new deal for 4 years.

[Abe Sargent]

Major players who came through our youth ranks on our starting squad:

GK Iraizoz
DC Laporte
DC Yeray
DC Gurpegi
DC San Jose
DC Xabi E
DMC Itturraspe
MC Benat
MR Suseata
M Williams
M Munian
ST Arduriz
M Eraso
D Boveda

But, some of these left and then came back, like Arduriz and San Jose, who was sold to Liverpool young for 400k, and then repurchased for 3 mill later. But many of the older ones, like Suseata and Gerpegi and DMC Iturraspe have all started a ton of games for Athletic.

For the Villareal match, Williams is not back from injury, and Garcia is too tired to play. I have Muniain in the AMC role, and Gomez starting on the left, and in the middle, Benat returns. Keep on going! Artiz pounces on a rebound and shoots for goal in the 21st. And then nothing. Vey quiet. I ease back to standard. They get two yellows. Half. Good so far, room for improvement. They score in the 46th minute, and I move to attacking. No, this is not happening. I send in Yeray for an underperforming DC Xabi. In the 63rd, Viguera hits paydirt after a Suseata pass sets him up. I ease back to Standard again. I pull Gomez for Balenzinga. Rico for Benat. They tackle and foul Artiz in the penalty box, ad San Jose steps up and....scores the PK in the 83rd. We win 3-1. MOM is not on our team, oddly. That was an important win as we had a game in hand and played that, and won, and moved right on up the table lots.

We have one of the highest cross-to-score ratios in the league. Having a target man with a 19 heading helps.

[Abe Sargent]

Our final match vs Real Madrid in the Semis arrives, away. Williams is back from injury and starting. I pull Viguera and have Williams at ST across from Artiz, with Muniain at ML, and Raul Garcia back. I have Gurpegi starting at DC after DC Xabi is out for the match. Don’t get complacent! I begin looking to counter. Williams is in in part because he is so fast, and countering can work with him well. That works to perfection, at the 3:34 mark, Williams’s counter right past their defense and wins a 1:1 with their GK. Artiz with the assist. Real Madrid is not going away without a fight, here comes the pressure. Isco find James Rodriguez in the 9th and we are tied. Renaldo a score in the 11th. Then Benzama a score in the 13th. We injure Isco. More flurries of shots come, no score. Half, we are down3-1. Now technically, if we hold we’ll win on away goals. But what I really want is a 2nd goal. Then they would have to score two goals to beat us and win at least 5-2. Forget aggregate. I am far from pleased! Renaldo scores in the 49th. I pull San Jose for Yeray. Rico for Benat. We’ve had a few opportunities here and there to get that 2nd goal. And then it finally breaks. Iturasspe hits Williams for a goal in the 77th. Now it’s 4-2 and we are tied, and up on aggregate. Can we hold? I send in Gomez. In the 83rd, they had four shots on target with 3 rebounds, and all punched, or body blocked by Iraizoz. Three minutes of extra time and.....game. We lose 4-2, and win on Aggregate with the away goal rule 4-4. Now, here’s a great stat for you: 41 shots by RM, 20 on target. We had 9 and 5.

Barca won 2-0, and we will play them again in a rematch of last year’s Copa del Rey final.

Balenzinga has now trained to the point where he can play ML. I want to give him a start here to see what he can do, as a reward for training, but I have too many major games in a row. We head to Real Madrid for our third match with them in four games. Hopefully, we won’t get a 4-2 drubbing like we just did. DC Xabi is back, and I start my full starting XI. I rested them for two days each after the last match. We score first, after Suseata crosses dangerly to Artiz, he shoots, and a DC intercedes and tries to clear and OGs instead. Then Renaldo scores in the 39th. Half. Keep it up! A lot of back and forth, and not that much action goal-ward. I send in Rico, Gomez, and Yeray, in that order. We tie 1-1. Good job everyone!

[Abe Sargent]

The EURO match arrives. Rico starts for Benat. On a corner, Garcia hits DC Xabi for a score in the 6th. Then in the 16th, Williams hits Muniain for a score. Then in the 19th, Artiz falls on a rebound and shoots for goal and it’s 3-0 almost as fast as Real Madrid did to us a few days ago. They have three yellows. They claw one back in the 33rd. Half, we are up 3-1. Get out there and finish this lads. I send in Viguera, Expericueta, and Balenzinga. Good win, MOM is Garcia.


Did you know that, in real life, Athletic won their group stage in the Europa League against AZ, Partisan, and Augburg, all from major divisions and names you know, with 13 points, and then beat Marseilles and Valencia and made it to the quarter finals before losing to Sevilla on penalties, who would win the whole thing after beating Liverpool 3-1 in the final?


So we have gone one round better in the Copa, did not win the Super Cup like Athletic did in real life, and would have to go pretty far to make it as far as we did in real life in the EURO. However, in real life, Athletic would finish la liga 5th, which is about where we are right now this year. Rayo, Getafe, and Levante would be relegated. Barca would win, and Real Madrid and At. Madrid would be 2nd and 3rd.



Gurpegi has signed a contract to head out at the end of the year.


For today;s Basque Derby game vs Real Sociedad, I am starting most fo my XI, but Williams is out for Viguera. Pick up where you left off! That was a very, emphasis on very, boring game. 0-0 draw. 12 shots, 1 on target for us, and 14 and 5 for them.

[Abe Sargent]

Can we hold our serve for the away match vs Girondins de Bourdeaux? Suseata is too tired, and I move Williams there and leave Vigeura at ST. DC Yeray for a tired and jaded Laporte. Go out there and take control of this tie! I begin countering as we are on the road in France. They get a nice move and score in the 27th. Beautiful football. Half, 1-0 them. So it’s 3-2 us on aggregate. We have to score a goal. If we hold, and they finish 2-0, and then we lose on aggregate. I am not happy with that performance! They have collected 3 yellows in the 2nd half, although many were for repeating fouls. And there it is. They sink a beautiful long shot in the 55th to go to 2-0. I slide to control for a bit. Too dangerous on the road for attacking. Gomez heads in. Suseata next. In the 71st, they score again. We injure one of their players. Just one more goal, and it’s a tie again, and we’d have the same away score. Rico in next. I do everything I can to make this goal work. Up tempo. Attacking, etc. Game. We lose 3-0, and I tell them I am unhappy with that performance.

So we are out. We also lost two full rounds earlier than real life Athletic did. We get more EURO cash too


We finish Hell Month with an away game at #4, Valencia. We didn’t do too well in some of our matches, we are out of the EURO, but we took down Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, tied them on the road in the liga, but then just laid an egg at home vs our rival. So, if we can take something good from this heavy match, I’ll be a happy Andoni Santxixt. Laporte and Suseata back in the starting lineup, Yaray is in for DC Xabi Ex, tired, and Rico is in for a dead Benat at MC. They get a yellow early. Williams injured in the 10th minute, Viguera heads in. Yeray gets a yellow in the 23rd, quiet, 0-0 half. We can still win this! I send in Gomez. I put in Gurpegi for Yeray. They score in the 78th. Yellow to Suseata. Ibai Gomez fouls them in the box in extra time. They score the PK and we lose 2-0. I’m not happy with that. Valencia moves to 2nd. We could have jumped from 6th to 3rd with that win.

[Abe Sargent]

March

March 2 – Home vs Deportivo
March 5 – Away vs Sporting
March 13 – Home vs Getafe
March 15 – Youth intake in Spain
March 19 – Away vs Espanyol


For today’s match vs Deportivo, I start Gorka Es... at DMC versus them, and then Williams is injured for a few days and is out, so Virguera is in. DC Xabi Etxeita is back. Benat as well. They score first, and then Suseata hits Artiz for a counter in the 33rd. Garcia gets a yellow but injures and forces one of their folks off. Halftime. You can still win this! Yellow to Artiz. I pull Garcia for Rico, and then they score in the 60th. Eraso and Yeray head in, to no effect. We lose 2-1. That sucked. You have to do better! That drops us to 7th in the liga.


Williams is back for the Sporting match, as is my normal DMC. Heavy rain today is soaking everything. I begin countering. We have a beautiful assist to Williams from Suseata for goal in the 17th. Themn Williams collects a loose ball for a score in the 34th. Benat to Artiz for a score three minutes later. Half, Keep it going! Garcia finds Williams for the hattrick in the 51st. Williams finds Artiz for a goal in the 55th. Yeray and Balenzinga head in. Benat injured a bit, I send in Rico. Suseata finds Artiz for a score in the 79th. 2 hattricks. On a corner, Laporte finds goal in the 83rd. They are frustrating and collecting cards. They foul Artiz in the box, and a penalty is called. San Jose steps up and...makes it 8 in the 88th minute. We win EIGHT-ZERO!!! MOM is Williams obviously. That was an awesome win lads. 8-0, on the road, with a counter philosophy the entire time.

[Abe Sargent]

Benat is out for two weeks, I’ll start Rico or Muniain in his place, and I could drop Williams to ML and put in Viguera. Espericueta wants to be loaned out and I agree.

Five of our players make team of the week, obviously.

I give Espericueta a start for today’s Real Betis game in the AMC spot. Yeray is in too. Carry straight on from last match! Rico to Aduriz, score in the 5th. They hit us on a corner in the 44th. 1-1 half. You can still win this! Williams hits Aduriz in the 56th minute. San Jose gets a yellow, so I send in Gurpegi for him. I send in Gomez. A 3rd Aduriz goal is waived offsides. I send in Eraso. We hold and win 2-1. MOM is Rico.

Next up, Youth intake day.

[Abe Sargent]

Here we go.

At. Bilbao lives and dies by its youth academy more so than any other club in football so....

We get some players in. I am told there is a Striker candidate, ST Asier Perez who could be the best of his generation. Perez appears to be the best of the lot by a lot.

I send out my scouts to various youth camps. Anyone else out there that impresses me? Yes, Unai Zabala, AM L with a Tercera club, CD Elgorria.

Sestao River, one of our affiliated clubs, has a really good guy too.

I make Perez a hot prospect full-time offer right now, and full-time youngster offers to most of the rest.


I get Artiz tutoring Perez.

I offer to bring in Unai Zabala on a 3 year hot prospect deal. He signs with us. They get a few hundred k, and he’ll join in the next transfer window.


Espanyol arrives. Benat is back. Pick up where you left off! Boring first half, no scores, cards, or fun. 0-0 Half. You can still win this! I sub in Espericueta and Gomez. Then Gorka at DC. In extra time, they have a goal scored, that is offsides on my replay, but was not called. We lose 1-0. Unlucky!


My continental coaching license is complete.


I sign a new 3 year deal to extend my stay with Athletic, although we’ve done nothing major.

[Abe Sargent]

April

April 2 – Home vs Granada
April 10 – Home vs Rayo
April 17 – Away vs Malaga
April 20 – Home vs Ath. Madrid
April 24 – Away vs Levante
April 30 - Celta



With just a handful of games left, let me give you the Liga table right now:

1. Real Madrid, 61
2. Valencia, 53
3. Granada, 51
4. At. Madrid, 51
5. Celta, 50
6. Athletic Bilbao, 47
7. Sevilla, 46
8. R. Sociedad, 44
9. Malaga, 43
10. Levante, 42
11. Deportivo, 41
12. Barcelona, 40

Yes, Barcelona are in 12th. That is not a typo or an error. They had some injuries to their top players. So I have, in April, games against #3, #9, #4, #10 and #5. Not the easiest run of games. Only Rayo, at 16th right now, would be an “easy” game. But if I can bring it here later, then there is every chance of walking away with a move up to the charts. From 4 up, you have Champions qual, and from 5-6 Euro. We are expected 6th (In real life we hit 5th this year.) So, let’s hope for the best, right? Right!


Which is why winning today vs Granada at home is key to unlocking the last 8 games of the season. We had 2 weeks off for everyone to get healthy, so I am starting my best XI. This is Munlian’s 200th game for us. I begin controlling. Garcia with an early yellow in the 4th minute. In the 18th, Suseata finds Benat for a goal. Then late in the 44th, they score an equalizer 1-1 half. Nope, this is not happening. I move to attacking. Keep on going! I sub in Viguera for Garcia with his card, and then Yeray for Xabi E, and then I call for another sub, and before it happens, Viguera hits Artiz for a score in the 78th minute. I pull back from attacking. Here comes Rico on. I do my normal “Retain possession” “
tighter mark” “waste time” stuff. We win 2-1, and Mom is Benat. Good job!!!

That’s a quality win folks. I know the #6 team in any league winning 2-1 vs the #3 team in any league may not be news. But it was needed. 7 games left. Now Barca got a huge win 4-0 over Real Madrid and moved up to 10th.

[Abe Sargent]

For the Rayo match, I start Yeray, Espericueta, and Gorka at DMC. This will raise Espericueta’s salary for his 10th league appearance to 20k from 12.5k, but I’m okay with that. For the Fans!!! They collect one and then another yellow. In the 21st, Artiz finds Williams for a score. Card for Muniain. They push hard in the final minutes before the half but fail to score. 1-0 half. Don’t get complacent out there. Benat agrees, as his sinks it in the 47th. I pull Muniain for Gomez. Unusually, Laporte gets a yellow. I put in DC Xabi Etxeitz for him. Gomez finds Artiz in the 77th. I send in Eraso for Benat. We win 3-0. MOM is Artiz Aduriz.



The Malaga match is here. I put my best XI out there. As we are on the road, I begin countering. They score in the 9th off a counter, San Jose misses a PK a few minutes later, they score again, and then Garcia hits Artiz for a score, and it’s 2-1 half. Should have been 2-2. Show me something different! They head out, and I sub San Jose for Yarey, and then I send in Gomez. In the 66th, they score again off a penalty by Xabi. Rico heads in. We lose 3-1. Well, there went our attempt to move up the league table. We both had 50% possession and 14 shots. But we lost, in part because San Jose, with a 15 PK, 14 finishing couldn’t make a PK. He wasn’t even blocked, he flat out missed. That was a messy game for us, with us giving away a PK and not getting a PK to sink.

That loss drops us to 7th with 5 games left.

[Abe Sargent]

We have At. Madrid today, and play against the best Basque player. We are home, which helps. I handed out 2 days of rests for most of my starters, and we will retain my best XI, however, Yeray is in for San Jose. Vengeance! They get a yellow and an injury early. My early control tactic was a bust as we almost give up a goal to Greisman, so I move to standard. 0-0 half. I send in Rico. I move to attacking late, but nope. No win, 0-0 tie. That was Suseata’s 300th league game for us.


Because Grenada lost, we moved to 6th.

It’ll be hard at this point to get to 4:

1. Real Madrid, 67
2. Valencia, 59
3. At. Madrid, 58
4. Celta, 57
5. Sevilla, 56
6. Athletic, 54
7. Granada, 54
8. Levante, 51
9. Malaga, 50
10. Barca, 48

So at this point, with 4 games left, it’s not going to be easy to get to 4. Right now, winning out could just result in us finishing no higher than 5th or so. Now our GD of +18 is 2nd best in the league after Real Madrid’s 21. So in ties, hopefully we can push with our strong differential. But still, we need to put on a show.

Getting only 1 points out of the last 2 matches hurt badly.

[Abe Sargent]

I put in San Jose back in, and we have our full slate of starters. I start countering. For the Fans! We can beat Levante. I hope. They score in the 5th. Yellow to Benat. I move to control. Then Suseata crosses and finds Artiz in the 29th for a score, and I move back to standard. In the 37th, Williams passes to Suseata, and he sinks it, and we are up 2-1. Half. Don’t get complacent! Muniain gives his guy wayyyy too much space and he dribbles and crosses for a score in the 55th. I move to attacking. I send in Rico and Yeray. In the 67th, on a corner kick, the ball falls to Yeray, he is covered, he slides it to San Jose who isn’t, and San Jose scores. Back to counter again. Gomez in. We hold on and win 3-2. MOM is Suseata. That was a good, fun game.

3 games left.

Real Madrid have officially won La Liga.

I pull Xabi Ex for Gorka for a game or two he’s playing in bad form. I have the final match of the month, the Celta game. Other than that, no changes to the squad. Vengeance against these guys! Very little happens, no cards, 0-0 half. About half way through I moved to attacking with little result. You can still win! I send in Eraso and Viguera. In the 67th, off a corner, San Jose finds Gorka for a score. Nothing else happens, and we wind up winnin 1-0, and MOM is Gorka. Hey, it was an ugly win, but right now, I’ll take any win you give me.

2 games left

[Abe Sargent]

May

May 9 – Away vs Las Palmas
May 15 – Home vs Sevilla
May 21 – Final, Copa del Rey, vs Barcelona


With 2 games left, Las Palmas and Sporting were relegated.


Current table, everyone at 36 games

Real Madrid, 76
At. Madrid, 64
Valencia, 61
Athletic, 60
Granada, 59
Celta, 58
Sevilla, 57

We cannot be caught by Levante at #8, 6 points begin Granada.

So as you can see, we are in 4th, barely. Very barely. Assuming we get a result against relegated Las Palmas, we would need a good result in the last match, but it’s there.

Gorka was injured in training for 2 weeks, so Xabi Ex heads back into the DC spot.

Inaki Williams wants to move to a bigger club, but I just have my captain to talk to him and skip the conversation. We have two games left, and right now, we are in the running for sweet sweet Champion platy and cash. So hush now.



Real Madrid lose 3-2 aggregate in the Semi Finals of the EURO to Galatasaray. Tottenham beat Napoli to set up those two in the final.

Before today’s Las Palmas Game, everyone else played, and I have a game in hand. We dropped to 5th if we lose we keep that spot. If we win, we get to 3rd. For today, I am starting Gomez, and Gurpegi. I want to give Gurpegi a final start before he heads out, and a start against the already-related-have-nothing-to-play-for Las Palmas is better than at home vs Sevilla next week. Relax, we’ve got this! I’m glad I started countering, because they are coming hard. We survive. On a counter, Garcia finds Williams for a score in the 17th. 2 minutes later, Benat is injured, and I send in Rifo to sub for him. They get a great cross and score in the 33rd. Then they score again in the 35th. 1-2 them at the half. Oh no we aren’t. I move to attacking and question their desire to win. I send in Viguera and Muniain. Card for Laporte. In the 83rd, Artiz hits Williams for a score and we tie 2-2. That sucked hard.


That was horrible. We are clearly “That Team” the won that drops odd games late to get it out of the right zone. Benat is out for a week and will miss the finale.

We are in a three-way tie with Valencia, ourselves, and Grenada at 61 points each at 3-5th. We are 4th right now on tie breakers.

[Abe Sargent]

Inaki Williams has been called up for the senior Spain squad.


Inaki Williams wins Spanish Young Player of the Year


For our last game, Benat is out, injured, and Rico starts at MC. I have Sevilla at home today. I begin controlling. This is GK Iraizoz’s 300th appearance for us. For the fans! Now, the good news is Barcelona have Grenada, so if they win, likely, then we should have help beating this three-way-tie. They score in the 4th. I make some changes, and then in the 25th, Artiz is hit by Suseata for a score. Kevin Gameiro is injured and leaves the pitch (and will be out for 3 months) Half. No cards. We can still win! Only we don’t. No more scores. We tie 1-1.

Now we still wind up 4th. Final table:


1. Real Madrid, 82
2. At. Madrid, 68
3. Valencia, 64
4. Athletic, 62
5. Granada, 62
6. Celta, 60
7. Sevilla, 58
8. Barca, 57
9. Levante, 55
10. Malaga, 55
11. Real Sociedad, 50
12. Deportivo, 49
13. Eibar, 45
14. Espanyol, 45
15. Real Betis, 39
16. Getafe, 39
17. Villareal, 37
18. Rayo, 36
19. Sporting, 28
20. Las Palmas, 28

[Abe Sargent]

We got 4.75 mill and handed out 1.5 mill in bonuses.


Ronaldo won some awards

ST Artiz Arduriz was the Top Spanish Goalscorer for the year.

Laporte and Arduriz were named in the Liga Top 11.

Ready for the Copa?

Now I’m not sure, but I believe that if we win, then the EURO invitation would go to 7th in the liga, which is Sevilla, not 2nd in the Copa del Rey.

I have some staff retiring.

Tottenham win the EURO 3-2 over Galatasaray.

We get 10.51 mill in EURO Cash

[Abe Sargent]

The Finals

I make no changes to my squad for tonight’s Copa del Rey. Athletic and Barcelona are the two winningest clubs in Spanish football in the Copa. Can we oust Barcelona? We’ll find out. I will begin countering. Benat is a little out still from injury. So it’s Rico in the middle.

Can the lads from Basque beat the lads from Catalonia?

We had a higher place on the league charts by four places. But will that translate here?

Vengeance! I begin counter, tackling hard, marking tight, and keeping possession. We hit them on a counter in the 33rd minute when Artiz finds Xabi Etxeitz on a IFK. Half. Not bad. 1-0. Stats aren’t overwhelming in Barca’s favor like I would fear. We have 6 shots, 2 on target to their 8 and 3, stuff like that. Not bad thus far, keep it going. We injure Iniesta, and he is subbed out. First yellow of the match is to Suseata. I pull him for Gomez, given how good Gomez is in set pieces maybe we can do some more. Artiz with a yellow. Muniain feeds Artiz on a counter and he scores in the 63rd. I would expect Barca to move forward very, very, quickly. Up until now, they didn’t have a shot in the 2nd half thus far, still at 8, but the club is moving hard. Shots head out. Garcia with a yellow. Viguera for Garcia. Rico with a yellow in the 77th. Espericueta for Rico. Muniain and Vigeura with fouls late and cards. We win 2-0. MOM is Iturassape.

Great Job!!!


Now I think the reason we won was the heavy tackling. We kept them off rhythm all game lang. I have played light tackling all season long, to keep on our feet, and to not just lay off the light tackling, but to come nasty and strong was, I think, a surprise. Final stats? Barca with 13 shots, 5 on target. We had possession just 45% of the game, but our 11 shots, 4 on target were pretty good, and we got a set piece score which helped. Yes, we got a ton of cards, but I pulled them out as it happened, and kept us short on the potential for double red-ding. It’s basically like we just Hack-a-Shaqed Barca.

After the loss in the Copa, and the bad campaign, Barca sacked their manager, Luis Enrique.

We make more sweet cash for winning it all.

[Abe Sargent]

Liga Stats:

Arduriz, most goals at 24,

Suseata – Most distance ran per game with 9 miles average

Suseata – Most assists with 12

Gorka Iraizoz, most saves held, and most saves parried.

Laporte, most interceptions made, by 55, He had 500, next was 445.


Others with high, were Garcia’s 9 assists, Arduriz’s 2nd best number r of minutes/goal, Benat’s 2nd best cross completion, Laporte’s 3rd most key headers,

Fan’s Player of the Season – Inaki Williams
Fan’s Goal of the Season – Inaki Williams
Fan;s Young Player of the Season -Inaki Williams
Signing of the Season – Espericueta

[Abe Sargent]

I hold the end of season meeting, and I want to get to Champion’s Cup again.


We are adding under-soil heating to the stadium.

Bayern beat Juve to win the Champions Cup

Aguerro was named Best Player in Europe

Williams is capped for Spain.

Now that we have qualified for Champion Play, anyone interested in coming here who may not have been before? Any targets I want to pursue?

None that I wanted to chase who would improve my squad. And that is the issue. Improving my squad.

I find a pair of interesting French youth. Only one might, and I mean might, make the cut as a backup or rotation player for me. I make an offer to the Sestao River youther we saw earlier as well.

Again, I am all Basque.

[Abe Sargent]

Now, let’s begin to look at next year. Where am I with my squad?

I took over this team, and I was mostly encouraged to sell De Marcos, and then I also have let go Sabin, and now Gurpegi, Jonas Ramalho and potentially Ikaizoz.

Why my Gk?

Well, because I already have my next GK on my roster, the young guy currently on loan. Meet:



GK Kepa Arrizabalaga

21 years old
2.5 million, Hot Prospect



We will be calling him Kepa for short.

He won the U19 EUFA Champs in 2012 as the starter

Was called up for Spanish national squad in 2017 as cover for the top two GKs, but has not started and been capped yet (In real life)

Been called the next Santiago Canizares. (Santiago Cañizares - Wikipedia)


Here is what my coaches say:

Weaknesses:

Prone to injury

Strengths:

Aerial
Shot Stopping
Very well suited for Liga football right now
Professional
Consistent


Seems good, right?

Given that Kepa will be my starter moving forward, why should I retain 35 year old Iraizoz? I have a backup already after all. There are a lot of people out there who have called, not Inaki Williams, not Laporte, not Yeray, but Kepa the best young and future star in the Athletic queue coming up. You think he would have been called up in real life at age 22 for Spain’s senior squad?

[Abe Sargent]

Bilbao, our B team, is increasing its stadium by 5000 seats.

I have signed these youthers:

15 year old French, Basque Julen Merino, fullback, 30k from Bayonnais

16 year old Spanish, Basque Alain Martinez, middie, 100k, Sestao River – I love his high work rate and determination, with lower skills elsewhere, but he has the attitude to fix it.

16 year old French, Basque Mikel Viller, fullback, 275k to Stade Mayenne.


I get offers from FC Nantes for one of my guys on the B squad, for Ager Aketxe, one of the best players on the team. 22 years old. Plays M, AM RLC, ST. Worth 1.7 mill, Hot Prospect deal, and I was thinking about calling him up to the senior squad as a rotational development guy to replace some of the others I might let go. But here is Nantes wanting him for a couple million. Sell? Or keep?


Let me take a look at my loanees who are coming back on my senior squad.


GK Kepa, duh

M Mikel Merino


30 year old ST Keke. Nah

Middle, Íñigo Ruiz de Galarreta, whom I resigned

Jon Aurtenetxe, DC, L

Guillermo, ST,

DC Unai Bustinza

Unai López, duh.

Julen Arellano, fullback


I don’t see Aketxe getting played over Merino or Lopez or Espericueta. So do I want a backup that badly? Nah. He’s not as good now as those, so why would I give him time over them?

We agree to 1.7 mill, 25% next sale, and a 4 mill buyback clause.

[Abe Sargent]

PSG wants Williams and made a decent offer. 20 mill up front, 13.5 mill over the next year, and 30% profit of next sale.

But here’s the thing. I cannot let Williams walk. Period. It can’t happen. I cannot win the Liga any time in the foreseeable future without Williams. Here let me show you:

My ideal Athletic, five years from now:

ST Asier Perez, Williams
AMC Merino
R/L Muniain,
MC Espericueta,

DC Laporte, Yeray
GK Kepa


Sub, or rotation quality, Unai Lopez

And that’s probably it for those I know. And a fully developed Perez, Merino, Yeray, Kepa, Lopez, and Espericueta would look great next to Laporte Williams and Muniain.

And that’s basically the squad that I see right now that could do some damage.

I cannot let people in that future core go. Williams cannot go. Muniain cannot go. You get the idea, And that ideal squad assumes everyone develops, and that doesn’t always happen.

We announce 3 new sponsorship deals for 32.5 mill annually. We got hit with a 16.26 mill tax bill,


Williams is pissed that he was unable to get the sweet sweet PSG cash, so I offer him a new deal.

2 days later he signs:

80,000/week
Through 2021
Min release fee of 100,000,000.


That basically doubled his cash, kept the same date for the end of the contract he already had with us, so he is not contributing to the team any longer than he already was, and doubled his min release fee.

He is now our highest paid player.

[Abe Sargent]

Now there is a bit of a “cheat” for Bilbao. If I want, I can sign any 16 year old Spanish player, and they will gain the Basque nationality while playing for us in our youth system.

Aketxe heads out to Nantes.

We rose from 32 to 27 in the Europe club rankings, and we’ll easily meet the homegrown rule for Champion;s play this year.

Rumors in the market are that Balenzinga is a target for Sevilla. I talk to him, and I do agree to sell him for the right price, if they offer

I have been resigning staff, younger players, and more

I offer this studly 29 year old Head of Youth Development at Eibar, Mikel Gonzalez, to take over the role with us. He considers. If he accepts, we’ll pay Eibar 700k. We currently have no Head of Youth Development. He signs the next day. This guy is amazingly good, watch out.

I find this 36 year old player, Mikel Alonso, for Real Union who will be a stud coach or Ass Man, but he just wants to be a player this year, so I have offered Real Union some cash, 200k, for the transfer, and then offered hm a 1 year backup deal to come on board and help out and then, hopefully, to keep him as a coach moving forward.

He joins two days later

[Abe Sargent]

Heading out today, July 1st, is Gurpegi, and many others. We are bringing in the three youth and the two backups of Hervias and Villar.

Do I want to loan Merino? I just got a 1st team offer from Getafe, in the Liga. He’s growable. But will I have enough space here with my crowded midfield this year? Maybe not...

So I agree to the loan with Getafe.

So I have three good, young middies I want to grow. Espericueta, Unai Lopez, and Merino, but none of them are my best three or four current players.

I have these good middies – Iker Muniain, potentially Williams but I often play him at ST, Benat, Iturrasape, Gomez, and then Rico, Eraso, Espericueta, Lopez, Merino, and Hervias is good too. And potentially Raul Garcia as well. So given the fact that I have depth, and given the fact that I need to move players, does it make sense to loan out a Merino or Lopez while playing Eraso?

Right now, I would expect to start:

AMC – Garcia, Williams, Muniain
DMC – Inturraspe
MR – Suseata, Williams
ML – Muniain, Williams, Gomez

And then Rico, Espericueta, Merino, Hervias, and Lopez. Too many good middies.

This is my coach evaluation for these spots, current value:

MC – 3 stars for Benat, Iturra, Lopez,2.5 stars – San Jose, Espericuerta, Merino, Rico
MR – 3.5 starts, Williams, 3 stars Suseata, 2.5 Hervias, Lopez
ML – 3.5 Muniain, 3 Williams, 2.5 Gomez,
AMC – 3.5 stars, Williams, Garcia, 3 stars Muniain, Lopez
DMC – 3.5 stars, Iturra, 2.5 San Jose, Merino

ST – 3.5 stars, Williams, 3 stars, Aduriz, no one else is higher than 2, where Viguera hits.
DC – 4 stars, Laporte, 3.5 stars, San Jose, 2.5 stars Yeray, Xabi Etx


So given that, for now, I expect to run Williams and Aduriz rather than Vigeura and Aduriz. That opens up a spot for my team. Right now, last year they were Benat, Iturraspe, Suseata, Garica, and Muniain. I don’t think you can really argue that. You also don’t see San Jose at DMC or MC often because he is so vital at DC for me.

And today you can see each of those leading one of those categories. Benat is the best in the middle. Inturra at DMC. Suseata at MR. Mun at ML. And Garcia at AMC, so I was using them in their best spot. Now I like Garcia better as a shadow striker than the support role he played, but that formation doesn’t need it.

So I am seeing this year my starting XI:

GK Kepa
DC Laporte, Yeray, San Jose
DMC Iturra
AMC Garcia
MR Suseata
ML Mun
MC Benat
ST Williams, Arduriz

But here are some of the issues that come with that...

1. Age. Aduriz, 35 years old, one example
2. No growth out of defense. Yeray and Kepa are the only ones in there that are still growing. Williams has a little more room for growth. All of these other players have finished their development.
3. How do I develop an Unai Lopez or Espericueta or Merino in this formation, given Rico, Hervias, already in this list.


And now which is better? Giving Unai Lopez a season of Liga starts at Granada or the occasional one with me? How many subs can Unai get? But, he is better right now than some of my backups. He’s a solid body. He’s my 2nd best AMC option given that Williams and Muniain are needed elsewhere. He’s my 2nd best option at MC, and you’ll note he scores better than Rico at that spot. So Lopez is juuuust about to start making the list. But the others are on the inside looking in.

Now the major issue is Merino. My coaches think he’s a future potential 4 star middie, but 2.5 right now and suited for Liga. If I keep Merino, then I could try and squeeze in some subs for lesser games, and potentially tutor him. So Merino has the highest upside, and Lopez is the best right now, and Espericueta is being mentored by Rico and I hate to break that connection. It’s rough.

[Abe Sargent]

I offer backup DR Bustinza for sale. We get a 250k offer from Las Palmas and I take it.

I accept a 2.2 mill offer from Levante for Balezinga.

I transfer list Eraso. I have too many players at Mid to muss with Eraso anymore. There’s no space on my roster for him. I accept a 2.1 mill offer from Olympiakos for him.

I accept first team loan offers from other Liga clubs for Unai Lopez. I want to give him one more year of loan development.

Merino locks down the deal with Getafe. I send Espericueta out on loan. I can call one of them back later if I need the depth and development.

I loan out Julen Arellano

Out head Eraso, Bustina and Balenzinga officially.

I convince our board to approve me to have two more coaches for the senior squad.

I make an offer for David Lopez, a current 33 year old player, to come in as a coach/player.

I also offer a deal to thus studly GK coach over at Granada, Inaki Garcia Sandin. I want to ensure I am developing Kepa well.

Unai Lopez heads out.

I get another offer for Laporte for Bayern, and I refuse. Like Inaki, I agree to an extension for 80k, and give myself 100,000,000 min release fee.

[Abe Sargent]

Well the unlikely just became likely. Remember the other Mikel? The one who was a lot better, but our scouts said Real Sociedad was not going to sell, and he was not going to come? Well, I just made an offer for the guy.

Mikel Oyarzabel, 19, plays various mid positions
14 mill transfer
30k a year, over 5 years

He’s called the next Josep Guardiola. The media uses the term wonderkid. The opportunity to bring him in, right now, and immediately play him, and build him into a creative force for Atheltic moving forward would be very, very sexy.

Scouts?

Very Fast
Determined
Versatile
Professional
Would be willing to join for a loan, but not permanently
Club unlikely to sell

But money talks, and I have an offer on the table to steal this guy from our rivals.

My current transfer budget is 22 mill after the deals I took. I have the cash for Oyarzabel.



Scout Report: Mikel Oyarzabal | Real Sociedad's Intelligent Winger | Outside of the Boot

[Abe Sargent]

I confirm my expectations with the Board for

1. Finish in EURO
2. Get Quarters of Cup
3. Get to Group Phase of Champion

That’s it.

I sign a new Chief Scout, from another club, and he knows of this hot potential 16 year old Spanish kid named Fran at Villareal. Now we think it’d cost around 3.5 mill to unhook him.

As I mentioned before, I can sign 16 year old Spaniards and they will get the Basque nationality after playing in our youth system. That is cogent. Is it a cheat? And is Fran good enough to make me do it?

So, let’s example Basque policy more to find an answer, and Laporte is a good test case.

Laporte:

Great grand parents, Basque ethnicity. Had no other connections to Basque country. Was discovered by Athletic, they wanted to bring him to their youth academy, they agreed for him to head to Bayonnais in Pays Basque in France for a year, and then brought over to Athletic proper, as he was too young to leave France, and then the next year, joined Athletic’s youth program properly.





Williams:

Parents are African, not Basque ethnicity. Immigrated to Bilbao. Williams was born in Bilbao, and came through the local ranks.



Kepa:

Born in Basque country, parents are Basque.


Espericueta:

Grandparents were Basque immigrants to Mexico. One parent full Basque. No other Basque connection. Athletic was going to bring him into your youth academy, but decided not to.


Four different stories of young Basque youth. Kepa is obvious. Basque regionally, culturally, and ethnically. But Williams has no Basque ethic heritage, yet was born right here in Bilbao. Laporte had none other than great grandparents, and then did a year in the Basque French country to get him up to speed.

So what does it mean to be Basque? And would chasing this un-Basqued hot 16 year old count, if he went through our youth system and gained it?

1. His story would be unidentical to Laporte. Laporte is 1/4 Basque. Espericueta 1/2. Those details matter.
2. FIFA doesn’t have an identity for regions as opposed to nations. But if I remember correctly, Was Laporte considered to be Basque before? The FIFA rule is to have a clear connection. Fran was born in Valencia. The FIFA rule is living there for (initially two but now five) years, or having one grandparent. Thus, under that rule, Laporte and Esper are in. Similarly to Williams who lived here in Basque country his whole life.
3. Could Fran have a connection? Maybe? But there is no bio, and his name is Spanish Juan Ramón Fernández, not Basque.

So here is the question, really. Is going after Fran cheating? Or is it playing fair?

If I go after Fran, is that a one-time thing, or am I opening the floodgates?

The point here is that one of Athletic’s signing rules is that someone has to have been at a Basque youth Clube, so in the game, you can sign a Spanish 16 year old and bring them through a youth club, and they’ll gain Basque-ness.

Here – what is the difference between Fran and Williams? Neither is Basque ethnically?

But, and here is the key, if Laporte had to spend a year at another Basque team in order to qualify, then then his Basque credentials were not otherwise good enough.

Ultimately, this comes down to one major question...

[Abe Sargent]

What does it mean to be Basque?


Like many places in Europe and Asia, where national borders were not formed by colonial interests, national identity is often synonymous with ethnic identity. This is the land of my people. Both people and land are in play. Ireland is the land of the Irish ethnicity, in addition to the geographic region. It’s both. This is often hard for someone from a nation like the US to understand. I do not identify as an American with anything other than a national geographic identity that comes with cultural and other attachments. But American is not a race or ethnicity. But Azerbaijan? Turkey? Czech Republic? Ukraine? These are. And similar to Basque, we have inner regions of other nations that are as well – Sicily or Scotland are good examples of internal areas with the ethnic and geographical area.

What does it mean to be Scottish? Sicilian? Catalan? Basque?

And, more importantly, does it apply here?

For example, imagine that we have a company’s regional job center in Sicily, and they want to hire 50% Sicilians in order to make sure that they are culturally sensitive to their local community. Is an American immigrant who has never been to Sicily but was born in the US the son of two Sicilian parents Sicilian enough for this policy? What about someone who has never been to Sicily, and was born in the US and only is 1/8th? What about a local person who was born in Sicily to tourists, and then moved out of the country after a few weeks post-birth, but they have Italian citizenship and were born there? What about a student who studied abroad in Sicily for four years, and then moved on? Would any of those count?

When the word, term, and concept mean two things, what does is mean to be Basque?

[Abe Sargent]

So I did some research. And there are players who were recruited and played youth for Osasuna or Real Sociedad who had no connection to Basque heritage or geographically, who were later signed by Athletic. In fact, that’s pretty common.

So, if Athletic is willing to consider someone who was the child of 2nd gen immigrants in Mexico, or a French player outside the region, or players who have no ethnic or geographic connection who come through the youth ranks of other Basque teams, then why not Fran?

But that’s the issue. If I start this now, where does it stop? Will I be bringing in all of the big, hot players moving forward each year? That won’t be hard.

So the game challenge is obvious. If I just bring in Fran and then lead to many other hot future candidates, then I have subverted the Basque issues of this challenge by being Spain only instead of Basque only. Now some national-only things would work. A Belgium team with only Belgian players could be real challenge. But Spain is almost as easy as Brazil or Argentina would be. It is a hotbed of young talent. Limiting myself to Spain only is a pretty minor limitation.

Now, I also took over this role intending to spread into French/Basque territory more and become more of a pan-Basque presence.

That is why I love that I have that offer on for Mikel. But Fran?

Now Fran actually plays a position I could need on my long-term radar, DMC.

So, here is the rule I am considering.

1). If a young hot 16 year old prospect is brought to my attention by my own scouts, or in this case, lead scout, then I can make a play.
2). I limit myself to one a year. Or at most 1 every other year.

It’s not like Athletic opened up the floodgates post-Laporte. They found him scouting.

Alright, so let’s do that limited style method. I make an offer for Fran.

[Abe Sargent]

Our stud GK coach arrives. My first 5 star trainer in shot stopping. I mutually terminate one of my other GK coaches to bring in someone else.

Germany won the 2016 Euro

Oh my goodness. I signed another scout to replace my retired one, and he sent me in his initial report another major 5 star 16 year old Spanish recruit. Wow This was a ST named Roberto Leon. Barcelona want him too.


We come to a 3.5 mill deal for Fran.

Laporte heads out to public and says he is happily willing to remain at San Mames,

AM LRC, MC, Mikel Oyarzabal arrives for 15 mill after bonuses and such.



Coach Report includes:

Good speed
Determined
Well suited for LIGA ball
Versatile

Needs to be trained on stamina

Stats include: 14/14 speed, 19 determination (was mentored by someone already to raise it), 15 work rate, 13 technique, 1st touch, finish, long shots, jump, 14 aggression, anticip, flair, decisions, balance, agility, 15 teamwork.

Weaknesses include – 8 stamina, 11 pass, cross. I want to work on getting those three up, but as you can see, the 19 year old “wonderkid” and the next Josep Guardiola. .

[Abe Sargent]

I sign the 33 year old Alberto Perez Zamarrio to my coach staff. He retires to take on the role. He is a 4 star tactical coach, which upgrades my coaching there from 3.5 stars. He was once a Athletic player, although mostly lower level at clubs like Baskonia and Zamudia, every single club he was at is in our network of affialted clubs. He’s a good, solid, high quality coach.

Yeray injures himself in training for the season for about 2 weeks.

Fran joins us
Perez and Arduriz got together last semester, and ST Perez got his great determination. That’ll help a lot I suspect.

I link:

Fran and Iturraspe
Xabi Et. And Yeray

Our undersoil heating is complete

We sign backup player/coach David Lopez, 33 years old, who played with Athletic for 5 years once. He agrees to take a coaching course. He plays a lot of midfielder positions, and certainly would not be a bad sub if needed. As a coach, he starts as a four star shooting coach, and could improve as he gets better. He improves our shooting by a full star. No Basque coach is better at shooting training, only managers or higher are better.

I have a bunch of away friendlies I schedule to test my players and to get n away games for teams in our framework of clubs. We win the first 5-0. The second 3-0. The 3ed 1-0. Then August arrived

I still have Iraizoz on my roster on a month to month contract. No one made him an offer. I drop him to Vice, and name Artiz Arduriz my Captain. Everyone loves the appointment of Arduriz. Benat would have been my Vice had I not wanted to keep some consistency with Iraizoz from last year.

Speculation in the media is that Boveda is a target of Real Betis. He came to me to ask about transferring if they made an offer, and I agree to do so.

I make our pitch smaller to discourage people going wide against my one player on the flank.

[Abe Sargent]

August


Aug 3 – Friendly
Aug 6 – Friendly
Aug 8 - Friendly
Aug 12 – Home vs Real Madrid, Leg One of Super Cup
Aug 21 – Away vs Valencia, Liga
Aug 28 – Home vs Barcelona, Liga
Aug 31 – Away vs Real Madrid, Leg Two of Super Cup


We win 8-0

We draw Shakhtar and play them on the 17th and 23rd of this month for the Champions play-in.

We are 3-1 favorites for winning the Liga, and have the 4th best odds after Real Madrid, At. Madrid and Barca.

We win 4-1.

This is my best guess for starters and subs right now:

GK – Kepa, Herrain, Iraizoz
DC – Laporte, San Jose, Etxeitx, Yeray, Gorka, Mikel Alonso, Boveda
DMC – Iturraspe, San Jose, Gorka, Fran, Alonso
MC – Benat, Rico, Hervias, Lopez
MR – Suseata, Muniain, Williams, Hervias, Lopez
ML – Muniain, Williams, Gomez, Hervias, Lopez
AMC – Garcia, Muniain, Williams, Oyarzabel, Hervias, Rico
ST Artiz, Williams, Vigeura, Garcia

[Abe Sargent]

Super Cup Leg Cup

Today, Iturraspe is banned for too many cards last year, and I am playing San Jose there, and Yeray at DC. They score 2 in the first half, and then I tell my people to show me something else! Then in the second half, I send in Lopez and Viguera before Garcia finds Aduriz for a score in the 68th. Yellow for Muniain. No more scores, we lose 1-2.

I start my best XI for the match vs Shakhtar. We get an early advantage in the 9th minute, and two shots are fired, rebound, and Garcia puts it away. Then they retaliate in the 14th, and they get one, two, three yellows. They score again in the 31st. Then Williams is driving on counter, and the GK heads out to stop him, and he unselfishly feeds Garcia for a score. They score in extra time, and it’s 2-2 at the half. I pull back and try to protect this tie, a 2-2 away goal tie is strong, but I was playing pretty aggressively in the 1st half with a control mindset so I switch to countering. I send in Lopez and Gomez and Yeray. In the 85th, Garcia finds Artiz for a score. They claw back in the 87th. Game, 3-3, mom Is Garcia.

That is not a bad platform for the final leg. It’ll be hard in a tie for them to beat 3 ags. All I have to do is tie or win at home.

[Abe Sargent]

The Valencia game arrives. Rico and Yeray for Benat and San Jose, both tired from the game, and I want to rest them for the 2nd leg at Shakhtar. This is Rico’s 100th appearance for us. I begin countering. Good luck and let’s begin the Liga with a positive result away vs a heavy. We lose 3-0. Not the start I was hoping for. It included a penalty given by Yeray.

I convince my club to invest in better training facilities


For today’s 2nd leg vs Shakhtar, we are starting my full XI, and I gave rests to Suseata and Itarraspe for getting them ready. Suseata finds Williams in the 5th for a score. On a corner, Benat finds Xabi who heads to Laporte for the score and it’s 2-0 us in the 17th. Williams finds Aduriz for a score in the 21st. Muniain picks up a knock and I send in Hervias. DC Xabi E has a yellow. They get a score in the 41st off a corner. Then in extra time, Benat on another corner finds Hervias for a score. 4-1 us at the half. Nicely done, keep it going. On a IFK, Benat finds Laporte for a score in the 49th. I put in Yeray for Xabi Etxeitx. San Jose with a yellow. They score a long shot in the 55th. In the 68th, Benat finds Artiz for a score. I put in Oyarzabel for Garcia. In the 72nd, Suseata finds Benat for a score. We win 7-2. Benat is clearly MOM. I am very, very, very pleased with that win.

Muniain is out for 3-4 weeks.

That was dominating.

We get 14 mill for our win and making it to the group stage.

Champions Group C:

Porto
Tottenham
Kobenhaven
Athletic

Well, there goes that Champion Group stage. I hope we’ll look forward to next year!

[Abe Sargent]

Given his current ability, I will be starting Gomez for today’s home game vs Barcelona at the ML spot. In the 10th minute, Suarez finds Messi for a score. Then we drive, and in the 33rd, a penalty is given against us. Up steps Gomez and...he scores. Half. 1-1. Well, that wasn’t bad. We can do better though! Keep it up! They have about 15 minutes of coming forward and missing, and then it is capped by a Suarez assisted goal to Neymar, but it is called offsides. Garcia pounces on a loose ball in the 77th and scores. We send in a few subs like Boveda, and then that’s it. We win 2-1. Suarez is MOM. Good job!



When I started this dynasty, we had a number of players already on loan, many on my senior squad, and I sold a few already here and there, like Hurtanda. But many are not loan-able, they have finished developing, and they are fine in an absolute emergency, but they aren’t good. I have enough coverage that I don’t need this fullback Jon Auttentxe, as one example, and these players really are of the quality f a next-level-down player. I transfer list a few and try to move them before the Real Madrid game, as they are not registered for anything due to the size of my Senior Squad.

I move one, ST Guillermo, down to Bilbao, my B squad.

I sell Artexte for 900k to Granada

[Abe Sargent]

The Real Madrid away match arrives. Now we are not going to win. I have a bunch of international call ups, but they do not, I am playing against C. Renaldo without Laporte on defense, for example. I am missing players like the injured Muniain and Williams. So I am playing counter and tight marking and heavy tackling. If I can push them off their game, I will do so all day long, and hopefully subs like Yeray and Viguera can get me a win. And they do. In the 33rd minute of a quiet, muscular game, Viguera scores for us after a pass from Gomez to Aduriz is snuffed out and he falls on it before any defenders can. They score in the 41st with Rodriguez. Half, 1-1 tie, we are down 3-2 aggregate. Unlucky! Yeray gives up a PK in the 50th, and Renaldo steps up to take it....but Kepa saves. I send in Lopez and Boveda. Despite our heavy tackling I’ve gotten no flags. Gorka for Iturraspe. From the 80th minute on I move to control, trying to level it up. If we can score here, we’ll tie 3-3 and each have one away goal. Game. They win 3-2 on aggregate, which is not bad considering. Congrats Real Madrid.

I have a few good wins last year to hang my hat on, like 2-0 over RM in Bilbao with the Spanish Cup, and 2-0 over Barca in the finals at a neutral site, and the 2-1 win in Liga over Barca too. We just need to stop dropping games to scrubs like we did multiple times.

[Abe Sargent]

September

Sept 3 – Away Friendly
Sept 10 – Away vs Espanyol
Sept 13 – Home vs Kobenhaven, Champions
Sept 17 – Home vs At. Madrid
Sept 21 = Home vs Celta
Sept 25 – Away vs Real Madrid
Sept 28 – Away vs Tottenham, Champions

Williams just scored his first international goal for Spain

A few of our players on month-to-month chose to leave, and Gorka Iraizoz is among them. I name Benat the new Vice Captain.

We won the friendly 5-1 after playing my backup GK Herrein.

I sell ST Kike Sola, a 30 year old backup ST we purchased three years ago for 4 mill to a Romanian club for 1.7 mill.


Time for the Espanyol match. Pick up where you left off! I am starting Hervias for the wounded Muniain. In the first half, no cards or scores , but lots of action. We had like 15 shots, to their 11. Almost even possession, 0-0 half. Not bad, but there is room for improvement. In the 49th minute, Inaki Williams intercepts the ball and drives and scores. The in the 56th, San Jose misses an interception and a cross hits home and they equalize. I pull him for Mikel Alonso. I move to controlling. In heads Rico for a tired Benat. Rico feeds Aduriz perfectly in an attack run on the goal and just scores. That was an awesome pass by the guy. I ease back to standard. Lopez sent in for Suseata. In the 85th, Williams feeds Aduriz a goal. We win 3-1, we wound up with 24 shots, they only had 4 in the second half and were 15, we had more possession, no cards to their three, and more. We dominated Espanyol. MOM is Williams.

[Abe Sargent]

I hand out some rests to get them ready for the Kobenhaven match. I leave in the same starting squad, including Hervias, as he played well. I might give Lopez a start here soon, but not today. Pick up where you left off, and then 7-2 shellacking of Shakhtar you delivered! They score in the 15th minute. They get the match’s first yellow in the 28th. Suseata us having a strong game, three crosses deadly to Aduriz, all three strong shots, all blocked by Kobenhaven’s GK. In the 33rd, their guy with a yellow gets another and is sent off. I make a few changes. Williams gets a goal kick, dribbles, drives, and scores. Garcia is injured and I send in Mikel Oyarzabel. We are 1-1 at the half. Good job, but don’t, get, complacent. I send in Rico. In the 65th, Rico finds Artiz for a score. I send in Yeray. In the 83rd, Suseata finds Oyarzabel for a score. We win 3-1. MOM is Inaki Williams. Good job!

We get 1.5 mill for winning, and Porto defeated Tottenham 1-0 so we both have 3 points.



Garcia twisted his ankle and is out for a few days and will miss today’s At. Madrid game, but should be back later. I will leave in Oyarzabel to give him an official start. I also put in Gomez for Hervias. Hervias was fine, but I want to slide to the more professional Gomez for this big match. Keep our run going! Oyarzabel finds Artiz on an attack run and he scores in the 28thLaporte takes out one of their STs and he has to head out. Half, we are up 1-0. Not bad considering the competition, but let’s not get complacent here. Gomez hits Williams on an attack run in the 48th, and then crosses not to Williams but Suseata behind him on an attack run in the 51st, and Suseata puts it away. 3-0. I send in Viguera,Boveda, and Lopez for a tired Benat. David Lopez sinks a DFK on the 83rd. That’s his 50th liga goal. We win 4-0, Gomez is MOM.I am very pleased with that result!

Anyways, you can see why I have developed a liking for Gomez. He is savvy.

[MrBug708]

Can a player acquire Basque nationality if he sticks with your team? Or is there a complete transfer embargo on the team for non-basque players?

[Abe Sargent]

The Celta match arrives. Now, as long as Oyarzabel’s name is on the score sheets for an assist or score, I am going to leave him in the AMC position for Garcia. He’s hot right now. Muniain is back, but I move him to the bench, with the eye to bring him back for the away Real Madrid match next, and I’ll leave in Gomez, as he had a great game last game. Yeray starts for DC Xabi Etxeitx. Pick up from where you left off! I begin controlling. Benat to Oyarzabel for a goal in the 19th. Half. Not bad, but room for improvement. Yeray with a yellow. I send in DC Gorka, Viguera, and Muniain. In the 85th, Celta score off a corner, and that’s game. 1-1 tie. Annoying! If we are beating At. Madrid 4-0, then we should not be tying Celta 1-1.

In the Real Madrid game, I have Garcia back, even though I like what Oyarzabel has done, given the largess of the match. They score in the 4th, and then Garcia scores in the 25th from a Artiz pass. Half. You can win this. In the 53rd, Suseata is injured and I send in Hervias, and then a few minutes later, they tackle Williams just outside of the penalty box, and Benat sinks the DFK. I send in Rico and Gomez and we get a few yellows. Real Madrid opens the flood gates after going down 2-1 in the 62nd, and then they manage to score in the 88th. Tie game 2-2. They have 39 shots and 17 on target, vs our 6 and 3. So a 2-2 score line is fine. I think getting a point here was well done. That was Laporte’s 125 liga game for us



Suseata is out for a month. I’m starting Hervias for today’s match vs Tottenham. They score in the 11th, and then Garcia finds Williams in the 22nd for a score. Half. Then we let them score three goals and it’s 4-1 to end it. Subs were Viguera, Yeray, and Gomez. Porto won and have six points.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Can a player acquire Basque nationality if he sticks with your team? Or is there a complete transfer embargo on the team for non-basque players?

Good question!

Only 16 year olds can with Atlethic. Other teams, like Real Sociedad and Eibar can bring in someone and they will gain it after a while, but Athletic can;t even sign them. The idea with 16 year olds is that Athletic does, on occasion, bring in non-Basque players in real life through their youth ranks, and they gain it. There are also examples of non-Basque players brought onto teams like Real Sosciedad who gained Basque-ness there, and then Athletic later brought them in. But, again, being Basque is not a legal entity nor a FIFA-designated identity so it's murky at times, you know?

[Abe Sargent]

October

Oct 1 – Away vs Osasuna
Oct 9 – Away Friendly
Oct 15 – Home vs Real Betis
Oct 19 – Away vs Porto, Champ
Oct 23 – Home vs Eibar
Oct 26 – Away vs Valladolid
Oct 30 – Away vs Malaga

David Lopez’s long range DFK goal was ranked 2nd best Spanish Goal in the League for the month


For today’s Osasuna match, we have starting Yeray for Laporte, Rico for Benat, and Hervias is still in, as my subs for tiredness. I want to see a much better performance! Williams finds Aduriz in the 5th for a score, and then Williams scores twice more in the first half with assists by Rico and Muniain. Half, 3-0. Keep it going! Remember that Osasuna are one of our rivals along with R. Sociedad. Lekue for Hervias, Mikel Alonzo for Yeray. Lopez for Muniain after he gets a yellow. We win 3-0, and MOM is Williams. Good job!

Iban Gomez signs a new deal with us for 3 more years, at 19k/week, in his rotational arrangement.

Our friendly is a win 7-0.

Mikel Alonso was injured in training and is out for a month.

I am starting Lopez for the Real Betis game, but everyone else is as expected. Keep up your run! At the 0:44 mark, one of their defenders clatters Artiz to the ground and he gets a yellow, and that is a frequent flyer who’ll be suspended next game. Garcia finds Williams on an attack run in the 16th. Benat a yellow. On a corner, Lopez finds DC Xabi Ex for a score in the 29th. Half. Keep it going! I pull Benat for Rico. Xabi a yellow and I pull him for DC Gorka. Vinguera heads in to spell Artiz. They score in extra time and we win 2-1. MOM is Garcia.

[Abe Sargent]

Laporte is jaded and needs to be rested. I’ll have Yeray start a game or two for him. I order him to rest for 3 days when I see who we have next – away vs Porto.

That game arrives. We have a decent start, in the rain, and close up shop, 0-0 half, after they were blowing out in the first 15 minutes and I shifted to heavy tackling and trying to break them up. After that, none of their shots fell on goal. Get us that one goal! They do on a counter, Hervias finds Artiz. Then we send in Yeray for an injured Xabi, and I pull a yellow carded Benat for Rico. Then they score on a corner in the 68th, Final sub is Gomez. They score in the 76th, and that’s game, 2-1 them.

DC Xabi is injured for a few weeks, and Yeray will start for them.


I start Fran at DMC for the Eibar match. We score twice in the first 5 minutes, with Williams and Artiz both hitting the net. Artiz again in the 41st, and it’s 3-0 at the half. Keep it going! I pull Fran and his 7/3 rating and tired for Gorka, and then Vig and Lopez head in as well. We win 3-0, MOM is Williams. Artiz picked up a knock late after the subs happened, and is out for a week with injury.


Suseata is back.

Four of my players made Team of the Week.

[Abe Sargent]

Mikel Oyarzabel approaches me about starting, which is fair actually, given that he has had a goal or assist in every game he plays, and I was thinking of giving him today’s start at the AMC spot anyways. Oyarzabel is good quality already, he’s just not at Garcia’s level, as Garcia is, arguably, my 3rd or 4th best player. Starting today for the Real Valladolid match is Boveda at DC for Laporte, Yeray for the wounded DC Maxi Ex, Viguera for the wounded Artiz, and Oyarzabel, as well as a returned Suseata. Carry on from the last match! In the 41st, Williams finds Oyarzabel for a score. Half. Keep it up. We only allowed two shots in the first half, on the road here. In the 63rd, Williams finds Oyarzabel for another goal. I send in Hervias and Lopez for the wingers. DC Gorka for San Jose heads in. Good win, well done, 2-0 us, MOM is Oyarzabel with the game’s both goals, and it was nice in a game when Artiz was out that I had a good scoring option out there who delivered.

Oyarzabel, 3 starts, 2 subs, in Champion and Liga play. 4 goals, 1 assist.

Inaki Williams is a natural at attacking midfield, but I think he is perfectly fine in the Complete Forward role alongside Artiz.

For the final match of the month, vs Malaga, Boveda is replaced by a now rested and ready Laporte, Artiz is healed but needs a couple more days to be ready in terms of fitness, so Viguera remains, and Rico is in for Benat, as well as Oyarzabel for now, as the hot leg and all. Vengeance! They score twice in the first half, and a few cards are handed out. Show me something better! And they do. In the 50th, Oyarzabel collects a Williams assists for a goal. Then in the 58th, Viguera hits Oyarzabel for another. I send in Gorka and Gomez and finally Lopez. Then in the 81st they score one goal to crack our defense and we lose 3-2. We collected 4 yellows. That was Iturrape’s 200th game for us.

Two more goals for Oyarzabel

[Abe Sargent]

November

Nov 1 – Home vs Porto, Champ
Nov 6 – Home vs Cordoba
Nov 20 – Away vs Sevilla
Nov 23 – Away vs Kobenhaven, Champ
Nov 26 – Home vs Deportivo
Nov 30 – Home vs Tottenham



For the Porto game, I am starting Raul Garcia, and I have Artiz back from injury and starting as well as Benat back after being tired. Right now in Group C, we are third with 3 points. Porto has 9, and Tottenham 6. If we manage to upend Porto or Tottenham in our place, and then beat Kobenhaven away, we’d only have 9 points, and still would not be guaranteed to qualify as we are three down right now. But at least it would help, so that it was I want. Two out of three. Vengeance! In the first 25 minutes, Porto have barely had the ball and haven’t even gotten off a shot. Then they score in the 26th minute on their first shot, a counter. A few minutes later, Williams feeds Artiz for a counter-score. Wiliams scores in extra time and it’s 2-1 us at the break. Don’t get complacent. I send in Gomez and Lopez. Williams hits Garcia for a score. Gorka at DMC heads in. We win 3-1, MOM is Williams.

Now, that win may, ultimately not matter much because Tottenham won, on the road, vs Kobenhaven.

Champion Group C

Porto, 9 points, +1 GD
Tottenham, 9 points, +9 GD
Athletic, 6 Points, 0 GD
Kobenhaven, 0 points, -10 GD

Now we have a shot, technically. If we win out then we’d finish with 12 points. That would include a loss for Tottenham. Assuming:

Porto beats Kobenhaven, we beat Kobenhaven, and we beat Tottenham, then we’d be at 12, 9, and 9, and 0, but if Tottenham can get a single point from Porto, then they would beat us.

So it’s still up for grabs, but we need two wins and some stuff to fall our way.

[Abe Sargent]

Mikel Alonzo is back from injury

Iturraspe signs a new 5 year deal for 80k/week.


I will be starting Boveda today, and the rest of my first XI, including Garcia. We are looking to take down Cordoba. It’s raining. Keep up the run! We come out and just dominate. Here are the stats:

Goals: Laporte, Artiz, Williams, Garcia

Assists: Williams, Suseata, Benat, Garcia

Subs – Rico, Gorka, Lopez

MOM is Garcia.


For today’s away match vs Sevilla, Xabi Ext is back from injury and starting, and moves in. The rest of my starting XI are in as well. This is a major game as we are currently 2nd in Liga vs the current #4 team. All of my best players are out and about. Pick up from where you left off! I play countering. Lots of movement, and we finish the first half with three more shots than Sevilla, but no goals and not a lot of movement. You can still win this! The first half was ours statistically, the second is theirs. They comes forward hard. I send in Rico, Hervias, and Alonso and move defensive from counter. In the 88th minute, DC Alonso finds Hervias for a score. We sneak out that win 1-0. Good job!


Players this year that have come to me wanting more ball include Boveda, Hervias, among others.

Our youth facilities are upgraded.


Boveda has been good recently, and Xabi is very tired after his first match back from injury, so I start Boveda in today’s away matchup against Kobenhaven. I moved in Oyarzabel as well. For the fans! Iturrasape finds Artiz on a counter for score in the 25th. Half. Don’t get complacent! Suseata for Artiz in the 59th. I send in Lekue for Boveda. Viguera for a tired Williams. Rico for Iturrasape. We win 2-0, Mom is Iturrassape, and good job!

[Abe Sargent]

Tottenham won 3-0 over Porto.

Champion’s Group C

Tottenham, 12 points, +12 GD
Athletic, 9 points, +2 GD
Porto, 9 points, -2 GD
Kobenhaven, 0 points, -12 GD


So we moved to 2nd. It will come down to the final week, and we have Tottenham, and Porto has Kobenhaven. If we both win, we’d have a three-way tie at 36 points a piece. But if Kobenhaven could keep Porto down, and we win, then we are in.

[Abe Sargent]

For the home game vs Deportivo, I start Yeray, Fran at DMC, Rico, and Garcia is back in. Luckily I pulled Williams early enough to keep him fresh. Vengeance! Suseata with an early yellow card. Early on, Garcia finds Artiz for a score in the 23rd, and then they hit us back in extra time. Half, 1-1. I sub in Xabi, Gomez, and Lopez. We cannot break their goal and it;s a tie, 1-1. That’s not acceptable!


Our final Champ game arrives, Home vs Tottenham. They score in the 21st and.....that’s it. We lose 0-1. Boring match. Few shots on goal by either team, etc. Quite simply, that was not good enough....


Wait....???


Porto lost to Kobenhaven....

We finish second, tied with Porto on points, and win the tiebreaker!!!

I feel like we backed into that, but okay.

I recall Arellano from his loan after the Manager and I talk more and he wasn’t going to play him, despite our agreement otherwise. So I pulled him back.