November 2014 - Season 1
FIFA 15 (PS4)
CD Leganes 0 - 2 CA Osasuna (B-Team)
OSA: Garcia 32' Ansarifard 88'
First match of the month saw young Jose Garcia score his 2nd goal of the season, as he headed a cross from Marcos Alonso into the net. The goal surprised us actually, given Garcia's low stature of 5'7". The 17 year old anticipated a mistake from his marker by waiting patiently behind him and head the ball after his marker mistimed his jump and jumped too early. The rest of the match would be very tight as Leganes worked hard to equalize the match. It wasn't until the 88th minute that the Iranian striker Ansarifard scored Osasuna's 2nd to give them a comfortable win. Ansarifard had had a fairly poor match, but the 21 year old found himself with golden opportunities in the final minutes when Leganes pushed forward with everything they had attempting to get the equalizer. Ansarifard found himself with two one on one situations after his 88 minute goal but one shot went wide, and the other went straight towards the oncoming keeper. The team still obtained the win though, so he didn't get too much heat for missing those chances. This result puts Osasuna in 2nd place behind Las Palmas, their next rival.
CA Osasuna 5 - 0 UD Las Palmas
OSA: Torres PEN 5' 41' Oier 33' Sisi 52' Guillermo 74'
First vs second, but it felt more like first vs last. This match was expected to be extremely tight since only 1 point separated 1st place UD Las Palmas, one of the most consistent teams this season, and the up and coming 2nd place team CA Osasuna. The Palmas players never realized how important this match was, and the scoreline showed it. Barely in the 5th minute of the match Osasuna's Oier was taken down by a slide tackle as he calmly dribbled the ball down the right edge of the box. The contact was clearly inside the box, and the referee didn't hesitate to call the penalty, which Roberto Torres scored without much trouble. The Palmas goalkeeper dove the right way, but his jump had too much power on it and he overshot it as the ball went in over his legs. Las Palmas hustled to get back into the match, but they found it extremely difficult to steal the ball from the Osasuna midfielders who had the ball in constant motion. In the 33rd minute Oier calmly brought down a lob pass inside the box and powered it into the far corner of the net to bring the Palmas morale down. Torres wasn't done yet though, and in the 41st minute the midfielder headed the ball into the net to make it 3-0. The match would go into halftime with several long faces among the league leaders. In the second half Las Palmas began pushing forward, which unfortunately backfired on them as Sisi found space down the right wing to cut into the box and take a left footed shot into the net! 4-0 and now Las Palmas were truly hopeless. The league top scorer Guillermo wouldn't go home without his own slice of the cake though, and managed to score the 5th goal for Osasuna in the 74th minute with a surprising shot from outside the box. Liga Adelante have new league leaders!
Sporting Gijon 0 - 2 CA Osasuna
Sisi 44' Torres PEN 79'
The league leaders showed off their new throne by defeating Gijon with a comfortable margin, showing both an effective attack and a solid defense. Sisi, short for Sisinio, started the scoring by getting behind his marker to receive a pass from Guillermo leaving him through on goal. The 30 year old showed his experience and sent the ball past the rushing goalkeeper. Osasuna received another penalty in their favor, this time for a foul against Onwu. The striker had jumped up to combat an aerial ball with his marker when a second Gijon defender sprinted towards him and tried to dive for the ball, but instead took him down with his body weight simulating an American football tackle. Roberto Torres, who hasn't missed a penalty at all this season, stepped up to take the shot as confident as ever. He sent the ball to the right side, but the keeper reached it! The goalkeeper wasn't able to get his hand on it the right way and his save sent the ball high into the air. The ball was dropping towards the net, but he wasn't able to get up in time and Torres headed the ball into the net beating his marker. We still haven't received confirmation if the referee has called this goal as a penalty goal or just a regular goal.
CA Osasuna 2 - 1 SD Ponferradina
SDP: Andriatsima 61'
OSA: Onwu 81' Guillermo PEN 90'
The next match on the schedule consisted of Ponferradina, a club that began the season in great form but slowly began to decline, and the league leaders Osasuna. The match was extremely tight with Ponferradina the better side on the field, but Osasuna's defense were able to hold them. However in the 61st minute, a foul was called against Osasuna just outside of the right outside corner of the box. The Ponferradina player had no angle to shoot, so he crossed the ball from the free kick as expected. Osasuna goalkeeper Asier Riesgo called it his and came out to intercept the cross, but he changed his mind halfway, leaving him completely out of position and caused great confusion among the Osasuna defenders. As a result, Ponferradina's top scorer Andriatsima easily headed the ball into the net, making him 3rd in the race for the league Golden Boot with only two goals behind Guillermo. A huge disappointment for Osasuna who had been defending really well and Riesgo was playing a great game before making that huge mistake. In the final minutes of the match, Chavez went all out attack and substituted in the striker Manuel Onwu to play at LW for a more attacking approach. The decision was a good one, as Onwu dribbled into the box in the 81st minute, faked a shot and cut in to his right, then powered a shot past the goalkeeper into the far post and equalized the match! Osasuna weren't going down without a fight and they continued to push forward, then in injury time the referee made a very risky call and gave Osasuna a penalty after Guillermo received a slide tackle inside the box. Guillermo was getting ready to shoot when his marker tackled him. The defender did touch the ball but it is difficult to see if he touched the ball before or after making contact with Guillermo. The contact was there though, and the referee decided it was a penalty. After seeing one of his rivals in the race for the golden boot score, Guillermo requested he take the shot, and Chavez obliged possibly because Torres wasn't on the field anymore. Guillermo did not disappoint and put the ball in the bottom left corner while the keeper stayed in the middle! The last minute goal gave Osasuna the win and, whether it was deserved or not, they were still the league leaders!
Sabadell FC 1 - 0 CA Osasuna
SAB: Hidalgo 37'
OSA: Cadamuro RED CARD 31'
Sabadell put an end to Osasuna's great run of form by defeating them with the minimal margin. Osasuna started the match playing better than Sabadell, but things went south when the loanee Cadamuro was sent off in the 31st minute. Cadamuro had been beaten on a one on one in the left flank and hustled to catch up to his winger, watching the player dribble past Lotiés who had came out to cover for Cadamuro. When Cadamuro finally caught up to the winger, who was not cutting in, he went in for a late slide tackle outside the box that was clearly a foul. The referee of the match surprised us all when he took out the direct red, but Cadamuro's vengeful tackle justified it. Sabadell took advantage of their extra player and quickly put the scoreline in their favor only 6 minutes after the sending off. Osasuna tried to get back into the match despite having a man less on the field, and Chavez took the risk of pushing forward to get the equalizer. In the 79th minute of the match things worsened for Osasuna, as the referee called a penalty against them after the RB Flaño pulled the shirt of a Sabadell player inside the box and the player went down. We thought the player dove as soon as he felt the pull, but the referee called it regardless. Sabadell's captain stepped up to take a very important penalty, the penalty would end the match for Osasuna who had been trying hard to equalize. All eyes on Osasuna's Riesgo. If he saves it, Osasuna still have a chance to come back. If he doesn't, the winning steak is over. The penalty was shot to his right towards the corner of the goal, but he reacted just in time and reached it! Osasuna still had hope to come back thanks to Riesgo! It was all out attack from then on but unfortunately they were unable to equalize, and Sabadell took the win. Osasuna still received applauds though as they gave the fans an exciting match and fought 'til the end.
Asier Riesgo saving the shot from the eleven steps that would bring hope back to Osasuna
Training Injury
Cadamuro out for 10 days with Concussion
Liga Adelante League Table
1.
CA Osasuna - 38 points
2. UD Las Palmas - 37 points
3. Real Valladolid - 36 points
4. Deportivo Alaves - 31 points
5. Real Betis - 30 points
6. Girona CF - 28 points
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8. Racing Santander - 28 points
14. CD Lugo - 20 points
17. AD Alcorcon - 18 points
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20. CD Mirandes - 15 points
21. CD Leganes - 15 points
22. UE Llagostera - 9 points
Liga Adelante Top Scorer
1.
Guillermo (Osasuna) - 12 Goals
2. Sanchon (Girona) - 10 Goals
3. Andriatsima (Ponferradina) - 9 Goals
CA Osasuna Top Scorer
1. Guillermo - 12 Goals
2. Roberto Torres - 7 Goals
3. Onwu - 5 Goals
CA Osasuna Player of The Month
GK - Asier Riesgo (Spain) (72 OVR 31yrs) (+1)
The Osasuna goalkeeper Riesgo has taken this month's PoTM award after an impressive November where he was vital for Osasuna's defense. The former Real Sociedad youth graduate was tasked with covering for Osasuna's shaky defense and he was solid while making up for their mistakes. Like everyone else, Riesgo makes mistakes and against CD Ponferradina his mistake caused a goal against, but he's also made spectacular saves including a penalty save against Sabadell. Thanks to Riesgo's incredible work in goal, the Osasuna defenders have had enough time to improve and the supporters can live comfortably knowing that even if the ball gets past the defenders, Riesgo will be there doing everything he can to stop the ball from going inside the net.
Press Conference
Mr. Chavez, we have received reports that international teams are keeping a close eye on you especially now that your club is in outstanding form and at the top of table. We've actually been told that Ivory Coast, Turkey, and even Russia have gone the extra step and sent you an official offer. What are your plans for your personal future? Would you be willing to leave Osasuna in order to manage an international team?
"Managing an international team is of course a big achievement for any manager, but at the moment I am completely dedicated to Osasuna so I do not plan on leaving soon. If I were to sign with an international team, I would first make it clear that I will only sign with them if they allow me to continue managing Osasuna simultaneously. This was an issue with Turkey and Ivory Coast, as they want a full time manager and unfortunately that's not me."
What about Russia?
"The negotiations have not concluded as of yet, so it would be disrespectful of me to disclose anything at the moment. I apologize."
November Headlines
Extra Help For Osasuna?
Osasuna has had a great month rising on the league table and finally establishing themselves as a promotion candidate after a rocky start to the season, but... We can't ignore the fact that Osasuna were given three penalties in three consecutive matches, one of them being an injury time penalty that ultimately decided the match. Things like these bring up questions regarding the integrity of the referees and cause suspicion of corruption. Of course one could easily argue that the penalties were clearly legitimate, except for one, but questions will always be asked when it comes to penalties. These consecutive penalty calls could negatively impact Osasuna in a wide variety of ways. For example, if the integrity of the referees is being questioned, then what if perhaps a referee chooses not to call a clear penalty in favor of Osasuna in the upcoming matches in order to protect himself from these type of accusations?
Copa Del Rey
The Spanish Copa Del Rey resumes this upcoming December, and Osasuna have drawn Cordoba from La Liga. Chavez has mentioned in the past that he wants to go as far as he can in the cup, but facing a team in a higher division is always a challenge. Osasuna head into the draw as the underdogs and they will do so without the starting LB Cadamuro who is out for 10 days. These fixture will be the first match of the month, so Osasuna will have to recover from the defeat against Sabadell as soon as possible if they want to have a chance against Cordoba. As we go into the Round of 32, the competition begins to get more and more tight in the favor of La Liga teams specifically Barcelona and Real Madrid. How long will Osasuna be able to survive amongst them?
Conclusion
Russia has always been an international team that tempts me sign with, but I'm not sure it's the right team for this career since I won't have any Russian players at Osasuna. I'm sure
Simppu and his communist ways would like to see Russia dominate :P, but I will have to leave it for another career mode in the future. Oh, and check out who else sent an offer as I was playing ahead :0 :0
That's it for this month. I've been playing ahead so the next update just needs to be typed up. Expect it soon!
Thanks for Reading!