
December 2017 - Season 4
FIFA 15 (PS4)
CA Osasuna (B-Team) 2 - 0 Almeria
OSA: Davila PEN 12' Ferreiro 72'
ALM: Edgar RED CARD 5' Took RED CARD 69'
Due to the Copa Del Rey fixture that was played two days ago, Chavez made a couple changes to the B-Team which included reserve players Oier (LB), Nono (RDM), and Ferreiro (RM) to make an appearance for Quinti, Olavide, and Luque respectively. David Ferreiro, the current hero of Osasuna after scoring the winner against Napoli, was having an amazing match on the right wing with his speed and quick dribbling. Just five minutes into the match, Almeria's LM Edgar received a direct card after he dropped to help mark Ferreiro. Ferreiro easily disposed of him with cheeky dribbling, and as Edgar tried to make a slide tackle to redeem himself Ferreiro quickly shielded the ball which forced a nasty foul. The referee did not hesitate and showed a direct red card while the Almeria players argued that Ferreiro exaggerated the fall. Exaggerated or not, the foul exists.

Almeria did not learn from this and continued to make risky tackles. Seven minutes after the red card the centre back C. Took caused a penalty by sliding in from behind to take down Davila after the Mexican forward had dribbled past him. Took would receive a yellow, and Davila easily converted the penalty with his inside foot.

Despite being a man down, Almeria were holding Osasuna well and the Basques' fatigued squad produced little in attack. Nono was surprisingly having a great match at RDM, pushing forward when space was available and putting in dangerous long shots that would barely miss the net. In the 69th minute Nono would push forward again, and C. Took would force a foul with another illegal slide tackle as Nono was dribbling past him. The referee showed Took his second yellow, and was sent off. David Ferreiro stepped up to take the free kick since Ulises Davila was off the field, and he struck it wonderfully! He curved the ball around the wall and into the top corner! Impossible for the goalkeeper!

With two men down, Almeria focused on defending and the match produced very little after the second goal. Osasuna took the three points, but Almeria still deserves to be recognized. They may have received two goals, but neither goal came from open play.
INJURY NEWS
Ulises Davila will be out for 9 days with a Bruised Shoulder. Will miss the vital match against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the final match day of the UCL Group Stage.
Champions League - Group Stage
CA Osasuna vs Bor. Mönchengladbach
Perhaps the most important match for Chavez this season. The chance to show that Osasuna deserve to be among Europe's elite, that they were not merely spectators in the competition. In order to do that though they will have to get a win tonight, no exceptions. A win would allow them to tie with Borussia with 10 points on the group table, and pass to the next round on goal difference. A draw or a defeat will do nothing for Osasuna, and they'll be eliminated from the Champions League. It is now or never. There is no tomorrow. The point of no re - you get the gist. Osasuna have hope though, as they'll have the influence of El Sadar on their side tonight, a stadium difficult for anybody to visit.
Real Madrid 1 - 1 CA Osasuna
REA: Lewandowski 18'
OSA: Torres PEN 22'
A difficult visit for Osasuna, Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. This was an important match for both teams though, with the winner of this match becoming the league leader instantly. Real Madrid were the first to make a run for the league leadership with Cristiano Ronaldo making a run down the wing, putting in a low cross into the box and then Roberto Lewandowski finalizing the play by tapping the ball into the open net. Ronaldo's low cross had caused chaos in Osasuna's box and by the time Lewandowski reached it everybody was out of position. Osasuna pushed for a quick reaction, and the opportunity to equalize was given to them by Real Madrid's Pepe. Guillermo had played Palacios through on goal and as Palacios sprinted to the ball Pepe slid in and took him down. The foul looks close. Pepe definitely makes contact with Palacios foot a fraction of a second before his toe touches the ball, but at the same time it's too close to call. There is also the argument that Palacios' run wasn't aligned with the ball making it appear that he looked for Pepe's slide tackle. The referee could've not called the penalty and not many people would think twice about it. Roberto Torres stepped up to take the penalty and the captain outwitted Casillas with his inside right foot.

Both teams looked for the win trying to get the league leadership, but neither were able to break the net again. Madrid were very aggressive in the field though with several hard, but legal, slide tackles taking place during the ninety minutes. It's a wonder nobody was injured. With the draw neither team were able to claim the league leadership as their own, and the top of the table remains tight with Barcelona, Valencia, Real Madrid, and Osasuna all fighting for the summit.
Copa Del Rey - Round of 32 (2nd Leg)
UE Llagostera 1 (2) - (5) 2 CA Osasuna (B-Team
LLA: Rico 7'
OSA: Davila PEN 45' Alonso 76'
This was the first match the B-Team came out with the 4-2-3-1 formation from the start, and surprisingly it didn't work out as well as when they've changed to this formation in the middle of matches. Llagostera, running the same formation, controlled possession and set the pace. Just seven minutes into the match a foul by Vinuesa Ramos was called at the edge of Osasuna's box and the Osasuna fans became tense. Rodriguez, an amazing goalkeeper during open play, tends to struggle with free kicks. Llagostera's Rico kept the reputation going by scoring a wonderful free kick that put Llagostera just one goal away from eliminating Osasuna. If the home side scored just one more time they would go ahead on away goals rule. They were close to doing it until their defender Benito Rey lost his head. Marcos Alonso had beat him on a one on one dribble and as Rey sprinted to catch up to him Alonso used his body strength to keep him away from the ball. Rey couldn't get past Alonso's body and he lost his lead, sliding in from behind and taking Alonso down. The referee called the penalty straightaway and Ulises Davila stepped up to take it. The goalkeeper read Davila well and dove the right way, but Davila's shot still went over him and into the net.

Osasuna's away goal now complicated things for Llagostera. The home side was still on top though as they refused to go down in front of their own fans. Chavez brought in David Ferreiro for Julian Luque in the second half, trying to create more damage down the wings, and it worked out perfectly with Ferreiro quickly becoming a headache for his markers. In the 76th minute he put in a dangerous cross into the box and Ulises Davila wasn't able to reach, but Marcos Alonso cut in from the left wing and rose to head the ball, striking it into the top left side of the net and virtually securing Osasuna's advancement.

Even though Llagostera were eliminated, they still received applauds from their fans as they truly gave a great match. They even controlled possession with 58%, and often times had Osasuna against the wall.
CA Osasuna 3 - 0 Sevilla FC
OSA: Rabello OG 53' Guillermo 56' Lopez 79'
Sevilla had everything to take the lead in the first half as Osasuna struggled to keep them from taking shots on goal. Los Rojillos moved the ball around well but they would usually lose possession as soon as it reached Sevilla's box. Thanks to some incredible saves by Riesgo Osasuna didn't concede and they went into halftime with the 0-0 scoreline, although it was only a matter of time before Sevilla scored. The second half was a different story though with Osasuna getting their first real chance of scoring. Osasuna had their first corner kick in the 53rd minute, and that's when the goals finally arrived. Raul Albentosa had headed the corner towards goal but the ball bounced off the cross bar and back into play. Rabello positioned himself to clear it but before he could reach it the ball bounced off Beto's back, changed directions, hit Rabello's thigh and went into the net. Own goals are always terrible, but this one came right when Sevilla were on top.

Sevilla sought to get back into the match as soon as possible and tried to attack down the wing from kickoff... But Isma Lopez stole the ball! Lopez began to dribble up the left wing with Sevilla's defenders rushing to get back into position and he sent Guillermo a lobbed through pass. Guillermo was tightly marked but all it took was his first touch to get rid of his opponent and be left through on goal. As Guillermo stepped into the box Palacios became on option but he was still marked. Guillermo hesitated but in the end decided to take the shot himself. The wet ground caused him to slip as he took his shot, but he still hit the ball with enough power to beat Beto and extend the lead.

Two goals in three minutes were enough to seriously dampen Sevilla's mood, especially when they had been the better team, and now it was Osasuna who ran the show. The Basques passed the ball around freely and began to find open spaces in what was previously a solid defense. Guillermo was taken off not too long after the goal as he was seen limping on the field. The slip before his goal was causing some discomfort in his foot, and he was replaced by Kenan Kodro on the field. Osasuna wanted to take advantage of Kodro's aerial presence and began to cross the ball more often. Just before the 80th minute youth graduate Romeu crossed the ball into the box but his marker got a touch on the ball and forced the cross to go towards the edge of the box. Kodro got in position to head it towards goal, but noticing that he was too far out for a shot he decided to instead pass it to Isma Lopez with his first touch. Lopez was sprinting into the box from the left and didn't have time to control the pass, so he took his shot first time and beat the keeper with power, extending Osasuna's lead even more!

Sevilla had little motivation left and the last ten minutes went by without much action. A misleading scoreline though, making it appear Osasuna were dominant on the field when in reality Sevilla were the better side up until the 60th minute.
INJURY NEWS
Guillermo will be out for 3 weeks with a Sprained Ankle suffered during the match against Sevilla. There is a two week rest before the end of November, so he will only miss out on one First Team match next month.
CA Osasuna Player of The Month

RM - David Ferreiro (Spain) (68 OVR 29yrs) (B-Team)
Ferreiro came to Osasuna as a starter, but eventually fell off. He was demoted to the B-Team due to inconsistency and then demoted to the reserves. He's been playing well coming off the bench this season, but this month he really made a claim for a starting spot. As soon as he came on to the field you could tell the difference with his quick dribbling and fast feet. After the last B-Team match Chavez began to use Ferreiro with the B-Team during training, while Julian Luque was seen training with the reserves.
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Liga BBVA League Table
1. FC Barcelona - 37 points
2. Valencia CF - 36 points
3. CA Osasuna - 36 points
4. Real Madrid - 33 points
5. Athletic Bilbao - 31 points
6. Getafe CF - 31 points
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7. Malaga CF - 31 points
8. Sevilla FC - 30 points
9. Atletico Madrid - 28 points
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17. Real Valladolid - 17 points
18. RC Deportivo - 15 points
19. Celta Vigo - 10 points
20. Levante UD - 10 points
Liga BBVA Top Scorer
1. Suarez (Barca) - 11 Goals
2. Ronaldo (Madrid) - 10 Goals
Gomez (Bilbao) - 10 Goals
3. Guillermo (Osasuna) - 9 Goals
Champions League - Group H
1. Manchester City - 12 points (+5)
2. CA Osasuna - 10 points (+5)
3. Bor. M'Gladbach - 10 points (-1)
4. Napoli - 1 point (-9)
CA Osasuna Top Scorer
1. Guillermo - 12 Goals
2. Ulises Davila - 7 Goals
3. Isma Lopez - 6 Goals
4. Federico Palacios - 5 Goals
Youth Academy
No New Addition
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December Headlines
UEFA Champions League
Osasuna swam against the current, and in the end they were able to obtain a ticket to the knockout stage. They are really making an impact on this, their first ever Champions League in club history, but the tournament has just entered the most difficult stage. The knockout fixtures have been announced, and Osasuna will be facing one of England's top teams. The Spaniards have struggled against teams from England, being eliminated from the Europa League two years ago by Tottenham and losing to Manchester City this year in the group stage, so the fixture announcement didn't go down well with some of the fans. The team that Osasuna will be facing in the tournament's Round of 16 will be none other than the Premier League 2014/2015 Champions (IRL), Chelsea FC. Chelsea count on an extremely solid defense, and an even more dangerous attack. It will be interesting to see how Osasuna manage against Chelsea's defense when the Basques have had problems getting their attack going at times.
Copa Del Rey
Osasuna's best Copa Del Rey showing under Chavez came in the manager's first season with the club. They reached the final for the second time in the club's history but they lost to Real Madrid. A heart breaking defeat for the Basque fans as they also witnessed their team lose the final to Real Betis in 2005. With Osasuna's recent success in European competitions, the fans are once again dreaming of a Copa Del Rey title and they feel this will be their year. Los Rojillos have advanced to the Round of 16, and their rivals will be FC Barcelona... B. That's right, Liga Adelante's FC Barcelona B and Osasuna will go head to head for a ticket to the Copa Del Rey Quarter Finals. There is also rumors that Chavez has an eye on one of Barcelona B's players and was planning on sending an offer as soon as the transfer window started, but the negotiations for the player have been put on hold as the staff want to see how the player does against them in the two legs. We do not know who the player is, but he will have an unofficial tryout with Osasuna against Osasuna in the upcoming Copa Del Rey fixture.
Transfer Window
The January transfer window is right around the corner and like six months ago we're not expecting many changes in Osasuna. Los Rojillos are linked to only one player, whose identity has not yet been released, but we do know that he currently plays for FC Barcelona B in Liga Adelante. Osasuna's transfer list has been announced though, and there is a couple surprises on it.
CB - Sergi Gomez (Spain) (74 OVR 25yrs) (+0)
Gomez has barely been at the club for six months and he is already on the transfer list. The former Barcelona youth graduate arrived from Celta Vigo on a free transfer but he's had a tough time at Osasuna failing to impress. He has been linked to Everton from the BPL, but it is believed Chavez would rather have him stay in Spain with another club.
CDM - Nono (Spain) (67 OVR 24yrs) (+0)
When Nono first signed for the Basques there were high hopes for his future but, while he has remained consistent, he has failed to develop his game at all. The coaching staff are hoping that some fresh air will be enough to rescue his career.
*RM - Alex Silva Gavan (Spain) (64 OVR 18yrs) (+0)
The wide midfielder recently demanded to be promoted from the youth academy and his wish was granted, however he now finds himself on the loan list.
*CDM - Eñaut Gabbiadini (Spain) (63 OVR 17yrs) (+1)
The recent youth graduate has only made one substitute appearance which is why he has been placed on the loan list. His agent and the coaching staff hope they can find a team that will offer him more game time for the last six months of the season.
Conclusion
Going forward I will post less youth academy players since I feel I am posting too many. I think my academy is full already and I'm posting most of the players. Also most of the players don't even get updates anymore so I'm just posting the same thing over and over again. With the reader in mind, I'm going to post only players with potential of at least 80 and above to make my list shorter.
My personal highlight of this month is no doubt advancing to the Champions League knockout stage! I really thought that the game would make it impossible for me to advance as it was an uphill battle but in the end I was able to get the results I needed. Chelsea will be a difficult opponent though and I'm actually a bit worried going into the match (don't flatter yourself Indi). Another tournament I'm really pushing for is the Copa Del Rey. I've never won it, and ever since reaching the final in my first season I've never reached it again. Four seasons in and I've only won one cup. I don't like those numbers even though it was the Europa League. I'm confident going into the next round against Barcelona B, but I know that eventually I will run into either Barcelona or Real Madrid. I'm hoping it's in the final.
I used the 4-3-3 Attack for the first time with Osasuna in the match against Borussia Mönchengladbach and even though I wasn't really able to hold possession with it we were a lot more dangerous when we had the ball. I'm thinking about keeping that formation as my go-to when we're down on the scoreline or as my main formation in matches where a win is non-negotiable and it doesn't matter how you achieve it. For example the Champions League knockout fixture against Chelsea

I gotta get back to work so that's all for now!
Thanks For Reading!
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