FM2009 - Official Athletic Bilbao Thread

Athletic Club is a Basque football club from Bilbao in Biscay, Basque Country. The club has played in the Primera División of La Liga since its start in 1928. They have won La Liga on eight occasions.

They are known as the Rojiblancos or Zurigorri because of their red and white striped shirts and as Los Leones because their stadium was built near a church called San Mamés (Saint Mammes). Mammes was an early Christian thrown to the lions by the Romans. The lions refused to eat Mames and he was later made a saint. The San Mamés Stadium is hence nicknamed "the football cathedral".

The club is known for its cantera policy of bringing young Basque players through the ranks, as well as recruiting top Basque players from other clubs.

Athletic only signs professional players native to one of the seven Basque provinces: Biscay, Guipúzcoa and Álava, Navarre; and Labourd, Soule and Lower Navarre in France, although in recent times some players born in Cantabria and La Rioja, close to the Basque Country have played for the team. This has gained Athletic both admirers and critics. The club has been praised for promoting home grown players and club loyalty.

History

Bilbao FC, Athletic Club and Team Bizcaya

Football was introduced to Bilbao by two distinct groups of players, both with British connections; British steel and shipyard workers and Basque students returning from schools in Britain.

In the late 1800s Bilbao was a leading port at the heart of an important industrial area with iron mines and shipyards nearby. It was the driving force of the Spanish economy and as a result attracted many migrant workers. Among them were miners from the north-east of England, and shipyard workers from Sunderland, Southampton and Portsmouth. The British workers brought with them (as to so many other parts of the world) the game of football. In the early 1890s these workers came together and formed Bilbao Football Club.

Meanwhile, sons of the Basque educated classes had made the opposite journey and went to Britain to complete their studies in civil engineering and commerce. While in the United Kingdom these students developed an interest in football and on their return to Bilbao they began to arrange games with British workers. In 1898 students belonging to the Gymnasium Zamacois founded the Athletic Club, using the English spelling. In 1901 a meeting was held in the Cafe Garcia which established more formal rules and regulations.

In 1902 the two Bilbao clubs formed a combined team, known as Club Vizcaya, in the first Copa del Rey. They returned with the trophy after defeating FC Barcelona in the final. This would lead to the eventual merger of the two clubs as Athletic Club de Bilbao in 1903. In the same year Basque students also formed Athletic Club de Madrid. This club later evolved into Atlético Madrid. The club's foundation date is a subject of debate among football historians. The club itself declares 1898, but others claim 1901 is the true founding year. There is also a strong case for 1903.

Club colours

Equally debated, is the origin of the club colours. Although their first colours were blue and white stripes, in 1910 they switched to red and white stripes. There are three schools of thought about why this occurred. The most common theory is that they were changed out of deference to Sunderland and Southampton, cities where the original British founders were from. [1]. Another is that an Athletic member was sent to the Britain to buy a batch of blue and white tops but could not find any and returned with red and white tops instead. Perhaps the most credible theory, however, is that red and white striped tops were the cheapest stripes to make because the same combination was used to make bed mattresses. The left over cloth was easily converted into football shirts. Although both Athletic Bilbao and Atlético Madrid started out with blue and white stripes, the discovery of a cheaper option probably persuaded them to change. The Madrid club did it first and they became known as Los Colchoneros - the mattress makers.

Athletic are one of the few clubs who do not have the logo of an official sponsor emblazoned on their kit. However in the UEFA cup and the Copa del Rey of 2004-2005, the shirt sported the word "Euskadi" in green in exchange for hundreds of thousands of euros from the Basque Government[2] (red, white and green are the Basque colours). This policy will be changed for the three seasons starting on 2008, where Athletic will play with the logo of the Biscay-based Petronor oil company[3] in exchange for over 2 million euros.

CLUB INFORMATION

Founded: 1898

Major Rivals: Real Sociedad, Osasuna

Other Rivals: Alavés, Real Madrid, Barcelona

Club Legends: Zarra, Julen Guerrero, Dani

Clubs Icons: Sarabia, Urzaiz, Urrutia, Etxeberria, Heynckes, Zubizarreta, Karanka

Media Prediction: 11th

Club Captain: Etxeberria

Squad Personality: Highly Ambitious

CLUB FINANCES

Finances: Secure

Estimated Value: €74M

Transfer Budget: €6M

Wage Budget: €1.476.305M p/month

STADIUM AND FACILITIES

Ground: San Mamés

Capacity: 40000

Training Facilities: Top Training Facilities

Youth Facilities: Excelent Youth Facilities + Youth Academy

SQUAD

Hi all...i created this topic, since athletic Bilbao is 1 of the most challenging teams to manage.

So i hope to have some feedback and suggestions on how to achieve success with such a special team.

Good Luck

Nice start.

Also, imo, the only way you can achieve success is by keeping hold of Javi Martinez at all costs.

Any other basque players that are good enough to sign?

Xabi Prieto!

Just starting up as athletic now, anyone had long term success as them or is it unsustainable?

Think Xabi Alonso is Basque but doubt he will be willing to sign for the club, Real Sociedad might have some decent players that can be raided from them (like Prieto).

what year is it that Etxeberria will play for free? and is this included in his contract in the game?

Etxeberria will play for free the next year (2009-2010).

Have just started playing this as my career game so will take them as far as possible but getting good Basque players will be hard as my Asst manager does not really rate the current side hence 2 have departed already along with half the coaching staff whilst I rebuild for any future challenge's. Transfer window is closed now so all the players have a chance to prove something to me but found a really good 19 year old left back in one of the reserve teams so he is now first choice left back.

I have currently won all my pre-season games by massive scores and just defeated Malaga 2-0 in my first league game so it will be interesting to see how an Englishman does with a Basque team and just how far I can take them.

Just started up with them now i've got a fairly solid 4-4-2 working ok (pain in I backside!). Currently 5th after 8 games but playing especially well recently. I imagine you get very rich in a couple of years as there's less tempting players to buy.

I'm into February of my first season with Athletic and it's a great team to manage. Of course it's a different challenge from other clubs for obvious reasons.

I didn't make any new signings other than a couple of really promising attacking regens who I've got high hopes for.

The year started off brilliantly, going undefeated in the first seven games and sitting in first place above Barca and Real Madrid. The goals dried up though (LLorente just can't score for me...only has 7 so far) and a number of not so great results leaves us in 7th spot in the league. Was knocked out of the Copa del Rey by R. Madrid in 1/4 finals.

I'm really hoping we can make it into Europe next season and maybe one of the better Basque players (Raul Garcia, Arteta maybe) will have some interest in coming along for the ride. Oh yeah, Javi Martínez IS the heart of this team and I already have to fight off bids from the likes of Atletico Madrid. Lucky I've got him on a long contract with a very high min. release clause!

How are you finding this challenge?

How does Llorente do for you?

In my Getafe game he has always been one of the top scoreres in the league getting 25 goals a year usually.

hey guys, been wondering how people have been coping with the transfer policy?

first two games and two 1-0 wins also dominated possesion so im happy Daniel Aquino is gonna be brilliant already top of my first team and only 18

As far as I know, Daniel Aquino is not Basque. He was born in Murcia (southern Spain) and has Argentinian listed as his other nationality. I also could not find anything online about him being Basque in any way. Maybe someone actually knows for certain? I almost signed him as well but would not feel right signing any non-Basque players.

My save was going brilliantly - finished 5th in La Liga, found some amazing regens and had a brilliant left winger brought into my academy. Then my laptop died and the game was completely gone. Not happy.

I've since started up again and am currently in 4th, but it's still early. Sign César Azpilicueta! He's a great young right back. Arteta wants to join but he'll cost a lot. I signed Garrido who always has a high rating, as well as Xabi Prieto who the fans love. Javi Martínez is the key to the team though and he develops very quickly. Hang onto him no matter what!

Ulixes, I believe they made the rule so that you could sign people who aqcuired their skills in the Basque region, too.

As far as I know, Daniel Aquino is not Basque. He was born in Murcia (southern Spain) and has Argentinian listed as his other nationality. I also could not find anything online about him being Basque in any way. Maybe someone actually knows for certain? I almost signed him as well but would not feel right signing any non-Basque players.

My save was going brilliantly - finished 5th in La Liga, found some amazing regens and had a brilliant left winger brought into my academy. Then my laptop died and the game was completely gone. Not happy.

I've since started up again and am currently in 4th, but it's still early. Sign César Azpilicueta! He's a great young right back. Arteta wants to join but he'll cost a lot. I signed Garrido who always has a high rating, as well as Xabi Prieto who the fans love. Javi Martínez is the key to the team though and he develops very quickly. Hang onto him no matter what!

my geography for spain isn't great so im not 100% but im playing with Athletic and i could bid for anyone in the Murcia youth team.

The funny thing aswell is that as soon as i signed Aquino his "other Nationality" status said Argentinian and Basque?!

ive actually found Susaeta to be an awesome prospect aswell (only 20) so i might look out for him in future projects

Well, maybe Mista is right and that's why one can sign Aquino. I won't argue if it means I don't need to feel quilty about signing him!

Susaeta is a great prospect, you're right, and he plays all over the midfield. On my 'lost' save his stats really improved a lot in the second season.

Now I'm off to sign Dani Aquino...

I think there are quite a few basques in Argentina (and South America in general) so it would be fair to suppose an Argentinian would have some Basque heritage.

Dont know what the deal with Murcia is though.?

I think there are quite a few basques in Argentina (and South America in general) so it would be fair to suppose an Argentinian would have some Basque heritage.

Dont know what the deal with Murcia is though.?

it must be something to do with Basque. There jurisdiction cant be that small as there are some players from France you can sign aswell

Well, the French players I can understand because the Basque lands extend into France. Aviron Bayonnais in France are located in the area and have French-born players also listed as Basque. Bixente Lizarazu (former Athletic, Bayern) and Didier Deschamps are two pretty famous French Basques.

How is your save going at the moment?

I'm doing pretty well after six games I'm 4th. 1st 3 games I got 3 consecutive 1-0 wins and my last to games were draws so still undefeated at the moment!

Struggling to get llorente to score though

I had the same trouble with Llorente, until around December. Now in mid-March he's got 18 goals and 7 assists in 32 apps (league + cup).

My save is going insanely well at the moment - a distant 2nd in the league behind Barcelona....also just knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Barca. Iraola, Martínez and Prieto have been great for me. I just hope I can hold on for a spot in the Champions League!

I just hope I can hold on for a spot in the Champions League!

That would be a great acheivement first season hope you get it

Just finished my first season in charge of Athletic Club de Bilbao and finished 3rd, behind Barcelona and Real Madrid. Barca lost 1 match in the league and finished with a +68 goal difference.

GK: Iraizoz - He was very solid all year long, picking up 10 clean sheets along the way.

RB: Iraola - 4 goals + 9 assists....a great attacking option from the back.

LB: Garrido - one of my first signings and an absolute rock at LB. Not much of an attacker compared to Iraolo, but defensively very solid.

CB: Amorebieta - great CB who offers a couple goals a year as well from corners. Pick up 2 red cards this year though.

CB: Ocio + Ustaritz - these two rotated with one another throughout the season and were both solid. I have an amazing 17 year old regen as well who might be playing with the first team very soon.

CM: Martínez - God! Brilliant, flawless in every way and nominated for player of the year. 14 goals + 15 assists from centre midfield and only 20 years old. Every other team wants him, but he seems loyal enough and I am listed under favoured personnel.

CM: Gurpegi - Solid all year long, chipping in with a few goals and assists. Orbaiz and Murillo also played quite well in the centre.

AMR: Xabi Prieto - 9 goals + 11 assists from the right side....a great dribbler and penalty-taker. Happy I picked him up from R. Sociedad.

AML: Yeste - Pretty much the same as Prieto on the other side. Can not complain. Susaeta played a lot for me on both sides and has a great future at this club, probably replacing Yeste on the left.

Striker: Llorente - finished with 25 goals + 8 assists and only got stronger as the season went on. I replaced my other strikers with Kepa (Getafe) and Aquino (both in January), who performed well. Kepa started 11 games and scored 8 times, while Aquino started 18 scoring 7 and assisting 7.

The champions league awaits us next season! Hopefully we can perform just as well in the league next season and at least get through to the knockout rounds of the CL.

Possible signings: Arteta, García, Azpilicueta.... I can probably only afford one of them.

Arteta is a brilliant player I would go for him if you can get him. Is Llorente the only decent striker in the starting squad?

Where does Arteta play best? On the right or in the centre?

I play with two strikers and only bought Kepa and Aquino in January. Kepa seems like good backup, whereas Aquino's stats are very impressive already for an 18 year old. I think he'll develop into a very good striker. Obviously options are limited with who I can go out and buy! Luckily the spine of this team is very young. Here's hoping my great academy can produce some more quality in the future.

i just found out that you can bid for camacho from athletico aswell

Hm.....I can find nothing about Camacho being Basque (or Basque trained) either. I think I'll just stick with the ones I am certain on, even if it makes it more difficult!

I'm very pleased with some of my new youths though! Two strikers that have the potential to "far exceed" Llorente's current ability, a GK who could far exceed Iraizoz' ability, and another great defender.

On the negative side the board gave me almost no money (although I could shift wages), so I think Arteta is beyond my reach.

what sort of tempo are you guys playing? Because the team has very little pace so im trying a slower tempo but have been very iconsistant recently.

Beat espanyol 3-1 away and then lost 1-0 at home on the return leg and thats suming up my season at the moment

nice to see some people having ago with athletic how are you guys finding it with them ? surley buying players is going to be kind of tough

luke.smith: I'm playing with a medium tempo, short passing, and with good width. Yeste and especially Prieto (and Iraola) put in a lot of great crosses for the height of Llorente, Martínez and Kepa. Javi Martínez plays with a free role in centre mid with a farrow and very attacking. At home I ALWAYS play attacking with a normal defensive line, not matter against Barca or Sporting. Away from home I play less attacking, although not defensive, with a deep back line.

Wilson7: This is the most enjoyable save I've had in a long time! Part of that is BECAUSE it's hard to find great players to buy. You have to look to your own youth and scout for others, and then develop them. But there are great players to buy if you get enough cash and are appealing enough to tempt them: Xabi Alonso, Mikel Arteta, Manuel Almunia, Raúl García, Stéphane Ruffier, etc.

Damn....now Barca are enquiring about Javi Martínez.

Sounds good might try it when i finish with villarreal good luck guys

luke.smith: I'm playing with a medium tempo, short passing, and with good width. Yeste and especially Prieto (and Iraola) put in a lot of great crosses for the height of Llorente, Martínez and Kepa. Javi Martínez plays with a free role in centre mid with a farrow and very attacking. At home I ALWAYS play attacking with a normal defensive line, not matter against Barca or Sporting. Away from home I play less attacking, although not defensive, with a deep back line.

Wilson7: This is the most enjoyable save I've had in a long time! Part of that is BECAUSE it's hard to find great players to buy. You have to look to your own youth and scout for others, and then develop them. But there are great players to buy if you get enough cash and are appealing enough to tempt them: Xabi Alonso, Mikel Arteta, Manuel Almunia, Raúl García, Stéphane Ruffier, etc.

Damn....now Barca are enquiring about Javi Martínez.

thanks for the reply ulixes. I might try a more attacking tactic because im stuggling in alot of games to create chances even though im getting more possesion in nearly every game its very hard to play a balanced slow tempo tactic in this game because evey drops back and theres no pace to counter on a plus yeste has been awesome on the left for me.

Im just starting a game with Athletic as i wanted to try something different.

Doesnt seem to be a lot of quality at all. Defence is quite shocking, and theres no one who can pass the ball. On this basis I'll probably be going for a 4-3-3, controlling the posession and hopefully getting some decent crosses into the box.

People have mentioned Aquino and Prieto. How much did you pay for them?

The defence might not look that great, but they performed well enough for me (40 goals against in 38 league matches). Left back looked weak so I brought in Garrido who was rock solid defensively. Didn't offer much going forward though. Iraola at RB was good enough defensively but really good as an attacking fullback (4 goals + 8 assists). Amorebieta is a very good CB.

Prieto cost me 4.7M and Aquino cost 3M. You might be able to get them cheaper though. I sold López, Garmendia, Casas, Del Olmo, Lafuente and eventually Munoz.

Javi Martínez' stats will sky rocket. His passing is insanely good for me...always finding Llorente or Aquino alone with only the keeper to beat.

And Aquino also improved a lot since I bought him in January, especially after I had him learn from Llorente.

Good luck with Athletic - it's a great challenge!

ive changed my tactics to a more attacking one and my team is doing alot better now had 3 wins in a row and got a 1-1 draw with an in form Villarreal, which i should have won.

so it's going much better now and i currently sitting in 5th with Javi Martinez with 3 goals in 3 games

On a negative note still having problems getting llorente to score he has played 12 games now and only 3 goals

I think I mentioned before but I also had those problems with Llorente, until about Dec. or Jan. Finally he ended a long drought and then could not stop scoring game after game.

Do you play him as a lone striker or with a partner up front? I had to give him a partner because he was getting isolated a lot by himself.

no he's got a partner which is Aquino who seems to be getting most of the shots but want Lorente to play on the shoulder of the defender more on but i feel he is dropping too deep at the moment.

anyone found a decent replacement for iraola because Valencia are hot on his trails and now he wants to leave

Azpilicueta from Osasuna is a very good young RB, although he will cost a bit. Where do you play Iraola? RB or RW? Season 2 and i have Azpilicueta, Prieto and Iraola for the two positions - Prieto AMR and Azpilicueta RB, with Iraola playing both positions. They have all been ridiculously good so far.

Azpilicueta from Osasuna is a very good young RB, although he will cost a bit. Where do you play Iraola? RB or RW? Season 2 and i have Azpilicueta, Prieto and Iraola for the two positions - Prieto AMR and Azpilicueta RB, with Iraola playing both positions. They have all been ridiculously good so far.

Yea i saw Azpilicueta just after i posted lol. I play Iraola at RB with him pushing forward whenever possible, i play Susaeta on the right and Yeste on the left.

Yeste and Llorente are my top scorers, yeste has been amazing on the left and Llorente has hit form at just the right time.

Aquino is probably my key man at the moment. When he is not playing my team just doesn't play so him being injury free is key.

I am currently sitting in fourth place, which i am very happy about. Barcelona have run away with the league and 3rd to 8th there are only three or four points between those places so the champions league spots are very tight.

Hows everyone else games going?

Has anyone got anything out of David lopez? Cause on my game i couldnt have a worse player lol

I'm really thinking about starting a game with Athletic but need to clarify something. You can sign non-Basque players and they gain the Basque nationality automatically?

No they can only sign Basque players. Most of them are Spanish/Basque, a few are French/Basque.

You can filter by Basque nationality, filtering out unrealistic signings also does the same thing.

just got to the Spainish Cup final beat Villarreal on penalties, got Real Madrid in the final so will probably lose but a final in my first season is a good result.

Also fourth in the league at the moment with 10 games to go to still trying to clinch onto a Champions League spot but its very tight for those places.

Hows everyone else's games going? (If anyone is actually still playing as them lol)

Yes, I'm still playing, although I took a little break for a couple of weeks.

I'm very early into my 2nd season and hoping that I might be able to break into the top 2 by the end of the year. In the Champion's League I've been drawn in a group along with Liverpool, Dortmund and Zenit, so I am assuming we'll have enough to get that 2nd spot behind Liverpool. I've already beat Zenit 1:3 away from home.

The squad looks like it has a lot more depth than last year, with the addition of Azpilicueta....Iraola has been amazing as an AMR so far as well. Aquino will not stop scoring, and I've got a lot of great youths in the u19s.

David Lopez was not good enough and I sold him in the first season!