FM14: Athletic Club - Beti Zurekin

[Cedrik]

Football Manager 2014: Athletic Club - Beti Zurekin

Club History

1898-1913

Athletic Club emerged in a Bilbao that was waking up to industrialization. Bilbao, the small mercantile and commercial city circumscribed by the perimeter of the seven streets and Bilbao La Vieja, opened its doors to become a city that welcomes industrial and financial experiences of a diverse nature. There was a railroad, large iron/steel mills, small and large shipyards, metallurgical workshops, mining, chemical plants, banks, cultural and recreational societies, magazines and daily newspapers, along with a very powerful business class.The Bilbao of those years gathered the necessary requirements for a prominent sector of its population to enthusiastically embrace the then novel practice of the 'sport". The development of the sport in Bilbao was neither accidental nor exceptional, it arose in a rather specific geographic and temporary sphere, as a bourgeois and, consequently, urban fashion. The birth and installation of the first gymnasiums in the villa must equally be interpreted as another manifestation of this social dynamism. The Bilbaoan bourgeoisie was a very active social group, enormously attracted to everything that came from Europe, and most especially for everything "English". There had even been talk about the "Anglo-mania" that invaded Bilbao in those years. In addition, Bilbao then welcomed a cultivated foreign colony, whose presence facilitated the integration of habits, fashions and customs until then unknown to our country.

The liking for sports was limited to the Neguri aristocracy and the wealthy Bilbao bourgeoisie: lawn-tennis, regattas, motorcycle races, cycling, "pelota" (hand-ball, Jai-Alai...) and football were the sports par excellence.

With regards to the practice of football, a small newspaper clipping from the Noticiero Bilbaíno gathered, in the year 1894, a challenge that would go down in football history. A local fan challenged the English colony to a football match at the Lamiako grounds. The match was disputed on 3 May 1894 with the adverse result for the locals of six "goals" to nil. But the seed germinated robustly and the Bilbaoans were soon interested in the practice of this sport.

In 1898, a group of 33 sportsmen, among which some met at the Zamacois Gymnasium to practice and talk about football, constituted a team that, without having legal form, denominated Athletic Club, with the definitive Athletic Club founding assembly being held on 5 April 1901 at the Café Garcia. Football was being lived with a mixture of passion and sense of expectancy in view of its novelty. At that time, Athletic's main rival was Bilbao FC. The number of spectators that came by train to the Lamiako grounds was greater each time –sometimes reaching 3,000 spectators-, and rare was the day that the spontaneous field, an equestrian training ground, did not register a full house.

The only thing missing was the organization of important encounters that would allow the Basque team to make achievements. This opportunity came with the first state organized tournament to mark King Alfonso XIII's coronation in 1902. This trophy, the first obtained by Athletic under the name "Bizcaya" with a team made up by players from Athletic and Bilbao, was achieved after defeating "Español" by five to nil, the "New Club" of Madrid by eight to one and "Barcelona" by two to one. In 1903, Bilbao FC decided in its General Meeting to dissolve the Society and merge all its members in Athletic. That same year, Athletic overcame a harsh crisis in which its dissolution was considered. Once those critical times were resolved, successes kept accompanying Athletic: Spanish Champions in 1903, 1904, 1910 and 1911.

Football matches increased and great players emerged, such as Belauste or Pichichi. The grounds, first Lamiako (Leioa) and later 1910 Jolaseta (Getxo), no longer met the appropriate requirements for the practice of a sport whose followers grew day after day. A team that had been champion so many times, with important stars, needed to have a permanent pitch in the city. Under the presidency of Alejandro de la Sota, on 20 January 1913, the foundation stone of the new Athletic Club stadium was set in the lowlands of San Mamés, being inaugurated seven months later, on August of that same year. Athletic and Racing of Irún faced-off. The match ended with a 1-1 draw. Seve Zuazo had the honour of the initial kick-off and Pichichi of being the author of the first rojiblanco goal in the "Cathedral".

1913-1928

The inauguration of San Mamés was the prelude of a series of accomplishments which lead Athletic to be considered the best team in the State. They not only had an enviable squad, their nickname the "lions" came from this era, but also had the best coaches imported directly from England. Mr. Barnes who was merited with encouraging team work, improving player performance, obtaining a more polished technique and, most importantly, instilling discipline among the players. With these bases, a luxurious and formal team, it was not strange that sporting achievements soon became a reality. The achievement of the original trophies of the Regional Championship and Copa after the successive victories in 1914, 1915 and 1916, was the reflection of a job well done. That was the team immortalized by Jose Arrue: Ibarreche between the posts, Solaun and Hurtado forming an iron-clad defence, the tenacity of Eguía, the colossus Belauste who imposed his presence in the midfield as did his brother Ramon, or the unsettling forward line made up by Iceta, German, Apón, Zuazo and Rafael Moreno, "Pichichi".

Spectators followed the matches with a sense of expectancy, but most especially the championship games between Basque teams, primarily, Arenas de Getxo, Racing and Sporting de Irún and Real Sociedad de San Sebastián, and those organized at Christmastime against foreign teams, which gave the opportunity to study other "football schools". The rojiblanco fans were easily accustomed to victory and the latter en masse greetings. Few could imagine in mid 1910 that difficult times were imminent for the Bilbao team, by having to face teams that had, covertly, professionals among their ranks.Athletic took five years to win another title. In the 1919-20 season, the Regional Championship was once again conquered, and with a renewed team, the Copa championships of 1921 and 1923 were achieved.

The 1920s also earned Athletic's players international recognition. The occasion was at the famous Antwerp Olympic Games, where the Spanish national team won the Silver Medal with a significant rojiblanco representation, made up by Jose Mari Belausteguigoitia, Sabino Bilbao, and Rafael Moreno "Pichichi", Txomin Acedo and Sesumaga. Athletic had its head office in "La Alcazaba" and a social structure of over 2,000 members. These were times of change. Professionalism was an indisputable fact, football was starting to be considered the reigning sport for spectators, and the Liga (League) was on the verge of being born.

1928-1937

The 1928-1929 season went down in history as the first Spanish football League while the 1929-1930 as the first double rojiblanco triumph. At first, the birth of the regularity tournament was the subject of harsh criticism, faced with the idea that the event could bore fans due to the accumulation of matches; nothing further from reality.This competition soon left behind the interest provoked by regional championships, friendly matches, European tours, etc., to become a point of reference each season. A League which had started out with ten teams, the nine that had previously disputed a Copa final (the Basque teams of Arenas de Getxo, Real Sociedad, and Real Union of Irun, the Catalans F.C. Barcelona, RCD Español and Europa, and the Madrilenians Real Madrid and Athletic Club Madrid), in addition to the champions of a knock-out competition between the teams provisionally designated to form the Second Division (Racing de Santander).

Coinciding with the start of the Liga, the rojiblanco club reunited one of the better squads in its history which, without a doubt, which achieved more victories: 4 League titles, 4 Copa, 6 Regional Championships and 2 Basque Cups. We are talking about 16 official titles in 8 years. It was a time of victories and records, some of which have not been broken to date. A truly glorious and intense stage in Athletic's history, that launched its members into football stardom, as well as their coach Mr. Pentland, along with Blasco, Castellanos, Urkizu, Garizurieta, Mugerza, Unamuno, Lafuente, Iraragorri, Chirri, Bata, Gorostiza, Roberto and Cilaurren, are still prevalent in the memory of the fans.

It was a team made up by, as would be the standard, members from Athletic's lower ranks and home-grown Biscayan players. That's how the following were drafted: Blasco (1926) from the Acero, Unamuno (1927) and Roberto Echevarria (1928) from Alavés, Lafuente (1927) and Bata (1929) from Barakaldo, Gorostiza (1929) and Cilaurren (1932) from the Arenas...with Chirri (1925), Garizurieta (1927), Ispizua (1928) or Iraragorri (1929) coming from the Athletic reserves team.The English "Mister", Fred Pentland, deserves a separate mention as part of this great team; the manager who, in his two phases (1922-1925 and 1929-1933), obtained the most official titles for Athletic Club, 12 altogether. With his cigar and bowler hat, he was an authentic celebrity in pre-war Bilbao. This team did not play together very long, in any case, the historic forward line of Lafuente, Iraragorri, Chirri, Bata and Gorostiza, the physical qualities of the great defence Leonardo Cilaurren, or the guarantee Blasco the goalkeeper -all of them internationals-, remain in the memory of fans.

By this time, football was already something completely professional, Athletic players received an average of 750 pesetas a month and 20 duros (5 pesetas) for each match won. Only the great Carmelo Goyenechea (who retired after the 1928-29 season) continued as an amateur, anachronistic reflection of past times. The team's pace was fundamental to the economy of the Club, money was only received via fees and tickets, therefore, in the glorious season of 1929-30 a surplus of 172,482 pesetas was obtained which the Board of directors destined to the expansion of the San Mamés grandstand by 400 spectators. Subsequently, more difficult years arrived, in which the Board of Directors invented the Day of the Club (General Assembly of 22 July 1932) so as to not have to sell its talents. Spectators continued attending San Mamés. By 1934, the club already had 4,044 members.

The end of this cycle was quick, abrupt, and definitive due to the war, while the desired transition between generations did not take place due to the conflict.

1937-1954

The war, inevitably, struck the Bilbao Club with force. It was not a time for leisure activities. The military mobilization affected Athletic players, in San Mamés funds were collected to fight the insurgent army, like that "pro-aviación Euzkadi" match of 1937; those are the years of the European and American tour by the Euzkadi national team... Of the 3000 members the club had before the civil war, they dropped to 587; in a country where phrases such as "ration cards", "evacuation" and "exile" were minted, it was difficult to reorganize the team. However, little by little, "the return to normality" prevailed.Perhaps, one of the greater accomplishments in Athletic's history has been to successfully achieve the complete renovation of the team after the war. The great champion team prior to the conflict was dismantled after the war, and it became necessary to create another that would be able to attain the same sporting accomplishments as its predecessors. Only Gorostiza, Oceja, Unamuno, Garate and Urra were still donning the red-white jersey. The system for recruiting new players was the organization of a tournament among teams from Biscay that had at least five members younger than 17 years of age. The wealth of the Biscayan cantera (youth teams) was soon validated, seeing that from this competition, figures such as Bertol, Panizo, Arqueta, Gainza, which Zarra or Iriondo who were to be included shortly, arose. This spot on policy of signings lead to Athletic being able to form one of the most successful and remembered teams in its history. Similarly the reappearance of the team made the members return, as there were 1500 members registered for the 1940-41 season.

The promises soon became real, and the postwar period team won nothing less than 5 titles (the 1942-43 League and the 43, 44, 45 and 50 Copas), as well as being runners-up on 6 occasions (3 Leagues and 3 Copas). As a result Athletic got back on track, connected with its supporters, as shown by the spectacular welcomings with which they were received, and were considered the Copa Kings having made it to 7 finals in 13 years. In the words of famous journalist Monchin, "the final will be played between Athletic and another team".

This is the time of the great rojiblanco forward line (Iriondo, Venancio, Panizo, Zarra and Gainza), although it would be unfair to forget the rest of the magnificent team: Lezama, Oceja, Bertol, Ortuzar, Mieza, Arqueta, Ortiz, Garate, Celaya, Unamuno... It was therefore a great team where teamwork was prioritized but in which the great quality of some individualities also stood out: Zarra, the best goalscorer in the history of the League, 6 times Pichichi -top goalscorer- and authentic social phenomenon, Panizo the player who changed the conception of football in Bilbao, Gainza the fireproof winger...

On the other hand, the competitions were becoming more and more demanding. The League went from twelve teams in the 1939-40 season to fourteen in 1942-43 and sixteen in the 1951-52 season. Also, the first foreign players (Kubala, Ben Barek, Di Stéfano...) began to arrive. During these years the most radical and definite transformation was made in San Mamés with the construction of a new storey in the main grandstand which was now without any columns and with just one icon which would become the symbol of the field as of the 1952-1953 season: the 'san Mamés Arc".

1954-1973

The 1953-54 season was considered by the specialized press as the "The decline of the Gods". It was truly a time of transition, but soon figures as important as Arieta, Carmelo Uribe, Mauri, Maguregui...began to strengthen; names that assured the continuity of a champion team.Once again the generational gap took place without any problems. Still present was the extraordinary game of the eleven comprised by Lezama, Celaya, Oceja, Nando, Bertol, Mieza, Garate, Iriondo, Venancio, Zarra, Panizo, Gainza... when another great team was created, the "Eleven Villagers", thanks to the wealth of the Biscayan cantera (youth teams); that of Carmelo, Orue, Canito, Garay, Mauri, Maguregui, Arteche, Marcaida, Arieta, Uribe and, again, the great Piru Gainza.

It is the team of Fernando Daucik; the one that won a League (1955-56) and two Copas (1955 and 1956), the one that officially debuted in European competition and disputed the electrifying match against Manchester United in the European Cup, and the one that won the 1958 Copa, without the Czech as coach, against the powerful European champion, Madrid, at the Bernabeu. All in all, a team that brought joy to the red-white fans in the 50s and who added to the sporting curriculum of the Club.

During the two decades to follow that is the sixties and seventies, one of the most unfairly treated stages in Athletic history took place. Yes it's true, that there were not so many triumphs as in the past (the 1969 and 1973 Copas were won and the 1969-70 League Cup and the 1966 and 1967 Copas were held up high), nevertheless, this was a period when a definite step to get behind the cantera (youth teams) was taken. The (1961) Youth team was officially created and Bilbao Athletic (1964) made their reappearance. The opening of the football academy in the installations of Santa Maria de Lezama (1970), allowed for the promotion of the youth teams" policy to be signed in gold letters. Here the future was planned starting from the lower-division teams, work which went unmentioned, not so eye-catching but equally important as the work done by the premier team, which would guarantee the sporting achievements that the premier team were to obtain in the future.

The good work being done with the lower division teams were soon to offer its rewards and thus, in addition to the triumphs harvested by the Youths (they won the Copa from 1962 to 1967), soon afterwards they would join the Athletic players, a player who stood out was Txetxu Rojo. Txetxu, after having played with the Youth team for 2 seasons became part of the he professional team in 1965/66 season and remained there until the 1981/82 season and is the second player who has played the most number of matches in Club history.

If Txetxu Rojo was considered to be a charismatic player, what can be said about another legendary Athletic figure: Jose Angel Iribar Kortajarena, 18 seasons (from 1962/63 to 1979/80), with a match record of 467 League titles, 93 Copas, and 55 European Competition titles. A top goalkeeper who continued in the footsteps of the great Athletic goalies (Ibarreche, Vidal, Blasco, Lezama, Carmelo), and who have made that position a special one for the fans.

With regards to San Mamés, during this period some important changes were made giving the stadium a similar appearance to the one it has today. The Southern Stand was built in 1957, the Northern in the 1961, lights were installed in 1964, and the Eastern Stand was inaugurated in 1972. If we include the changes made as a result of the 1982 World Cup the final result would be the current stadium.

Therefore, a crucial period in which the Club's structures were completely modernized, which allowed the club to compete on equal terms against the rest of the teams who counted on 'support" such as having two foreign players in their side following the 1972-73 season. It was in the year 1973, when Athletic celebrated its diamond anniversary. 75 years of sporting unity at the service of Basque Football.

1973-1998

After the diamond anniversary and after having won their twenty-third Copa title, many people had already perceived that the path Athletic were taking would become more and more difficult in light of the course this sport of the masses was taking. If in the past one could count on one hand the number of foreign players in Spanish football -the well-known controversy of native players over nationalized ones-, well after the 1972/73 season, each team had the possibility of having two foreigners in its ranks, a fact which meant a substantial change to Hispanic football, however, today this number may seem ridiculous.It started with the signing on of these two foreign players and then went on to the free signing on of European Community players in accordance with the Bosman Law, as well as the inclusion of four Non-European Community players in the starting eleven line up in the 1996-97 season, only 24 years have gone by since then. An incredible step forward, let's not forget, for a sporting competition. Step by step things got more complicated in order to maintain the red-white philosophy, and although the debate regarding the maintenance of this philosophy was talked about in the streets in the mid-90's, the supporters, in general, reacted by sustaining this policy of support to the youth teams.

A time of major transformation when football became a source of daily news, the permanent centre of attention for the fans and the general public and was considered "public property". Change is the word that best defines the last decade of XX century: Champions league, a world-wide league is spoken about, biennial World Football Championships... The clubs of yesteryear are now companies, the budgets through the roof, the out of the ordinary benefits becoming increasingly more important and necessary... It's safe to say that there has never been so many organizational innovations made in football history, not even in the 20's when a choice had to be made between professionalism and amateurism.

With reference to the sport only, the League was becoming more and more competitive increasing the number of matches bit by bit, with eighteen teams in the 1972-73 season, twenty in the 1989-90 season, and twenty-two in the 1995-96 season, a far cry from the ten founding teams of the 1928-29 championship. More and better players are demanded by the big teams, which implied the signing on of new players... and changing with the times without altering the essence of the club.

In spite of the difficulties, Athletic achieved some amazing feats, like being runners-up in the Copa and the UEFA in 1977, and, especially, the titles in 1980's, the prodigious years of the Clemente era, with victories against some of the best players in the world (Maradona, Schuster, Hugo Sanchez, Stilike...), which allowed an entire generation, to sing the Alirón song for the first time. Years of Leagues and Copa triumphs, of barges... from joy and overflowing euphoria which seemed endless.

On the other hand, after so much success and Clemente's departure, the 1985-86 season took a dangerous turn dividing the masses because of the signing on of players, the new generation switch which was much more difficult than expected, and the unusual coming and going of Club coaches (ten all in all from the 1985-86 season to the 1995-96 season). The positive aspects of the "post-Clemnete" period was the sensation that Kendall caused in Bilbao, the game deployed by Heynckes, that magical night against Newcastle, the debut of players like Alkorta, Urrutia, and, especially, Julen Guerrero, who was the captain during this decade.

With greater stability, Luis Fernandez then took charge, revolutionary for the team and the fans, in 1998 Athletic had the honour of being the first club in first division to celebrate its 100th anniversary, which was topped off with the club being the League runners-up of that season.

Concerning the institution the club's new song (1983), the receptions on the barge, the inauguration of new Club Headquarters at Ibaigane in 1988, and, mainly, the celebration of the Club's Centenary should be highlighted.

1998-2013

After the hangover as a result of the Centenary celebrations, the club was runner-up in the 1997-98 league season, and then participated in the Champions League the following season, and then Fernandez's reign came to an end in 2000. Later two well-known people, Txetxu Rojo, and Jupp Heynckes were to sit on the bench, and in the 2004-05 season the team made it back to Europe, via the UEFA, under the guidance of an ex-player Ernesto Valverde.After Valverde had left, the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons were the darkest in Athletic history, breaking almost all the negative records of the club. Tremendously difficult times not only on a sporting level (the most negative of all the times in the standings as far as the league is concerned) but institutionally speaking with resignation of President Fernando Lamikiz as well.

This black two-year period is now behind the club and, at the moment, the team is coached by Joaquin Caparrós, a young team, with top footballers, where the generational changing of the guard is taking place without any major traumas, and where people from the youth teams (cantera) in Lezama are being got behind. It is also during this time, after years of negotiations with local political institutions, that a vital project for the viability of the club has been crystallized: the construction of the new San Mamés Football Field, which will commence in 2009.

That Club, which was founded more than a century ago in the image of the English clubs, is now an organization with more than 33,000 members. A Club which is famous for upholding a peculiar trait which was published in an article in its day by the French sports newspaper L'Equipe, when defining the club as a "unique case in the history of football world-wide". This peculiarity is none other than maintaining the tradition of having Basque players, or players from the Basque Youth teams, a policy which has enabled the Club, throughout its entire history, to be at the top.

Joaquin Caparrós' first season at the front of the team is a calm season, in which we must highlight the convincing victories in Mestalla or Vicente Calderón. Ends up in eleventh position in Liga, with 50 points, and reaches the quarterfinals in Copa, where Racing brings down the rojiblanco team. The 2008-2009 season will always be remembered for the Copa Final that Athletic Club disputes in Valencia against FC Barcelona. After 24 years, Athletic once again reaches a final and Bilbao and Biscay in general bend over backwards for the team. The end result is not in our favour, but the memories are unforgettable for the whole rojiblanca family.

In Liga, the team did not maintain enough regularity to feel relaxed and there were some complicated moments. But after defeating Betis in San Mamés, four days before disputing the final, salvation was unequivocal. Josu Urrutia is elected president of Athletic Club and with him comes along Marcelo Bielsa as Manager. The season is memorable since the team reaches a European final for the second time in its history, leaving behind unforgettable qualifying rounds against United, Schalcke or Sporting de Portugal. In the final, Athletic is defeated by Atlético Madrid in Bucharest.

Athletic also reaches the Copa final. And once again the rival is FC Barcelona as occurred three years earlier in Valencia. It did not happen but at least the team was able to classify to dispute the Europa League qualifying rounds. In the Liga, in the end the team suffered the consequences of the effort it had to make of disputing three competitions and finished the season in tenth place on the table. Once the season ended, Igor Gabilondo, Koikili Lertxundi and Aitor Ocio were no longer part of the club.

The 2012-13 season, the last one in the old San Mamés, will not be remembered positively in a sporting aspect. The team was saved from relegation on the 36th matchday, it was eliminated from the Copa by a Second B category team, Eibar, and in Europa League they were eliminated in the group phase by Olymique de Lyon and Sparta of Prague. When the season came to an end the contract of Marcelo Bielsa and players like Fernando Amorebieta, Fernando Llorente, Igor Martinez and Xabi Castillo were not renewed.

- Athletic Club in FM 2014: -

I am not really in the time of screening all the players individually, but each of you can do that own their own after starting a game I suppose. Some basic information about Athletic as followed:

As with the leaving of Javi Martine one year ago and Fernando Llorente a few months ago, Athletic lost probably their two main star players, the only one left is Iker Muniain who is in real life having some struggle to find good for at the moment. Also you have the availibility of Ander Herrera and Susaeta who are some great players. In the defense is the highly talented French Basque Aymeric Laporte and the only real downside of the team is imo the exaggerated underrating of Oscar de Marcos. Ibai Gomez will serve you on the wing of some nice stuff, but he isn’t of real world class potential like for example Muniain is.

Overall the squad is decent, but not great. And with the rule of only signing Basque players you do have real challenge a head of keeping up with other teams like Atletico and Valencia in the La Liga and Barcelona and Real Madrid will probably be the best of you in the first two seasons, of course, never say never …

Stadium:

[/b] Full name: San Mamés

Location: Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain

Coordinates: 43°15′51″N 2°57′01″W

Broke ground: 26 May 2010

Opened: 16 September 2013

Owner: San Mamés Barria, S.L.[1]

Operator: Athletic Bilbao

Surface: Grass

Construction cost: 218 million € ($283 - ₤186)

Architect: César Azkarate, Mikel Sanz de Prit

Structural engineer: ACXT Idom

General contractor: UTE Estructuras San Mames

Capacity: 53,332

Field dimensions: 105 × 68 m (344 × 223 ft)

Athletic just moved to their new San Mamés, same name as the old stadium

Training ground:

[Cedrik]

Reserved for future stuff

[mackaber]

Nice to see a Bilbao thread going up. I always tend to start them as one of my first saves as they present a true challenge and make for a fun long run career and this year is no different and actually more so as your best player has left the club and most top Basque players seem out of reach as they are all signed for top European clubs.

In my first season I struggled heavily early on but managed 5th in the league thanks to a stellar 27 goals from Aduriz (I was playing mainly a rigid 4-2-3-1). Second season has been extremely rough early on with the team unable to cope with 2 games a week almost every week and us falling as low as 15th in the league. Now in February we've dug ourselves out of the hole and sit at 7th but have already secured Euro Qualification by virtue of meeting Real in the Cup final. The permanent switch to 4-3-3 and Agiretxe as the main striker has seen us stabilize our performances somewhat.

As I'm currently deep into my second season I have a few thoughts to share on the squad, tactics and possible future transfers. After one and a half seasons of tinkering I've settled on a 4-3-3 with the following starting line up:

GK Ruffier (Signed from St. Etienne for a measily 5.5 million--> You don't necesarily have to snap him up this early but he is better than Iraizos at the start of the game and Iraisoz isn't getting better, with Ruffier you don't have to worry about the GK position for the next 5 seasons which is good as you will have to find a good regen)

CB San Jose Lapporte (a very solid pairing backup in Exiza and Etxeita is not good enough imo)

FB Ramalho Aurtenexte (Both returned from loans and have put in solid performances to date)

DMC Ituraspe/Rico/Gurpegi (Not really happy with any of these 3 so I rotate them depending on opposition)

MCs Herrera Benat (Prolly the best part of the team but they really need a DMC behind them)

AMR De Marcos (Locked away in the second team and transfer listed at the start of season 1 he has outperformed both Susaeta and Ibai Gomez who both look much better on paper)

AML Muniain (duh...he and Lapporte are your brightest stars for the future and neither should ever be transfered out)

STC Agieretxe (Signed from Sociedad for 6.5 million, he's okay as a TM support and I'll likely have rely on him as my main striker for many years to come Sola provides adequate back up)

As to transfers I'm hoping I can bring in Inigo Martinez from Sociedad and retrain him to DMC, but looks like they are not gonna part with him for anything less than 30 million upfront (his release clause). I could have signed Monreal but his age dissuaded me and Aurtenexte has done the job at left back very well. Griezman has signed for Monaco, Arteta extended his deal at Arsenal to 2017, Aczipuleta moved from Chelsea to Juve for 25 million and is earning 5 mio per year so he's off my radar now as well, Illarmendi was transfer listed at Real but I couldn't pay his salary and they wouldn't let me loan him. Young Ruben Pardo is a man to keep an eye on but currently moving for him makes no sense as he wouldn't make the first team. Overall there's a number of decent player you can get from Sociedad if you want.

The difficult situation on the transfermarket has forced me to rely on my youngesters and to try and extend the careeers of my veteran players. After his bombastic last season (in which he was already physically declining) 33 year old Aduriz is no longer up to first league football and Agiretxe has replaced him sooner than I would have liked. Iraloa is also declining in skill rather quickly but still sees regular action asa central midfielder where he does a good job. As to youngsters. Besides those listed in my first team there are two young guns at the club that are seeing plenty of first team action this season one is 19 year old Right back Exteberia whom I rotate with Ramalho and who will likely surapass the former given 1 or 2 more seasons and the obvious ruiz de galerta who is a great backup to Herrera and might sooner or later take up Benat's place in the starting eleven. I also have 3 promising regens who might begin to see first team action in a season or two.

[eple]

Thanks for taking the time to create a thread, Cedrik!

I'm in my 8th season with Athletic. I do one game with them on each FM-version. It's my favorite team to play with.

I was expecting it to be really difficult, seeing as Llorente had buggered off, but the quality of the mid table teams in La liga is really lacking.

First season I finished 3rd using a 4411 with Muniain buzzing around Aduriz. Aduriz caught me by surprise.. excellent striker with great PPMs. He ended up being a club icon and an excellent youth coach at the club. For points I fininshed a long way behind RM and Barca, but was able to sign Azpilicueta for £8.5m midway through. Biggest players for me were Laporte, Muniain, Aduriz, Gomez and Azpilicueta towards the end.

At the start of the second season I signed Ruffier for £4m as a long term replacement for Iraizoz. I also got 3 players in through the youth academy that later would become key players, and I snapped up quite a few talents from other clubs, 4 of which has become key players. And one, Jordi, a striker signed from £200k from Prat reached the value of £54m by the time he turned 21 and has regularly scored a goal a game for me. That being said, I finished 3rd with less points then the first season, but managed to progress to the first knockout stages of CL for some extra £££.

In the 3rd season I signed Agirretxe. He was a major flop and was shipped on two years later. I managed to sign Arteta too, who later got the captain's armband and played until he could no longer run at the age of 36. I also tried getting Llorente, who was now only a rotation player at Juve. At first they wanted £120m, but by the time January came around I got him for £12.5m. A superb replacement for the aging Aduriz. I had to max out salary and bonuses, but it was worth every penny. Since then Llorente has scored around 160 goals in 210 games with an average of 7.80. He is still on the first team sheet whenever he is fit at the age of 35 and 8 months. That season went really well but even though I finished on 97 pts, RM got 100 points. I was easily beating every team except the two big ones, but RM were just as consistent. I stumbled my way through to the final of the CL somehow, but lost to Real Madrid there too.

4th season I changed tactics to a direct 442. Everything set up to go down the flanks and hit Llorente with crosses. I had a few pacey young strikers coming through and they were used as an AF next to him to stretch the defence and grab the odd goal on counters. I had a worse season then last in terms of points, but RM hit a really bad patch towards the end, and in the final match I secured the title by beating them 4-1 at home! In CL I was beaten by Chelsea in the semis after a penalty shootout.

Since then it's been one success after another. So far I've won the league 4 times and CL twice. It's been tight every year, but generally I edge the other two by being more consistent. I have £200m in the bank and a wage budget of £4m pr week, with £65m to spend!! No one to spend it on though

My 25 man first team squad consist of 5 players that I've gotten through my own academy, 4 of which are key players and the other looking like he will become a future great. Then I have Llorente, Azpiliecueta, Herrera, Laporte and a big surprise from me: Iker Undabarrena, who has turned out to be a really excellent midfielder. Aside from that they are all regens snapped up from other clubs. Laporte is a club legend and Llorente an Icon. I'm hoping he can become a legend before he retires.

This year I finally unsettled Javi Martinez and he asked for a transfer, but Bayern were asking for £71m for him and that way too much for a 32 year old!

I'm a little bit worried about the future as I will be forced to change tactics when Llorente becomes inefficient or retires. I have only gotten quick strikers through and I have a bundle of attacking central midfielder, with no idea how to use them. Chances are I will for a possession based 4231 or something similar. Maybe even a 3412, although I have an excellent right back from my own academy that I'd still like to use.

[Falahk]

good to see that there is now a thread will probably start my save soon

[Bethay33]

Thank you for sharing, let me a good understanding of the history of football

[enders357]

I always have an Athletic save but haven't started one yet this year. Kind of find the idea of it without either Martinez or Llorente kind of daunting. How are you all finding the striker situation? I can't think of anyone good enough to take it on long term (Iker Hernandez maybe?) so I guess you're reliant on the cantera?

[mackaber]

Top class Basque forwards are definitely a rarity. I bought Agiretxe from Sociedad and he's my first striker. But really he's a good player for midtable teams but he's not gonna cut it at Champions League level as his play is too limited. I'm pretty sure he's gonna be my first choice striker for the next 4-5 years so I'm gonna have to make him work. Last season he

scored 20 in 40 games which is okay but he's been on a long drought this season from the start.

I also picked up Iker Hernandez on a free and hope he develops, but really he's more of a straight poacher (with despicably low work rate and teamwork) and as I prefer playing lone strikers I generally tend to prefer Target Men or ideally complete forwards. As neither are in sight and Agrixette due to his limitations might be better served in a 2 striker system I'm gonna have to see if I can set up a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-1-2 over the next years. I'm pretty sure Munian can play up front as well (I find he's most dangerous at AMC) however I'd rather not play him as a lone striker either as FM tends to produce plenty of long balls forward no matter how you set your tactics up.

So unless you get lucky on Regens this will be a problem area for many years to come. As I feel that the striker is usually the most important player on the pitch this is a big issue. A good strategy for dodging this is signing non-Basque youngsters as this will greatly increase the likelihood of finding a potential world beater. Myself I'll stick with the challenge of not having a world class forward...

[enders357]

I used to retrain Muniain as a forward on FM13 and it worked pretty well. Could be even better now there's a False 9 option built in to the game.

[ctingcter]

I went with Bilbao as my first save on this years game (usually I start with Man Cit, my favoured team andit lets you get used to any changes in the game fairly easy) and to my surprise it went very well!

I finished 3rd in my first season (no prizes for guessing who came 1st and 2nd), with an unlikely leading goalscorer, even managed to be top goal scorer in La Liga...I present to you

Sadly in the second season he has been largely useless!

[lewis999]

How does the top scorer in La Liga only have 16 goals? How does Messi, Ronaldo or even Bale or Neymar not get that themselves with the big two scoring 40 like they do in real life.

[dinthead]

Had a great game with Bilbao on FM13 which I highly enjoyed, I will definitely be having a game with them on this years at some point, but I'm enjoying my Rangers save at the moment.

[ctingcter]

I've just looked into that...Cristano Ronaldo is listed on La liga history page as having won it last year with 30 goals. Am I missing something very obvious with that news story? Ah I just realised, he won the award for top SPANISH goalscorer. Feel very stupid now.

[Manden]

How does the top scorer in La Liga only have 16 goals? How does Messi, Ronaldo or even Bale or Neymar not get that themselves with the big two scoring 40 like they do in real life.

He is top SPANISH league goalscorer. Meaning top goalscorer of the players of spanish decent. So Messi, Ronaldo et al are not on this list, since they are not spanish.

EDIT: ha I posted at the same time as ctingcter

[lewis999]

Ahhh that makes so much sense now:D was thinking, "I wish I got lucky enough for them both to get 9 month injuries at the same time" Haha!

[Swordsman]

is the regen any good ?

[basqueliverpool]

thought this might be good for any one interested in athletic or anyone looking for motivation for a career challange

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lnblhgpu2mxfwku/Athletic%20Club%20Bilbao%20Study%20Visit%202013.pdf

[MileyCyrus2g]

Always tempted by a bit of Athletic Bilbao every year. Though sadly, never got any saves really going. But thought I'd give it a go this year. Would have been nice to see an analysis of the squad, I have my own ideas, but could be nice to compare, and potentially get some ideas out of it.

What interested me most is that it seems people are picking up Ruffier as a GK. Sure, he's the best guy available to buy at the start of the game, but is it worth it to buy him? Iraizoz is good for at least a couple seasons, I don't know why, but the guy is just a legend in goal, I've never been let down by him, and Arrizabalaga seems to have some good potential.

I always start with no transfer budgets at the start of the game, because I prefer to have the squads as they are, as much as possible. So I never even had the option to pick him up. Part of me is tempted to try to pick up Ruffier in January, and loan out Arrizabalaga, and the other part is tempted to wait until I get regens in over the Summer and see if I get any promising young GKs through.

Anyone had any experience with Arrizabalaga?

[Swordsman]

its tough to manage Altheltic unless signing under 18 spanish players and hope they will turn into gold with training and match time.

[Falahk]

its tough to manage Altheltic unless signing under 18 spanish players and hope they will turn into gold with training and match time.

not really, there is enough good basque players coming into the game to keep you going

[TacticalGenius]

u16 Spanish players, fwiw.

And this thread is poor. Just a c+p from Wikipedia. Next time, let someone passionate about the club do the thread...

[Wilson7]

What's the youth system like here? Anyone had good success with new players

[bowieinspace]

I play as Athletic every year on FM. I'm currently in 2021 on this years version, so far I've won La Liga twice, Copa del Rey a few times and got to the final of the champions league for the first time last season (sadly losing in the final to a last minute winner).

Personally when I play as Athletic I won't sign any under 16 Spanish players unless they are native Basque. Athletic wouldn't sign spanish 16 year olds without any basque family or background in real life, so it feels like cheating to be honest being able to do it on the game. It certainly adds a much more difficult challenge to the save, because if you can cherry pick the best spanish youth players you can be winning everything within 4-5 years without too much trouble. If you chose to do the save the way I do, then you just have to be really active scouting the incoming youth players into Osasuna and Real Sociedad's youth teams. However you often do end up with difficult positions...I've been blessed with a solid selection of attacking talent, but defensively and with the goalkeeper in particularly I've struggled to find a decent basque prospect.

Although the 'original team' are getting to the point of being a bit too old now, I still have Muniain, Ander Herrera and Ibai Gomez, as well as young RB Markel Exteberria. Ibai was amazing every season but now at 31 or 32 has been replaced by more promising regens. I signed Ruffier, but he got knee tendonitis and is sadly only a 2 1/2 star player now...none the less he's the best I have, marginally better than Kepa Arrizabalaga who improved quite well. I also signed Monreal, Inigo Martinez and Agirretxe, but Griezmann and Illaramendi were both difficult to get until I didn't need them anymore. Azpilicueta falls into that category as well but sadly I still couldn't get him or Javi Martinez even if I wanted to!

I find Athletic saves are such a great long term challenge and I like to stay at one club so perfect for me! If anyone wants to discuss playing with them feel free to reply here or PM me.

[bowieinspace]

What's the youth system like here? Anyone had good success with new players

Excellent youth system but you need to make a few staff changes upon arrival as the HOYD isn't all that great (or he wasn't on my save at least). I hired Bernhard Peters to fill that role and I usually get intakes which include 1-4 players who could do a good job in the first team by the time they are 18 19 or 20. Right now my squad which reached the CL final last season (2020/21 season) had 21 out of 25 players considered home grown at club

[yCymro]

Just had a play test with Bilbao and must say Markel Susaeta is an absolute monster, been really impressive in my second season.

[Falahk]

seams I will be having some left back issues yet again Balenzaiga tore his calf muscle, out for 4 moths and his important physical atributes have already started to plumit just a couple of weeks into the injury

[Deego619]

Muniain is a whiny git. Has Dortmund and PSG sniffing around him and wants to move to a bigger club. Saw this coming so I got him to sign a 5 year deal at the start of the save. Up yours Iker.

As for the left back issue, I retrained Inigo Perez to play there. Probably as good as you can get until De La Bela/Monreal.

[kobos550]

Am I the only one who played Enric Saborit as a left defender? He's so amazing. Best rating in the team.

[Deego619]

Am I the only one who played Enric Saborit as a left defender? He's so amazing. Best rating in the team.

He wasn't my first choice, but did a decent job when he came in. Good if you like a wing back formation I guess.

£29m bid for Muniain from PSG 2nd season. Tempted.

[kobos550]

I used a 4-1-2-2-1. He was amazing. Dont sell Muniain. I am at the start of the 4th season and 48M Bid. and 38M for herrera

[Sears]

Playing with Bilbao as well - currently in December 2019. So far I've won the following:

2 Spanish Cups (2014+2019)

1 League Title (2018)

1 Europa League (2018)

1 Champions League (2019)

1 Club World Championship (2019)

1 UEFA Super Cup (2019)

Runner up in the league in 2016, 3rd place in 2014, 2017 and 2019. Finished 5th in 2015.

Trying to break the dominance of Madrid + Barce is insanely tough - they BUY all the best talent.

I've €191 million in the bank, a transfer budget of €147 million and my wage budget is €2 million but I'm only spending €1,4 million of that!! Easily the best FM save you can have, sooo enjoyable.

Not trying to talk up this site my here's a story of my save so far:

http://www.footballmanagerstory.com/forum/topic/2252-athletic-bilbao-double-double-toil-and-trouble-fire-burn-and-caldron-bubble-shakespeare-end-of-201819-season/

[Falahk]

£29m bid for Muniain from PSG 2nd season. Tempted.

you probably cant buy a better player anyway, so its better to keep him around

As for the left back issue, I retrained Inigo Perez to play there. Probably as good as you can get until De La Bela/Monreal.

yeah, I also used Perez a fair bit on the left, when I needed rotation for Saborit

[TacticalGenius]

Started a save here, as I always do annually. Long story short; first season, spent nothing, finished third, 2 points behind Real but a good way behind Barcelona. Got a good young striker in intake, who became youngest player and goalscorer in league/club history. Second season, we've drawn Benfica, Juventus and Besiktas in the UCL group stage. Will update as I continue.

[john1]

Playing with Bilbao as well - currently in December 2019. So far I've won the following:

2 Spanish Cups (2014+2019)

1 League Title (2018)

1 Europa League (2018)

1 Champions League (2019)

1 Club World Championship (2019)

1 UEFA Super Cup (2019)

Runner up in the league in 2016, 3rd place in 2014, 2017 and 2019. Finished 5th in 2015.

Trying to break the dominance of Madrid + Barce is insanely tough - they BUY all the best talent.

I've €191 million in the bank, a transfer budget of €147 million and my wage budget is €2 million but I'm only spending €1,4 million of that!! Easily the best FM save you can have, sooo enjoyable.

Not trying to talk up this site my here's a story of my save so far:

http://www.footballmanagerstory.com/forum/topic/2252-athletic-bilbao-double-double-toil-and-trouble-fire-burn-and-caldron-bubble-shakespeare-end-of-201819-season/

Impressive trophy collection! Any good regens?

EDIT: Castela look immense!

[john1]

Pre season – Athletic Bilbao

Pre season

Pretty happy how our pre season went. Was annoyed that we didn't beat Sporting CP which their first goal was offside and officials missed it.

Transfers

I haven't brought anyone in, as I felt we got good players in the U's19. Only one left which was Aduriz to CSKA Moscow for 1.6M.

I will update monthly

[Deego619]

13/14

La Liga - 4th

Spanish Cup - Final (2-3 Barcelona)

14/15

La Liga - 4th

Spanish Cup - 1/4 Final (1-3 Valencia)

Champions League - Best placed play off round (3-4 Manchester City)

Europa League - Last 16 (1-5 Porto)

Team looks a lot similar to the starting one, with the exception that I've sold Herrera and Muniain to make things even tougher and force me to rely on bringing youth through. Ruiz de Gallerreta is a beast if you develop him right, both footed playmakers get me everytime . Laporte is also a player i'll never sell, such a tank at the back!

Already have a nice bunch of regens, Miki/Mancisidor/Matín/Nunez (so desperately want a "Santiago Munez" regen ) came from the academy.

[Deego619]

I haven't brought anyone in, as I felt we got good players in the U's19. Only one left which was Aduriz to CSKA Moscow for 1.6M.

I will update monthly

Can't believe this! Aduriz is a god for the first season or two, scored something like 36 goals in 68 games for me so far , completely out plays his stats and has good PPMs to tutor yougsters with. Ah well, you probably think I'm nuts for selling Muniain and Herrera too .

[john1]

Can't believe this! Aduriz is a god for the first season or two, scored something like 36 goals in 68 games for me so far , completely out plays his stats and has good PPMs to tutor yougsters with. Ah well, you probably think I'm nuts for selling Muniain and Herrera too .

I thought Aduriz looks poor and his wage is too much, sold him to get the wages down.

You're definitely crazy for sellin Muniain and Herrera

[Jogo Bonito]

Given how difficult it is to sign any Basque players, I'm surprised either of you sold anybody! I've never managed Athletic, but curious to know how/where does the transfer centre block you from buying non-Basque players?

[dino]

Given how difficult it is to sign any Basque players, I'm surprised either of you sold anybody! I've never managed Athletic, but curious to know how/where does the transfer centre block you from buying non-Basque players?

This is what happens when you go to sign a non-Basque player.

[Deego619]

Given how difficult it is to sign any Basque players, I'm surprised either of you sold anybody! I've never managed Athletic, but curious to know how/where does the transfer centre block you from buying non-Basque players?

Go for it, it's a really fun and challenging save. That's before you sell anybody .

Usually the "unrealistic transfers" tick filters out all the non basques/unrealistic basque signings (Illarmendi/Alonso etc.).

[Jogo Bonito]

Thanks dino, I always wondered at what stage (and how) that happened.

@ JDeeguain: I've never managed in Spain despite currently living here. I've considered all sorts of clubs: top flight, second flight and even lower. I've considered Barca, not for what they are now, but for creating a new generation (after a season or two of fun with world class players). I can't help thinking it's probably too easy, and if Messi doesn't score 40+ goals I'd probably find it unrealistic. I considered Espanyol, for logistical reasons, Valencia because I was a strong admirer of them 10-15 years ago, Atletico because I really like their squad, and lots of clubs relegated from BBVA like Depor, Mallorca etc. I've even looked in to other interesting clubs like Tenerife, Oviedo and Racing, but still haven't found the right one to start with.

I'm currently having a blast with Saint-Etienne, but I will seriously consider Athletic when the time comes as I've vowed to finally manage in Spain on FM14.

[TacticalGenius]

I'm currently having a blast with Saint-Etienne, but I will seriously consider Athletic when the time comes as I've vowed to finally manage in Spain on FM14.

You really should, as the importance of youth development, and the excellent facilities, make it a very fun and varied save. There's no real established players worth buying, and with newgens being random, each save is far more unique than most other club saves, especially early on.

[dino]

Just started a save with Athletic. Started the season with a 3-3 draw away at Valladolid. Slightly annoyed because we were 3-1 up.

Thinking about putting the transfer budget (not much of it) into wages and see if I can renew Herrera's contract. I want to increase his release clause.

[john1]

August 2013 – Athletic Bilbao

La Liga

We started the season with away to Valladolid, We took the lead thanks to Guillermo in 10th minutes. He could have doubled it but missed the target. Susaeta was giving them hard time and eventually doubled our lead to 2-0 in added minutes of 45th minutes. Disappointed we didn't go for another goal in second half despite we had chances to score.

We welcome our rival Osasuna to our place, Susaeta grabbed his second goal in 2 games by fantastic strike in 19th minutes. Guillermo could have also grabbed his second goal but Arribas diverted Muniain's cross into his own net. Again we still couldn't score in 2nd half.

I wasn't expecting miracle against Real Madrid. I decided to go for 4-1-2-2-1 and instructed players to close down Ronaldo always and straight away it wasn't working as he scored 2 goals to give them 2 goals lead at half time. I changed formation to 4-2-3-1 and it seems to work as we had chances to 2 goals which would have gave us hope to snatch something in the end, our keeper parried Di Maria's shot into Benzema's path to put the game to bed

[john1]

September 2013 – Athletic Bilbao

La Liga

We started September month with a bang, 5-1 win over Celta. Could have scored more as we had 7 CCC.

We faced RCD Espanyol at their place. David Lopez got straight red card in 19th minutes as they went down to 10 men afterwards, since then, we dominated the game.

We face Betis at home, I put Iker on bench and played Gomez in his place. Got MOTM and 2 goals. Could have scored a hat trick if his shot didn't hit the post! We loss concentration in last minute which they scored.

Really not happy with our loss to Granada, Laporte made a mistake which led them scoring first. Their second goal was pure luck, We dominated and dominated in second half and couldn't get past Roberto which he got MOTM at the end.

No doubt if we beat Granada, we would be on Barcelona's arse.

[basqueliverpool]

have torn my knee ligaments so have perfect chance to start a new save as athletic. Do people keep the same backroom staff? going to try and sign just basque newgens and keep it more realistic. looking forward to the challange

[john1]

have torn my knee ligaments so have perfect chance to start a new save as athletic. Do people keep the same backroom staff? going to try and sign just basque newgens and keep it more realistic. looking forward to the challange

I got rid of director of football, few coaches/physio/scouts and HOYD. And brought in good coaches/scouts and HOYD.

[Jean0987654321]

Had to bring in some coaches. Hard to do.

[marcftm]

I've just started and completely wiped out every coach bar the assistant manager and one fitness coach.

What formation is everyone using?

Won my first game 3-1 away at Valladolid, drew 3-3 at home to Espanyol after Mikel Rico managed to get booked twice inside the first six minutes, still threw a 3-1 lead away but would have took a draw after five minutes. And have just drew 1-1 at the Bernabeau where I didn't get battered surprisingly in quite an even game. Don't really rate Aduriz or Torquero up front so currently playing this formation

Working quite well so far, Muniain doing the business so far, 4 in 3.