This isn't Spain. This is Catalonia, and we will be Top Dogs

[SRL88]

Going along very well in the league and well in the title race. Great pity that defeat to Real though.

Another Copa del Rey final aswell - super work. Good luck against Barcelona.

Cheers fella.

We are having a fantastic season no doubt. Our football is fantastic, we are set to finish in the top three once again. Yet more Champions League football next season, another cup final and probable Champions League Quarter-Final this season. Really pleased.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - U.E. Sant Andreu - March 2020

Liga BBVA

Another very good month, which although featured a draw I didn't want, we remain well and truly in the title race going into the last eight games of the season.

Having tasted defeat for the first time this season in our last encounter we travelled to Mallorca and a blistering start had us three goals up inside twenty five minutes. Thrilled at half-time I asked for more of the same from the lads but we just seemed to switch off and that allowed Mallorca to pull two goals back in the second half. As they pushed for a third late on we hit them on the counter to seal the game with our fourth, but that didn't hide my disappointment at our second half performance. After that scare we managed to tighten things up against Atletico Madrid and pick up a very good win. A goal in each half in what was a tight game allowed for us to pick up a 2-0 victory. Our only 'failure' this month came at Las Palmas. I changed the side and it came back to bite me as we failed to pick up the win. We dominated the game and really should have been out of sight by half-time. They scored before the hour mark and even after that it was all us, but it was an off-day for our strikers as we were held to a 1-1 draw. Another fine first half display saw all of the hard work out of the way against Celta Vigo with all three goals coming before the interval. They did pull a consolation goal back late on, but it had no effect on the game. We rounded the month off with a very solid win at home against Villarreal. Resting many players, I was pleased we picked up all three points.

UEFA Champions League First Knockout Round 2nd Leg

Job done as far as I am concerned.

We controlled the game but it wasn't a vintage performance. The only goal of the game came late on thanks to a well-taken Alfonso Ibarra goal.

In the Quarter-Final we have been given a really good draw against Benfica, giving us an excellent chance of going even further. The only other side I would have taken at this stage would have been PSV, so I am very pleased with the draw.

[kontermann]

Still going strong. CL quarters are already in the bag I´d say

[deltablue]

Exciting times, getting the title won't be easy but you can probably be close, and great CL run going on as well.

[SRL88]

Still going strong. CL quarters are already in the bag I´d say

Definitely in the bag .

Exciting times, getting the title won't be easy but you can probably be close, and great CL run going on as well.

Cheers fella .

[SRL88]

2019/20 Youth Intake

Next

[AK22]

Well, that was a pretty **** poor intake! Surely, it's about time you got a half decent youngster through?

[SRL88]

Well, that was a pretty **** poor intake! Surely, it's about time you got a half decent youngster through?

It would be nice, but it doesn't seem like it is coming any time soon .

[SRL88]

We head into our second Copa del Rey Final in a row as slight second favourites which is testament to the club and shows how far we have come so quickly.

[SRL88]

Copa del Rey Final

How we got to the Final

We had a really good run to the Final and suffered just one defeat along the way, something I was really pleased about.

Our campaign kicked off with a comfortable victory against Cartangena before suffering our only defeat in the first leg against Atletico Madrid. That defeat was overturned comfortably with a very good 4-0 win in the second leg. We faced equally tough opponents in the Quarter-Final in the form of Valencia but a brilliant first leg display put us in complete control of the tie. Although we weren't at our best in the second leg, we managed to battle to a draw on the night to see out the tie and move into the Semi-Final. We did a thoroughly professional job against Sevilla with a single goal victory in the first leg giving us the lead. We did what was needed in the second leg to win on the night 3-1, 4-1 on aggregate to book our place in the Final.

Starting Line-Up's

Joel was given the nod in goal, something which I felt was fair given that he had played every match en-route to the Final. Otherwise there were no surprises really as I had possibly my strongest eleven available.

The Final

vs. FC Barcelona

It was a tight game in terms of goals, but we fell to a narrow defeat against our closest rivals.

We weren't at our best throughout the game which was a shame and the majority of our chances came after falling behind. Barcelona were the better side for large periods of the game and that finally told in the 77th minute when Florian Thauvin scored with a far-post header. We pushed hard after that and had some good chances, but the best of those chances came from the penalty spot with the very last kick of the game. Score that and the game would have gone to extra-time, but their goalkeeper pulled off a good save to confirm our 1-0 defeat.

[deltablue]

Tough luck losing so narrowly.

[SRL88]

Tough luck losing so narrowly.

Yeah it was slightly frustrating, especially having missed an injury time penalty, but it just wasn't to be.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - U.E. Sant Andreu - April 2020

Liga BBVA

We go into the final month of the season still with a chance of claiming the title, but with both sides above us I can't help that two disappointing draws will ultimately cost us.

We absolutely battered Cordoba but we had an off day in front of goal as we just couldn't break them down. We then followed that up with another draw when we really should have seen the game out. A first half goal gave us the lead, and although we had chances, as the game wore on we became more and more nervous and in the 93rd minute we paid for it when we conceded an equalising goal. We did manage to follow that up with a cracking victory away to Athletic Bilbao. We produced yet another blistering first half display with four goals, two each for Ruben and Osnar Noronha before the former added a fifth and his hat-trick not long into the second half. The month rounded off with another nervy display, but a much changed side managed to score two goals in the final fifteen minutes to give us a hard-earned three points.

UEFA Champions League Quarter & Semi-Final's

Well, we're out, but I am absolutely delighted with where we got too.

Our first half display in Portugal was absolutely fantastic and a single goal lead was the least we deserved. In truth though, we really should have been a lot more than one goal. It came back to bite us in the second half because having not put them to bed, they came out massively improved in the second half and managed to level the game and grab themselves a draw, although we still had the advantage. Our second leg performance was equally as good and a goal in each half gave us the victory.

That set up a tie against Man Utd in the Semi-Final and sadly it was a step to far for us. A first leg defeat was what cost us over the two legs and unfortunately our performance wasn't the best either. Man Utd battered us and deserved their three goal lead. I was pleased that we put in a much improved performance in the second leg and we managed to pull a goal back before the break. We kept pushing but were caught on the counter attack and an away goal killed us off and we lost all fight after that.

Copa del Rey Final

A narrow defeat in the Final as it just wasn't our day. We weren't at our best and didn't really turn up until Barcelona took the lead in the 77th minute. We had some brilliant chances after that, none more-so than a stoppage time penalty which we failed to convert.

[Rikulec]

Amusing to see a guy named Raul as Barca's striker.

[SRL88]

Amusing to see a guy named Raul as Barca's striker.

Could have been worse I suppose .

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - U.E. Sant Andreu - May 2020

Liga BBVA

Not the most convincing end to the season, but an end which enabled us to finish in the top three once again and automatically qualify for the group stage of the Champions League.

We were by far the better side against Espanyol and should have won by more. A very early goal gave us the lead but despite dominating for the rest of the half we went in level at the break. We came back out and pushed for the winner and managed to find it just before the hour mark. Our performance against Malaga was average at best. Neither side however got going and all chances came from distance as neither side really threatened. We put in another average performance in our following game against Real Sociedad, and despite an early goal giving us the lead we could only manage a 1-1 draw. The season did round off with a win however as we dominated Real Betis. We were always comfortable in the game and Betis scored from the penalty spot late on with their only effort on goal.

[SRL88]

Translated into 'Young Player of the Year Award', I am very pleased to see one of our players claim the award. Not only that though, we took a clean sweep as well.

[SRL88]

Awarded to him by the Spanish press (doesn't actually mean he was top goalscorer in the league), it is a sign of an excellent debut season.

And that debut season was rewarded with a place in the Team of the Season.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - U.E. Sant Andreu - Season Review - 2019/20

Liga BBVA

Results (Aug - Dec) - Results (Jan - May)

League Performance: 3rd

Another third place finish, but we were brilliant all season suffering just one defeat. I am not deflated at all because the two sides above us were also brilliant. Our total points this season would have been enough to win the title last season.

We had eleven draws throughout the season which cost us in our bid to claim the title, some of which were disappointing (Cordoba, Granada) and some of which were very good points to have picked up (Valencia, Barcelona), so all in all, no real complaints. Our one defeat came away to Real Madrid and even then we didn't really deserve defeat. We kept the pressure on both Madrid and Barcelona all season long but we faded a little towards the end of the season when we had a lot of games to play in the latter months.

UEFA Champions League

Competition Performance: Knocked out in Semi-Final

An absolutely superb display in our debut season in Europe's elite competition.

Admittedly we were given favourable draws all the way to the Semi-Final but we still had to dispatch the opposition in front of us. We suffered just one defeat in the Group Stage as we topped our group, that being on match day one away to Juventus. We picked up some very good wins in the process before working our way into the Semi-Final. Sadly, Man Utd were just too strong for us over the two-legs as we exited the competition.

Copa del Rey

Competition Performance: Runners-Up

For the second year in a row we reached the Final, but unfortunately we couldn't claim our second Copa del Rey title in a row. We had a pretty tough run to the Final once we dispatched of Cartagena but managed to make things look pretty comfortable. After losing the first leg to Atletico Madrid we put four past them in the return leg and then put four past Valencia too. We managed to comfortably beat Sevilla over two legs to set up a tasty tie against Barcelona in the Final. Unfortunately we didn't really turn up on the day and it took until Barcelona took a 77th minute lead for us to start playing. We had a stoppage time penalty save which would have taken the tie to extra-time but we couldn't take it and lost the game 1-0.

Supercopa

Competition Performance: Runners-Up

No real complaints to be fair. Both legs finished goalless and it came down to a penalty shoot-out which we weren't able to win.

Squad

The improvements to the squad are helping us as we continue to bring in players of better calliper. It is becomming difficult to see where we can improve things much, but there will likely be a few changes.

Transfers - Finances

We had a big season transfer wise, spending a lot of money but also managed to bring a decent money into the club with some decent sales.

The finances are looking fantastic which is really down to playing Champions League football.

Player of the Season

1st - Ruben - To be scoring 28 goals in your debut season at the club, at the age of just 21 is the sign of a brilliant season.

2nd - Antonio Jesus Donoso - There were players who performed better than him overall this season but it was definitely a coming-of-age season for him with some brilliant displays. His league performances especially were pleasing.

3rd - Antonio Luis - What a brilliant player we have on our hands here. Considering he cost just £700k he is an absolute gem.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Season   | League           | League Position  | Champ. League | Europa League | Copa del Rey  | Notes                          |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 2013/14  | Segunda Div. B3  | 3rd              | -             | -             | Second Round  | Promoted via Play-Off's        |
| 2014/15  | Liga Adelante    | 5th              | -             | -             | Third Round   | Play-Off Semi-Final            |
| 2015/16  | Liga Adelante    | 1st              | -             | -             | Second Round  | Promoted as Champions          |
| 2016/17  | Liga BBVA        | 10th             | -             | -             | Fourth Round  | -                              |
| 2017/18  | Liga BBVA        | 6th              | -             | -             | Fifth Round   | Europa League Qualification    |
| 2018/19  | Liga BBVA        | 3rd              | -             | 2nd KO Round  | Winners       | Champions League Qualification |
| 2019/20  | Liga BBVA        | 3rd              | Semi-Final    | -             | Runners-Up    | Supercopa Runners-Up           |[/Code]

[center][size=3][b]Next Season[/b][/size]

It looks as though the league has turned into the top three now so we have done superbly well to make that so. It isn't going to be easy to win the title in this league but that is our challenge.

The new stadium is also around the corner and we will be playing in it next season. The extra capacity will help the finances which in turn will help take us to the next level.[/center]

[SRL88]

Massive news. Something I am very pleased to see after our performances in Europe over the last two years.

[SRL88]

It was much easier to ask for this work to be complete with the finances being the way they are.

[SRL88]

Brilliant, just brilliant.

I am thrilled to be moving to a new home and it is another step forward for the club.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - U.E. Sant Andreu - Season Preview - 2020/21

Board Expectations:

Liga BBVA: Qualify for the Champions League

UEFA Champions League: Reach the First Knockout Round

Copa del Rey: Reach the Semi-Final

My Expectations:

Liga BBVA: Champions League qualification is the bare minimum. Sticking close to Madrid & Barcelona is the target

UEFA Champions League: Get through the Group Stage and see what happens

Copa del Rey: After last season and seeing how much we struggled to cope with the number of games towards the end of the season, I wouldn't begrudge an early exit

Finances:

Transfer: £20.1m

Wage: £925,503 (currently spending £701,372)

Balance: £37,065,086 (+15,816,113 since last season)

Projected Balance: £65.33m

[tomtuck01]

Frankly that was an amazing season.

The gap seems to be closing in the league even more to the top two, and your performance in the Champions League was something to behold. Then of course there is the Copa del Rey Final. Hugely unfortunate, but it really shows how far you have come.

The big trophies are just around the corner.

[SRL88]

Frankly that was an amazing season.

The gap seems to be closing in the league even more to the top two, and your performance in the Champions League was something to behold. Then of course there is the Copa del Rey Final. Hugely unfortunate, but it really shows how far you have come.

The big trophies are just around the corner.

Cheers dude .

All we can do now is just keep pushing forward as a club and hopefully in a couple of years we will be right on par with the big two. We're getting there so hopefully it won't be far off till we claim the La Liga title. In Europe, that was just fantastic. That is a fair distance off in my opinion.

[SRL88]

There we go. The job I had been waiting for. After a dismal European Championship performance which saw them squeeze through their group in third place (behind Croatia and Wales) they exited the competition in the Second Round to eventual winners France.

SRL88's Career - Spain - New Job Update

After being offered the role there was never a question about it. Had I rejected the job there were offers from Belgium, Russia and England, but this was the best option for me. I am absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity on the International stage.

So the expectation is to qualify from that group. It doesn't look too challenging, but they made hard work of qualifying for the European Championship's in the first place, finishing second in their group behind Denmark. So they, and Romania will prove to be our toughest challenges. There are no friendlies before qualifying kicks off so I will be thrown straight into things.

In my opinion, this nation, ranked 14th in the world needs rebuilding after the decline of their 'Golden Period'.

[tomtuck01]

Nice job to get.

[SRL88]

Nice job to get.

Cheers fella. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in .

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - U.E. Sant Andreu - Pre-Season - 2020/21

Friendlies

A perfect pre-season in terms of results with seven wins from seven. We started slowly as the players worked their way back to fitness and that showed in our first two pre-season games, but then the goals started flowing. We had a nice little tour of Northern Ireland which resulted in three big scoreline wins before rounding pre-season off with a nice win over Barcelona 'B'.

Transfers

Well this was nice. We managed to bring more money into the club than we spent which was a pleasant factor. One, because it shows that the calliper of our players is strong, and two because it means we aren't having to splash the cash too much with the quality of players we already have at the club.

We made some really good signings over the summer and I am pleased to welcome them all to the club. There was however a sentimental departures. That came in the form of Osnar Noronha who left the club at the end of his contract. I wanted to keep him and after four fantastic seasons in which he scored 48 goals for the club and his average performances during that time being 7.09, I had no reason performance wise to let him go. The problem however came with wages. He wanted £50k p/w and I just couldn't justify giving him that type of contract, no matter how good he had been for us, so sadly, he had to leave.

The big money departure came in the form of Ruben Ricardo Carabali who left to join AS Monaco for £10m. Having brought him in for just £700k we made a massive profit, but the deciding factor for me was his attitude. I would have kept him otherwise, but his performances last season were average and that with the addition of him twisting for first team football when I didn't feel he deserved it swayed things for me.

Adnan Januzaj

I had this deal agreed back in January so it was just about waiting for it to go through. He has barely played any football in nearly three years now so I am hoping he has that hunger to succeed. He has the ability, but he now needs to show it.

Javier Dominguez

Labelled as a 'wonderkid' this guy could have a brilliant future. He is only twenty so I can't expect too much of him already. I will ease him in and hopefully come next season he will be ready to make that step up.

Ivano Mirto

Not a bad player to have on loan for the season. I'm pleased with this capture and it gives us a brilliant option upfront alongside the lads we already have at the club.

Christian Romanini

Back at the club for another season. He did okay last season when required and I didn't want to splash out for a winger to be a rotation/back-up option.

Aziz Boateng

A very good player to bring in on a free. I was surprised to find him still available in July so I snapped him up.

Johan Johansson

A snip for £1.9m. He has improvements to make but definitely has quality there already. Alongside Felipe Jimenez we have two brilliant young left-backs.

[tomtuck01]

Adnan.

He looks pretty good for considering he is only AI developed. Young Domingues looks great aswell. Get him trained up in one or two areas (First Touch, Passing, and Composure could do with some work), and he'll be an unbelievable player.

[SRL88]

Adnan.

He looks pretty good for considering he is only AI developed. Young Domingues looks great aswell. Get him trained up in one or two areas (First Touch, Passing, and Composure could do with some work), and he'll be an unbelievable player.

We have definitely made some good signings this season. Most importantly, they are players who will help us take that step forward as a club.

[SRL88]

Opening day of the season we had our first game in our new stadium.

This was obviously going to be the case, but it was nice to see.

[tomtuck01]

The additional revenue from gate receipts will help no end. Excellent news.

[Dexter_Morgan]

Just caught up with this, brilliant in the league the past 2 seasons, could have been even better last if it wasn't for all the draws but remarkable non the less The CL campaign was superb which backs up my theory you aren't a million miles away from winning the league now if you can do that well against Europe's best already. Good luck for the new season

[deltablue]

Not far off the big prizes now. How long do you think it'll take to topple the big two?

[SRL88]

The additional revenue from gate receipts will help no end. Excellent news.

Definitely. Every little helps .

Just caught up with this, brilliant in the league the past 2 seasons, could have been even better last if it wasn't for all the draws but remarkable non the less The CL campaign was superb which backs up my theory you aren't a million miles away from winning the league now if you can do that well against Europe's best already. Good luck for the new season

Cheers dude.

I agree that the draws probably cost us in the end, but just one defeat all campaign was fantastic. I'm hoping we can start to make the step to the next level soon.

Not far off the big prizes now. How long do you think it'll take to topple the big two?

Topple them? I'm not sure. We could probably do it but I don't think it will be a sustained toppling. I think the league has found its level of Real, Barca and us as the top three and we will likely trade places in regards to that.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - U.E. Sant Andreu - August 2020

Liga BBVA

A very nice start to the season as we get under-way with a nice and our best start to a La Liga season.

We put in a very nice display on the opening day at home to Celta Vigo, our first ever game at the Sant Andreu Stadium. Things couldn't have gone much better and we got off to a nice start with Ruben scoring after seventeen minutes. Our lead was doubled just a minute later by Adnan Januzaj on his debut. The same player added a third which gave us a solid good 3-0 win, and cap off a fine personal performance for the player (scoring twice, assisting the other). A quick start away to Sevilla had us a goal up inside four minutes but from then on we were dominated. Sevilla levelled the game in the second half but we have to consider ourselves very lucky to come away with a point. Another solid home performance gave us our second win from two home games. Ruben scored his third goal in as many games, including giving us the lead in each game. We were a little nervy early on in the second half but a goal just past the hour mark settled those nerves and we managed to see out the game for a solid 2-0 win.

[smp20]

Doing very well here at Sant Andreu. I'm just starting a carer as your fierce rivals Club Esportiu Europa - though I bet in your career there's no rivalry there as they're awful

Good luck breaking the Barca/Madrid/Atletico dominance.

[AK22]

Another season of excellent progress! I was particularly impressed with your Champions League run

[SRL88]

Doing very well here at Sant Andreu. I'm just starting a carer as your fierce rivals Club Esportiu Europa - though I bet in your career there's no rivalry there as they're awful

Good luck breaking the Barca/Madrid/Atletico dominance.

Another season of excellent progress! I was particularly impressed with your Champions League run

Cheers lads .

[b101]

Some great signings over the summer - I hope Januzaj is as good for you as he has been for me!

[SRL88]

Some great signings over the summer - I hope Januzaj is as good for you as he has been for me!

Cheers dude. He's started well. Lets hope it continues.

[SRL88]

Group Stage Draw

Definitely not as easy as last years draw so we won't have an easy task at all getting through this group.

It was nice to see us in pot three this year so that gave us a kind draw in the form of Maccabi Haifa, but AC Milan and Chelsea won't be easy at all. Topping the group may be a little too much to ask, but I am hopeful that we can sneak second.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - Spain - September 2020

World Cup Qualifiers

Given that my first two games as Spain manager came in the form of competitive matches I am pretty pleased that we claimed two wins. It would have been nice to have a couple of warm-up matches but it wasn't the case.

We dominated things against Cyprus as expected really. We started quickly and took the lead inside ten minutes. We scored two goals in the space of four minutes to make it 3-0 before the half hour mark. In the second half we were half-paced really and that did allow Cyprus to have a few chances, one of which found the net. Late on however, man of the match Isco grabbed his second goal of the game in a comfortable 4-1 win. Things were a lot tougher against Denmark, a side ranked higher than us in the FIFA rankings. We had to wait until the second half but our captain, Sergio Ramos gave us the lead. That lead didn't last long however as we were pegged back just four minutes later. We kept on pushing though and were finally rewarded with six minutes left on the clock to give us a hard-fought 2-1 win.

[john1]

Tough group in Champions League, I think you can nick 2nd place. Good start to the season.

[deltablue]

I'm sure you can somehow manage to get through.

[b101]

How very like you to get a tough group

[SRL88]

Tough group in Champions League, I think you can nick 2nd place. Good start to the season.

I'm sure you can somehow manage to get through.

I am hopeful. I can't see us topping the group, but we might sneak second.

How very like you to get a tough group

Always the case .

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - U.E. Sant Andreu - September 2020

Liga BBVA

A solid month with a perfect defensive record and remaining unbeaten after the first two months of the season.

A very fast start against Osasuna defined the game with us scoring twice inside the opening six minutes. That allowed for us to control the remainder of the game while having something to hang on too as well. That was followed up with a solid three points, once again on the road, this time at Real Sociedad. Ruben scored two first half goals in the opening twenty minutes to set us on our way to yet another 2-0 win. We were left disappointed with a goalless draw at home to Granada. The month did round off with a very hard fought win at home to Valencia. Adnan Januzaj scored his first goal since the opening day of the season with a lovely first half free-kick. We were hanging on towards the end of the game, but managed to do so do give us a valuable three points.

UEFA Champions League Group Stage

A mixed start to our European campaign which kind of shows the difficulties we could have getting out of this group.

We were really poor in the opening period against AC Milan and after falling behind in the first half we could easily have conceded more. Luckily we hung on and right on the brink of half-time we levelled the game against the run of play. That gave us a lot of confidence in the second half but we failed to take some really good chances and we paid for it on the hour mark. That goal deflated us and just seven minutes later they scored again to kill the game off. We were dominant Maccabi Haifa with nearly thirty efforts on goal. We only took one chance in the game, but that one chance turned out to be the winner.

[SRL88]

SRL88's Career - Spain - October 2020

World Cup Qualifiers

Two more wins under our belt as our 100% start to qualifying continues.

Neither result was in doubt and we were heavy favourites for both games. In the Faroe Islands we struggled to make a massive impact in the opening twenty minutes or so but once that first goal went in it was a case of how many. Inigo Martinez scored his first goals for Spain to give us a 2-0 half-time lead. A third was added just after the hour mark to give us a comfortable win. Things were even easier against Slovenia and a goal inside five minutes set us on our way. Ruben scored his first international goal to double our lead before the break and two late goals gave us a 4-0 win.