FM21 - Athletic Club: Los Leones Roaring Back

[AlfieGillard]

13 hours ago, dothestrand said:

@AlfieGillard I assume your Argentine player has Spanish second nationality? Did you sign him at 16? Unless he's switched nationality, I'm surprised he would have been eligible. 

So he came through at Barcelona but somehow has spanish and basque as second nationalities I'm not sure if that we before I signed him but he was 16 when I brought him in. Other non Spanish with second nationality Spanish I can't always sign for some reason. So to be honest I can't see why I was allowed to sign him but he looks good so I'm not complaining haha.

[AlfieGillard]

Another season done, unfortunately Real madrids 370m spending spree made them an absolute force to be reckoned with! They regained the title from us even though we put on a good display with 92 points. In the champions league we unfortunately knocked out at the knockout stage by Chelsea due to Donnarumma getting 2 MOTM performances after we absolutely peppered their goal for 180 minutes and going out on away goals. An unlucky semi with Barcelona as well in the Copa Del Rey where I had the better of the matches and came away in nothing this all came around the same time as the Chelsea games which messed with my form. 

 

 

Alonso signed a new deal after his world player of the year exploits and whenhe did his form dropped off a cliff and he lost the title and andres started coming in to replace him. Here are the players that stepped up into first team.

 

[MattyC78]

I've just finished my ninth season at Athletic.  We have won the league again with 101 points.  Real kept us focussed until the end.

My inverted wingers were the stars with strong average ratings and number of assists.  Velez got another 27 goals in the league.  At the age of 24, he has already scored 154 goals for the first team in the league.

In fact it was a strong team performance with the team of the year containing 10 Athletic players and a few more on the bench.

We also won both Spanish cup competitions but tumbled out of the Champions League in the Quarter Finals.  We were slightly unlucky to lose to Inter 1-0 at home but we were then massively disappointing in a 0-0 draw in Milan.  The Olympics had an impact in the late return of half the squad and them all need holidays at various points in the season.  One player required four separate weeks off as well as the mid-season break.  I hope he gets a significant discount at the travel agents.

The B team were promoted at last.  The squad was far too good for the Second Division Pro A league and they will be in the second division next season. 

The work now begins for 2029-30.

 

[AlfieGillard]

16 hours ago, MattyC78 said:

I've just finished my ninth season at Athletic.  We have won the league again with 101 points.  Real kept us focussed until the end.

My inverted wingers were the stars with strong average ratings and number of assists.  Velez got another 27 goals in the league.  At the age of 24, he has already scored 154 goals for the first team in the league.

In fact it was a strong team performance with the team of the year containing 10 Athletic players and a few more on the bench.

We also won both Spanish cup competitions but tumbled out of the Champions League in the Quarter Finals.  We were slightly unlucky to lose to Inter 1-0 at home but we were then massively disappointing in a 0-0 draw in Milan.  The Olympics had an impact in the late return of half the squad and them all need holidays at various points in the season.  One player required four separate weeks off as well as the mid-season break.  I hope he gets a significant discount at the travel agents.

The B team were promoted at last.  The squad was far too good for the Second Division Pro A league and they will be in the second division next season. 

The work now begins for 2029-30.

 

Amazing season congratulations!! Done better than me and I'm mining the whole of Spain for their kids haha looking forward to seeing you kick on

[MattyC78]

I thought I had finished the season but then a few weeks into the summer break me and the players are dragged back off of our sun loungers to take part in the Club World Cup.  What a farce.  The squad was underprepared with six of them on international duty meaning that rotation was impossible.  It is a miracle that they survived unscathed and without a major injury.  

I can't say I took it too seriously just trying to do minimal training/recovery/prep and play the games out.  We coasted through the group against some easy teams

We then had a most enjoyable game against Real before coming undone on penalties to Juve and finally getting smashed by Man City in the playoff.

Now not being to negative about the whole affair a couple of youngsters proved their worth and justified their promotion to the first team squad.  Now to get back to planning for next season and we have already started pre-season so no rest for the wicked.

[AlfieGillard]

15 hours ago, MattyC78 said:

I thought I had finished the season but then a few weeks into the summer break me and the players are dragged back off of our sun loungers to take part in the Club World Cup.  What a farce.  The squad was underprepared with six of them on international duty meaning that rotation was impossible.  It is a miracle that they survived unscathed and without a major injury.  

I can't say I took it too seriously just trying to do minimal training/recovery/prep and play the games out.  We coasted through the group against some easy teams

We then had a most enjoyable game against Real before coming undone on penalties to Juve and finally getting smashed by Man City in the playoff.

Now not being to negative about the whole affair a couple of youngsters proved their worth and justified their promotion to the first team squad.  Now to get back to planning for next season and we have already started pre-season so no rest for the wicked.

Did you have the issue where their fitness meant they couldn't play 2 games in a row yet the AI teams were fresh as a fiddle every game?

[ernemann]

So another season finished and we`re back on top - at least for now ! We won the league again but it wasnt an easy season because Real really gave us a fight. We ended on 90 points and Real Madrid got 89, so was a hard season.  Barca were at a time down at the relegation places, but they finished at 6th place after they got rid of Xaxi .

In the cup we went out to Rayo after penalties We are not very good at the moment on penalties so lets hope that will change - Rayo actually ended up winning the cup and in the Champions League we went out to Man City in the quarters, but not really a surprise there. Beside we won the league it wasnt a very good season for us. But we also said goodbye to our to most loyal players with more than 1600 games together Inigo Valencia with 597 league apperances 17 goals and 104 assists (yes he was a leftback) and then Chechu our captain got 586 league games scored 157 goals and got 237 assists  - wonder when I will get a player like that again

And the last thing - After I said no to Spain nationalteam four times I said yes this time after Pep Guardiola retired - so now Spain will be winning alot of titles I think  - Maybe with a whole bunch of players from Athletic

[MattyC78]

7 hours ago, AlfieGillard said:

Did you have the issue where their fitness meant they couldn't play 2 games in a row yet the AI teams were fresh as a fiddle every game?

Yes.  Exactly.  It was amazing that they came out unscathed as I couldn't rotate at all.  No problems for the AI teams.  

[MattyC78]

7 hours ago, ernemann said:

So another season finished and we`re back on top - at least for now ! We won the league again but it wasnt an easy season because Real really gave us a fight. We ended on 90 points and Real Madrid got 89, so was a hard season.  Barca were at a time down at the relegation places, but they finished at 6th place after they got rid of Xaxi .

In the cup we went out to Rayo after penalties We are not very good at the moment on penalties so lets hope that will change - Rayo actually ended up winning the cup and in the Champions League we went out to Man City in the quarters, but not really a surprise there. Beside we won the league it wasnt a very good season for us. But we also said goodbye to our to most loyal players with more than 1600 games together Inigo Valencia with 597 league apperances 17 goals and 104 assists (yes he was a leftback) and then Chechu our captain got 586 league games scored 157 goals and got 237 assists  - wonder when I will get a player like that again

And the last thing - After I said no to Spain nationalteam four times I said yes this time after Pep Guardiola retired - so now Spain will be winning alot of titles I think  - Maybe with a whole bunch of players from Athletic

Congratulations on the league triumph.  That's an amazing knock from those two.  They may be rare but that's part of the charm of a Athletic save.  Do you have plans to replace them?

I've struggled for motivation for international jobs in the past.  I never want to ruin my players in international games.  I hope you balance the demands better than I have ever done.  Is the national job a chance for silly cap bonuses for any players you sell?!  

[ernemann]

9 minutes ago, MattyC78 said:

Congratulations on the league triumph.  That's an amazing knock from those two.  They may be rare but that's part of the charm of a Athletic save.  Do you have plans to replace them?

I've struggled for motivation for international jobs in the past.  I never want to ruin my players in international games.  I hope you balance the demands better than I have ever done.  Is the national job a chance for silly cap bonuses for any players you sell?!  

Well I had Said no so Many times cause only wanted to play with Athletic, but Then again after so Many years I decided to do it anyway, cause in the 24 years my save have lasted Spain have only won the World Cup in 2038. 
 

The national job is Just for fun for me nothing Else no real bonusses or plans to sell in my mind - I just love Spanish Football so just Want to win everything I Can with Them 😁😁😁😁

[AlfieGillard]

So its 2031. And in my save universe Athletic Club have become the greatest team in football in some really spectacular fashion!!

 

I managed to wrap up the league at home against barcelona to regain it from Real Madrid who have been very competitive this save and spending massive amounts of money.

After this victory i managed to go on and become the champions league winners!! wrapping up a double in what was nothing short of an amazing season for the basque residents!

This rocketed up to the top team in the world! on top of that i managed to win the league as invincibles!

This meant that i packed out the team of the season, agu was also on loan from me.

 

[MattyC78]

3 hours ago, AlfieGillard said:

So its 2031. And in my save universe Athletic Club have become the greatest team in football in some really spectacular fashion!!

 

I managed to wrap up the league at home against barcelona to regain it from Real Madrid who have been very competitive this save and spending massive amounts of money.

After this victory i managed to go on and become the champions league winners!! wrapping up a double in what was nothing short of an amazing season for the basque residents!

This rocketed up to the top team in the world! on top of that i managed to win the league as invincibles!

This meant that i packed out the team of the season, agu was also on loan from me.

 

Congratulations.  That sounds like a fine season. 

What kind of team have you got where you can afford Agu go on loan to Barcelona where he gets enough game time to get into the team of the year?!

[AlfieGillard]

3 hours ago, MattyC78 said:

Congratulations.  That sounds like a fine season. 

What kind of team have you got where you can afford Agu go on loan to Barcelona where he gets enough game time to get into the team of the year?!

Well i have alonso and Agu is a striker. He was technically my second best striker but at 20 I didn't want him to not develop due to alonso playing week in week out and barca came in to loan as important player so I put his development before my own needs to ensure he can smash it for me in the future. My other loanee scored against me in the champions league final as he is on loan at bayern again 20 years old didn't want his development to stunt. I feel bad now though was only 5 lezema players and I feel like a fraud haha I know I am not proficient enough yet to go that hard-core with academy.

[MattyC78]

We have completed pre-season and we are hopefully set up for a successful season.  We came straight out og the Club World Cup into a series of friendlies, a tour of the USA, some intensive training and a tour of France before returning home.  The results have been largely positive.

 We concluded with the delayed testimonial for Simon which had to be cancelled due tot he Olympics last year.  He has been a great player for the club and I'm not sure how we would have coped without him.

In terms of transfers of incomings were limited to bring Inaki Williams back on a free to support the B team.  We sold Unai Nunez for £17.5 million and Jon Morcillo for £44 million as they wanted new challenges and were playing smaller and smaller roles in the team.  Both have served the club well over the last nine years and may well come back to the B team to finish their careers. 

Enika Blanco has been promoted from the B team to replace Morcillo.

 

Fernando Martinez has also been promoted from the B team after an amazing season from the youngster.  He also impressed in the Club World Cup and I'm excited to see what he can do. 

He was promoted a year early and I chose to sell Gorka Etxabe for £37.5 million after just one season in the first team to make room for Martinez to develop.

It's nice to make a few changes to the squad to keep things fresh but part of the charm with Athletic is that you are forced into keeping a stable squad and having players remain in the squad for ten years plus.  I have tweaked our tactics to get a little more attacking output from of our left back as we will be transitioning to our youngster who offers us more in this role but otherwise the tactic has no more than a couple of tweaks in the last three years.  We are good to go for another season and a tilt at further glory.

 

[ernemann]

So a tuff season ended in 2045 and we got third place after a season where we lifted the Copa del Rey trophy, the Champions League and the Club World Cup. We can be pleased with the progres with some of the players and we are building something really strong again Im sure. After this season we have said goodbye to yet another long server on our midfield, so its almost a new fresh and young team we got.

In the league Atletico were too good for us, but we beat them in the CL final so we got our revenge. Our midfielder Munoz is our best player at the moment I think, and the we got a new exciting young star who can play central and offensive midfield, and both flanks. He got his debut in the new season and scoret in the UEFA SuperCup so I`ll keep him in the first team despite only being 16!!

[MattyC78]

On 08/09/2021 at 20:22, ernemann said:

So a tuff season ended in 2045 and we got third place after a season where we lifted the Copa del Rey trophy, the Champions League and the Club World Cup. We can be pleased with the progres with some of the players and we are building something really strong again Im sure. After this season we have said goodbye to yet another long server on our midfield, so its almost a new fresh and young team we got.

In the league Atletico were too good for us, but we beat them in the CL final so we got our revenge. Our midfielder Munoz is our best player at the moment I think, and the we got a new exciting young star who can play central and offensive midfield, and both flanks. He got his debut in the new season and scoret in the UEFA SuperCup so I`ll keep him in the first team despite only being 16!!

Making it to 2045 is amazing.  I have never lasted in a game that long.  Congratulations on the Champions League and Club World Cup triumphs.

Your Board look quite a demanding bunch!

How's the Spain job going?

[ernemann]

42 minutes ago, MattyC78 said:

Making it to 2045 is amazing.  I have never lasted in a game that long.  Congratulations on the Champions League and Club World Cup triumphs.

Your Board look quite a demanding bunch!

How's the Spain job going?

Thanx. Yeah it’s a really Long save - had the same Long last year but with Auxerre. Until now we have won the UEFA Nations League and now playing the World Cup 2046 held in Japan. The Media cant believe that 10 in our squad are from Athletic 

[ernemann]

A bit quiet in here these weeks, but now made to to 2047 and we became champions again in Spain after a really hard and tuff season with Real Madrid, won the Copa del Rey, but only made it to the quarters in the Champions League, where Real Madrid were too good!!

Our topperformer were our striker Unai Etxaniz who scored no more than 30 goals in 34 league games and all in all he scored 48 goals in 48 games A real shame he is 32 now, but what a topscorer we have there and ofcourse for my Spain

Still looking at that Messi record with 50 league goals in one season  - any of you ever managed to beat that ?

[dothestrand]

Well done @ernemann for getting that far. I'm not sure about firing the save up too much as the new game isn't too far away. I do like getting to the point where the real life players have all gone though. 

[ernemann]

2 hours ago, dothestrand said:

Well done @ernemann for getting that far. I'm not sure about firing the save up too much as the new game isn't too far away. I do like getting to the point where the real life players have all gone though. 

Yeah I really like to come that far when all the players we know are gone, but Also fun to see how the other league progres. So much happends that never Will happen in real life 

[MattyC78]

On 21/09/2021 at 18:13, ernemann said:

A bit quiet in here these weeks, but now made to to 2047 and we became champions again in Spain after a really hard and tuff season with Real Madrid, won the Copa del Rey, but only made it to the quarters in the Champions League, where Real Madrid were too good!!

Our topperformer were our striker Unai Etxaniz who scored no more than 30 goals in 34 league games and all in all he scored 48 goals in 48 games A real shame he is 32 now, but what a topscorer we have there and ofcourse for my Spain

Still looking at that Messi record with 50 league goals in one season  - any of you ever managed to beat that ?

Congratulations for winning the lead back.  I have a real tussle this year with Real.  It will go to the last day.

I'm so far behind you in years but it's interesting to see a game that far in the future.  I've never had anyone that has beaten Zarra's record of 38 league goals in a season.

[MattyC78]

16 hours ago, dothestrand said:

Well done @ernemann for getting that far. I'm not sure about firing the save up too much as the new game isn't too far away. I do like getting to the point where the real life players have all gone though. 

Go on.  You know it makes sense.  What better way to enjoy 21 until 22 comes out.

[ernemann]

4 hours ago, MattyC78 said:

Congratulations for winning the lead back.  I have a real tussle this year with Real.  It will go to the last day.

I'm so far behind you in years but it's interesting to see a game that far in the future.  I've never had anyone that has beaten Zarra's record of 38 league goals in a season.

Me either but so Many funny things happends in the future. Also funny to see the Many new stadiums ! Bayern Got the “Franz Beckenbauer Arena” with a capacity at 110,322 😬😬😬 Wolfsburg Got “Eden Dzeko Arena”, Newcastle Got “jackie Mercer stadium” man city Got a new called “Joe Mercer Stadion”,and PSG Got “Mauricio Pochettino Park”  - and the funny Thing is that in 2047 they still havent won the CL 😜

[MattyC78]

I remember seeing the Gylfi Siggurdsson stadium at Everton.  That felt uncomfortable even then.

Have you had a new stadium at Athletic?  

[ernemann]

1 hour ago, MattyC78 said:

I remember seeing the Gylfi Siggurdsson stadium at Everton.  That felt uncomfortable even then.

Have you had a new stadium at Athletic?  

No I havent and dont Think Will happen unless I play to yeah 3000 😂😂😂 It’s a new stadium but we Got 101,000 at San Manés so we earn quite alot 😜

[MattyC78]

Just finished the 2029-30 season.  It has been a bit of slow hard slog in many ways.  It's taken weeks to get through.  We led until mid-April only to be held by Real, lose to Espanyol and draw with Elche and suddenly we were behind Real before they lost to Barca and dropped two unexpected points at home to Sevilla.  This was the tightest race in years and quite frankly we were not as good as we have been.

We really struggled for injuries and couldn't field a full bench for a significant portion of the season.  I even brought back Inigo Cordoba on loan to help plug some gaps for the second half of the season.   We are particularly weak at the back with 35 year old Yeray is on his last legs.  His contract runs out at the end of the month and it is unclear whether we will extend it.

After the slightly disjointed performances throughout the middle of the season we ended on a real high.  Manchester City walked into one of the best performances of the season in the Champions League final.

  

There were no real standout performers and everyone had patchy form but this was not helped by the volume of niggly injuries in the middle of the season.

The B team also had a good season winning the second division title.  There will be a couple of players that we look to bring through into the first team squad to bolster numbers further to guard against the injury problems.

[MattyC78]

43 minutes ago, ernemann said:

No I havent and dont Think Will happen unless I play to yeah 3000 😂😂😂 It’s a new stadium but we Got 101,000 at San Manés so we earn quite alot 😜

We have tried to purchase San Mames twice and failed twice.  A new stadium has been part of of the five year plan for three years so who knows if it will ever happen.

[dothestrand]

On 23/09/2021 at 09:07, MattyC78 said:

Go on.  You know it makes sense.  What better way to enjoy 21 until 22 comes out.

You've dragged me back in! I'm more or less where you are, just starting the 28-29 season. 

[MattyC78]

2 hours ago, dothestrand said:

You've dragged me back in! I'm more or less where you are, just starting the 28-29 season. 

It is Athletic that drags you back in.  Good luck.

[bowieinspace]

On 24/09/2021 at 07:26, ernemann said:

No I havent and dont Think Will happen unless I play to yeah 3000 😂😂😂 It’s a new stadium but we Got 101,000 at San Manés so we earn quite alot 😜

I have a feeling you won’t ever get a new stadium within 20-25 years of the current ones construction, so you’d have to go very deep into a save to get a newer san mames!!

[MattyC78]

Preparation for the new season has been completed.  We have lost Yeray who decided to retire.  He had weakened significantly but it is another leader lost from within the squad where we now have a void.  Unai Vencedor was moved on for £35 million to keep the finances healthy as he wasn't really part of the team any more and to create space for youngsters.  The only other exits were Inaki Williams  and Kepa Arrizabalaga and a few youngsters leaving the B team.

Three players were called up from the B team to the first team squad to provide greater depth.   Step forwards Jose Maria Etxebarria,

Erik Angulo

and Sergio Ramirez

I've tweaked our 4-3-3 tactics to reflect the current personnel and to try and make it a little more secure.  From that I have created a 4-2-3-1 tactic to make the most of the strength of options in attack.

Pre-season friendly results were very positive but not the hardest set of fixtures.

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by MattyC78

[ernemann]

We have reached another season in Athletic this time we have finished the season 2047/48 season and Barca were too good for us Im afraid. We finished 10 points behind Barca but despite we only won the Spanish Supercup against Valencia - we had a decent season with some of our young talents.

In the cup we went out to Real Madrid and the CL it was Bayern we lost too, but I think we have a good season ahead of us going into our 29th season

[dothestrand]

Anyone had a dumber injury than this? He's not a first choice player, but still - use shower gel, lad!

[Dereka]

18 hours ago, dothestrand said:

Anyone had a dumber injury than this? He's not a first choice player, but still - use shower gel, lad!

This always reminds me of Santiago Canizares. I believe he missed a world cup because he dropped a perfume bottle on his foot and broke his foot

[dothestrand]

Thanks to those who pulled me back into this save.

Just finished the 2028-29 season and defended our title. With three games to go, we were 9 points ahead of Barcelona. Their goal difference was superior, so just 1 point needed. Can you guess what happened?

Lost 0-1 to Almeria, then lost 0-3 to Barcelona. Just needed 1 point at home to Villareal, whilst Barcelona had to win at Valencia. Villareal took an early lead, and Barcelona raced into a 2-0 lead. Luckily Valencia eventually got it back to 3-3 but we were still losing. A 93rd minute equaliser for us made it safe, but crikey....

CL was hilarious. We were drawn against Man Utd, Inter and Celtic (I don't recall ever having a kind CL group). We got 11 points at still went out on head-to-head against Inter. We were in an incredibly stacked Europa League tournament, getting knocked out in the QF by Real Madrid. Domestic cups were a write off.

Squad-wise, we're pretty well covered, though the full back positions are long-term concerns. We haven't had a good natural full back come through; either pretty middle of the road or just retrained players. Inigo Gomeza, a real-life youth player is my first-choice LB and is solid. Our RB is a retrained CM.

A few of my main players/wonderkids. Larrazabal is a 19yo striker, whose taken a bit of a dive between of his cruciate ligament injury. He scored 25 in 27 last season. He'll be back a few weeks into the new season and hopefully recovers his pace. Cordoba is 20 and is probably the best all-round regen I've ever had. He could almost play anywhere. He's played a number of times for Spain. Pena is 19 and moved up from the B squad this season. He will replace Vencedor long-term, who has been decent but has been eclipsed ability-wise already. I've also got various players in the 18-21 bracket who are in the first team or soon to be there. A GK or full-back would be nice though. We'll be OK when Unai Simon leaves, but we've not had a decent youth keeper for a while! I'm even trying to hang onto Ezkieta as long as possible as a third-choice emergency keeper. 

Yeray will move down to the B squad (rather than sell him) probably. He had a big injury that's just killed him. Nunez is still one of three CBs/two RBs. Sancet is one of my main CM options. Serrano has been an elite winger and Spanish international for a few years (still only 26!) Everyone else who started has moved on.

[ernemann]

Another season ended and after a season were Barcelona got the chance of winning the league  - we`re now back where we belong. A really tuff battle with both Barca and Real Madrid, but at the end Real suddenly threw it all away, and we said thanks We also won the Spanish Cup against Real Madrid while we went out in the semis against Liverpool after we had sent out both Manchester clubs but after we lost away to Liverpool with 1-0 - we just couldnt score at home so it ended there. And yeah our rivals La Real were relegated again together with Osasuna !

On the youth-side its been a great season. We got some exciting players and some of them have allready got some time. I was actually starting to think that our leftback maybe was starting to loose his quality, but he played 50 games made 19 assists and finished his rating at 7.37 at age 33, so we decided to give him a new contract We also moved up the next leftback in line our 16 year old so he could learn from our legend leftback!!

Another young starlett Ander Santamaria were loaned out to Portugal-side Pacos de Ferreira were he played 17 games and he is now ready to play a part in our first-team along with another 16 year old talent Unai Agirre who playes in midfield.

Our legendary striker Unai Etxaniz beat the old record from 1950 i think which was 251 league goals - thats quite amazing and he now has 264 league goals - that will take some time to beat that  

[dothestrand]

I've finished the 2029-30 season and whilst we couldn't retain our title, we finished a very comfortable second.

Barcelona were just way too good, finishing on 98 points. They won 15 of their first 16, so there was no catching them. In the CL, we had the misfortune to run into Man City in the first knockout stages, so we didn't make much progress there.

In terms of performances, our star striker Iker Larrazabal won the Golden Boy award and scored 24 in 34 coming back from an ACL injury. We'd be struggling without him. Our other youngsters in the first team are doing well - Jon Cordoba is probably the best all round CM in La Liga, Roberto Simon is a mercurial winger who is phenomenal on his good days, whilst Vencedor's days are probably numbered because of Marcos Pena. As you can see though, they're getting itchy feet, but have long term contracts. Remember, these guys are all Lezama products, and we've been pretty lucky to be super competitive with the academy, whilst we phase out of the older players.

Yeray is with the B team until he retires. Unai Nunez has a year left in him, probably. Unai Simon is still the Spanish first choice and even at 32, should be good for a couple of years yet. Oihan Sancet is in and out of the side, and at 30, we're close to letting him move on. Nico Serrano and Inigo Gomeza are the other two 'originals'. Nico is great and in and around the Spanish squad, whilst Gomeza has just been a good, solid LB - a Dennis Irwin type really. I might try to get another couple of seasons out of the game before FM22, though I'll see how quickly I jump with that.

Edited October 12, 2021 by dothestrand

[ernemann]

We finished season 2052/53 and we won our fourth league title in a row - a pretty hard season were Barca and Real really gave in a fight - but we won the right games and ended on top once again. We got 1-1 at Nou Camp and lost 2-0 at Berbabeu but beat them at San Mamès and they lost some really strange games.

We also won the Spanish Supercup against Real Madrid and the Champions League at and hold on now  - Cristiano Ronaldo Park in Torino against Liverpool We lost 4-2 to RB Leipzig in the quarterfinals at the World Club Cup were we had 12!!! players from our firstteam away on national duties, so no chance of winning that title!! I really hope they will fix this bug in FM22 but I really doubt it

Our goalkeeper Jose Ros really goes high on games but 1000 games i dont think he will reach he is 33 now and it will be tuff to reach.. One of our best players the last few season is Alain Esparza he is only  24 but damn he is good. He can both play as a playmaker as well as both wings

[dothestrand]

I'm always curious how Atletico Madrid seem to decline in every Spanish save. I'd expect they have good youth facilities and recruitment, and lots of money. But without fail, they fall into mid table obscurity after a few seasons.

[ernemann]

8 minutes ago, dothestrand said:

I'm always curious how Atletico Madrid seem to decline in every Spanish save. I'd expect they have good youth facilities and recruitment, and lots of money. But without fail, they fall into mid table obscurity after a few seasons.

Yeah it’s quite amazing but I Will say it’s even worse with Barca. I feel they always get some seasons were they are complete shocking and have it hard just getting to top 4 

[MattyC78]

It has been quiet on here recently.  Thank you for the updates Dothestrand and Ernemann.  I love reading other people's Athletic adventures.

[MattyC78]

I have just completed another season but some way behind Ernemann (2030-31).  We were successful in the league after another long battle with Real where we had a wobble at the end and nearly threw it away.

We also won the Champions League against Pep's Sassoulo and the Spanish Cup.

In terms of individual performances, Ivan Velez lead the way again with the goals.  He has over 300 career goals at 26.  Didier Arroyo was also excellent.

The formation change to bring out the best in Aihen Agirre was okay but not a comprehensive success and also impacted on the defensive side of the midfield.  I am considering switching back to a 4-3-3 but also two up top but worried how that will impact on my wingers.

I wish we could have bought and extended San Mames but we have planning permission for a new 70,997 stadium which is being built over the next four years.  Will I get to see it before I move onto FM22?!  

[dothestrand]

I've downloaded the FM22 beta version.

Nico Williams has a very good bump and could be an immediate option as a AMR/CF. 

Dani Vivian is better now, a genuine first choice CB option. You could loan both out for the first season.

Unai Vencedor starts as a wonderkid. 

Aitor Paredes in the B side is a reasonably promising CB - probably never a first choice though.

Looking around elsewhere....Real Sociedad has a quality 18yo CF, Jon Karrikaburu - 20m release fee. That's your starting transfer budget, but he would be an immediate first teamer, so could be worth a risk. He will sign with the right squad status.

Some of the young Osasuna players - Javi Martinez, Jon Moncayola and Kike Barja look better - but would be squad options. 

Julen Jon Guerrero (son of Athletic Club legend Julen) is at Real Madrid and would be available for a couple of million. 

First team squad looks strong still, with loads of first teamers out of contract in 2022. Still, we know it'll be a fun save.

Anyway, a real Athletic Club thread should be started once a few of us get going!

 

[bowieinspace]

6 hours ago, dothestrand said:

I've downloaded the FM22 beta version.

Nico Williams has a very good bump and could be an immediate option as a AMR/CF. 

Dani Vivian is better now, a genuine first choice CB option. You could loan both out for the first season.

Unai Vencedor starts as a wonderkid. 

Aitor Paredes in the B side is a reasonably promising CB - probably never a first choice though.

Looking around elsewhere....Real Sociedad has a quality 18yo CF, Jon Karrikaburu - 20m release fee. That's your starting transfer budget, but he would be an immediate first teamer, so could be worth a risk. He will sign with the right squad status.

Some of the young Osasuna players - Javi Martinez, Jon Moncayola and Kike Barja look better - but would be squad options. 

Julen Jon Guerrero (son of Athletic Club legend Julen) is at Real Madrid and would be available for a couple of million. 

First team squad looks strong still, with loads of first teamers out of contract in 2022. Still, we know it'll be a fun save.

Anyway, a real Athletic Club thread should be started once a few of us get going!

 

Nice notes!

I had a quick look, I want to dive into 3 at the back this year, partly cause wide centre backs look fun, but also because it's a formation I've always struggled with. I think i will go with a 3-4-2-1!

My initial thoughts... wow Vencedor looks good, as does Nico, and great to see Vivian get such a good boost. Jon Karrikaburu looks good but his determination is really low for me, so a bit nervous to spend that type of cash!

[dothestrand]

On 22/10/2021 at 04:55, bowieinspace said:

Nice notes!

I had a quick look, I want to dive into 3 at the back this year, partly cause wide centre backs look fun, but also because it's a formation I've always struggled with. I think i will go with a 3-4-2-1!

My initial thoughts... wow Vencedor looks good, as does Nico, and great to see Vivian get such a good boost. Jon Karrikaburu looks good but his determination is really low for me, so a bit nervous to spend that type of cash!

I'm simmed the game through a couple of seasons. I'll just keep doing that for the next couple of weeks before the full release. I made sure I signed Karrikaburu for Athletic Club first though! He was on loan at HSV for a season, scoring prolifically. Then had a good season in La Liga. He's improved hugely. 

Athletic Club finished 7th then 3rd. Ageing players are starting to leave but only Ivan Martin from Villarreal has come in, who looks better this year and should be a reasonable price. Youth intakes look decent if not spectacular at this point. 

I'll keep simming to see how the game develops. 

[bowieinspace]

So i ended up gambling on Karrikaburu and he's been really good so far. Trying to mentor him to get his determination up but his performances have been solid. He's played quite a lot of games already. I'm like 8 into the season and he's started most and came on as a sub in others.

Playing a 3-4-3 variant, it's going really well so far, and I've finally (after many years of trying) getting a proper tune out of Raul Garcia haha...just in time for him to be 50 years old. 

[dothestrand]

I know we have a number of Athletic Club regulars in this thread. Are we all going to move over to FM22 in the beta phase or once it's on full release? Do we want to move to a new FM22 thread?

[bowieinspace]

10 minutes ago, dothestrand said:

I know we have a number of Athletic Club regulars in this thread. Are we all going to move over to FM22 in the beta phase or once it's on full release? Do we want to move to a new FM22 thread?

I think a new thread is the way forward. If you wanted to set it up again? You could even just start the thread and do 5 posts straight away just to hold the space for guides etc. I know it’s a lot easier to do the proper guides when the full game releases and more accurate too!

personally I’m already on my athletic save, the betas have been pretty polished recently so figured I’d just get straight into it 

Edited October 26, 2021 by bowieinspace

[dothestrand]

32 minutes ago, bowieinspace said:

I think a new thread is the way forward. If you wanted to set it up again? You could even just start the thread and do 5 posts straight away just to hold the space for guides etc. I know it’s a lot easier to do the proper guides when the full game releases and more accurate too!

personally I’m already on my athletic save, the betas have been pretty polished recently so figured I’d just get straight into it 

Cheers. I'll start setting it up later today!

[ernemann]

Well with the game coming on Tuesday its time to say goodbye to FM21 and we made it to amazing 37 seasons at Athletic Club quite amazing I must say! I actually had a hope to reach year 2060, but only made it 2057 so maybe in FM22 I will make it.

2152 games in charge always fun to watch these numbers This was one of my best saves ever and not sure if I can do that again. Only 12 players bought over 37 years this is incredible