[FM23] Athletic Club (Bilbao) - Aupa Athletic!

[bowieinspace]

Welcome to FM23 with Athletic Club!

 

As always, myself, @dothestrand and others grind away at making the Basque giants the best team in Europe, but why Athletic?:

1) A club steeped in history, with a passionate fan base and community focus
2) Athletic is a 'big club', with a new stadium housing over 50,000, good resources and an elected by the members style leadership model.
3) We're not La Real...suckers
3) From an FM point of view, Athletic has a unique policy. You can ONLY sign Basque players. This creates a fun challenge, akin to a youth academy challenge but with the ability to sign from a small pool of Basque players to fill gaps when necessary, and effectively poach youngsters from a handful of other academies (e.g. La Real (Sociedad), Osasuna, Alaves, Eibar etc). So Athletic is basically a youth academy challenge, plus a bit extra. As one of the bigger clubs in Spain, competing for Europe and titles is a regular occurance on an Athletic save, however dominating Europe and winning Champions Leagues is always a challenge due to the smaller player pool. If you're looking for something like a youth academy challenge, where you compete with the best with limited player options and challenge for glory but ultimately find challenges to sustain it year on year, this could be the save for you.

In this thread, we'll start off with guides to a range elements, such as squad planning, transfers and the youth academy to help get you started, and you'll see updates from others managing Athletic. But first, let's start with some history.

 

 

ATHLETIC CLUB HISTORY

Athletic de Bilbao, historically, are the third most successful football club in Spain. As well as being one of only three clubs never relegated from the top division of La Liga – there are no prizes for knowing the other two – they are also third in the number of titles won over the years. Sadly for their supporters the last title was won some years ago, however Athletic have had recent success winning the Supercopa in 2020-21, and have had near misses in the Copa Del Rey.

Most football followers know about the long-standing Basque only policy of Athletic, which has been the subject of much debate, but I suspect that fewer are aware of the benefit that this concentration on home-grown players has had to the Spanish national squad. Athletic Bilbao has had more players representing Spain than any other Spanish club – including Real Madrid and Barcelona. The club has continued its tradition of signing players born in the Basque provinces of Spain or France, although in the late 1980s this was broadened to include players who had moved to the region at a young age.

 

Athletic Bilbao Football Club - Founded in 1898 by a group of students from the Gymnasium Zamacois – who adopted the English spelling because they had studied in England – Athletic Bilbao merged with Bilbao Football Club, consisting of mainly ex miners from the north-east of England and shipyard workers from Portsmouth and Southampton, in 1902. After calling themselves Club Vizcaya for a season they reverted to the name Athletic Club de Bilbao in 1903. After playing in blue and white stripes for a few seasons, in 1910 they changed to the red and white they still play in today – the possible reasons for this can be found in the Atlético Madrid article, as the two clubs shared founders and have entwined early histories.

During the early years, the club was immediately successful, frequently winning the Copa del Rey title. The star player of the time is still remembered in Spanish football today as the leading scorer each year is known as the ‘Pichichi’, which is named after the Athletic player who once scored a hat-trick in a Cup Final.

The appointment of English coach Fred Pentland, El Bombín (the Bowler Hat) led to even more success. A great coaching innovator, who was also in charge of Atlético Madrid and the Spanish national team, Pentland was an early advocate of the style that became known in England, much later, as ‘push and run’ when introduced by Arthur Rowe with Tottenham Hotspur. He was not the only English manager employed by the club; in later years, Ronnie Allen and Howard Kendall also coached here. Their choices of headgear, though, went unrecorded! It is, however, known that Kendall found it so frustrating being unable to buy the players he wanted that it was cited as his major reason for leaving the club.

Under Pentland’s stewardship, Athletic won the League – of which the team were founder members in 1928 – and the cup on several occasions, doing the ‘double’ in both 1930 and 1931. In the second of these remarkable seasons, Barcelona were beaten by 12 goals to 1 in Bilbao – a result which is never likely to be repeated.

All of the games in Bilbao were played at the club’s present stadium, San Mamés, named after a nearby church. This has led to the stadium being known as ‘The Cathedral’, although the atmosphere – especially when Real Madrid are in town – can hardly be compared with one! As well as being known as the ‘Rojiblancos’ because of their colours the team is also referred to as ‘Los Leones’ (the lions) as St Mames himself was an early Christian that the lions had refused to kill.

There was a period when the club had to change its name to Atlético Bilbao, as a result of a decision by Franco to outlaw non-Spanish names and languages. During the 1950s, however, the government’s severe restrictions on foreign-born players in the league greatly helped the Basque club who won several league and cup titles in this time and, in 1956, entered the then-named European Cup for the first time. The club’s successes all helped give the Basque people a sense of identity at a time when they felt very isolated in Spain. There was a famous incident in December 1975, just 15 days after the death of Franco, in which Iribar and Kortabarria, rival captains of Athletic and Real Sociedad, carried the Basque flag – illegal at the time – onto the pitch before a local derby.

 

RECENT SUCCESS

Bilbao finished up their 2013-14 campaign with a fourth place finish and shot to secure Champion's League football, which they did with a victory over Napoli. Unfortunately Bilbao fell short, finishing third in their group behind both Shakhtar and FC Porto then later were knocked out of the EURO by Serie A side Torino. Bilbao managed to make it to the finals of the Copa del Ray as well, but once again fell short with a 3-1 loss to Barcelona. The club were able to get redemption however, with the ageless Artiz Aduriz scoring a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory against Barcelona in the 2015-2016 Super Cup and also capturing a draw at Camp Nou later in the season. Aduriz ended his resurgent 2015-2016 season with 36 goals in all competitions and getting a call of to the Spain national team for Euro 2016. The club secured a spot in the EURO with a fifth place finish in the 2015-2016 season thanks to not only contributions from Aduriz, but also from some of their more promising first team youth players. 

In 2016-17 the club enjoyed another consistent season coached by Ernesto Valverde, finishing 7th in the league and requalifying for the Europa League (3rd qualifying round) for 2017-18. Heralded as a potential winner of the Europa League in 2016-17, the club lost in the round of 32 to Apoel Nicosia in a surprising result. Following the 2016-17 season, coach Ernesto Valverde moved on to Barcelona after a successful spell at the club. Athletic made the decision to promote Kuko Ziganda from the B team to take control of the first team squad, but sadly this didn't work out and he was removed from his position at the end of the 2017-18 season. In 2018-19, the club moved to appoint Eduardo Berizzo to the helm alongside his backroom team. Berizzo has previously enjoyed a successful spell at Celta and a mixed spell at Sevilla previously, and is well known for his pressing style. Unfortunately Berizzo's style led to some promising football but poor results - ultimately he was removed and replaced by Gaizka Garitano. Garitano had been leading the B team - he brought about improved solidarity defensively in comparison to the leaky football seen under Berizzo, and led the team through impressive form for the remainder of the season, finishing just outside of the European qualification places.

The 2019-20 season started in glorious fashion, when Aduriz scored a sensational last minute scissor kick to defeat Barcelona at the San Mames. That was unfortunately as good as it got. Despite the season being interrupted by COVID-19, Athletic Club remained in European contention for most of the season, only for a poor run of form to derail them once the season resumed. Athletic Club finished a disappointing 11th, although they were only 5pts behind arch-rivals Real Sociedad, who finished 6th. Athletic Club and Real Sociedad both reached the Copa Del Rey final, the first Basque derby final ever. Held in April 2021, a disappointing performance saw Real Sociedad lift the trophy.

The 2020-21 season was another underwhelming year. Athletic Club finished in 10th, but with fewer points than the previous season, and a long way off the European places. They reached the Copa Del Rey final once more, but were hammered 4-0 by Barcelona. The pattern from the last few years is familiar now. Solid in defence but passive in attack. Alex Berenguer was the top  scorer in La Liga with a mere eight goals. The good news was the emergence of young players like Sancet, Vencedor and Morcillo. 

The 2021-22 season continued with the management of Marcelinho, and while it shows signs of improvement inconsistency regularly reared it's head. Athletic eventually finished 8th, narrowly missing out on the European places, with further frustration as losing finalists in the Supercopa, and a semi final exit to Valencia in the Copa Del Rey. This led to Marcelinho's tenure as manager ending at the completion of the season. 

For the 2022-23 season, former manager Ernesto Valverde rejoined the club - a man who had brought good success and consistent European competition to Athletic in his previous spell. So far, an excellent start to the 2022-23 season, alongside Nico Williams emergence as a starter has brought fresh optimism to the club.

 

RIVALRIES

The largest one in Spain sees you facing Real Sociedad in a Basque derby. Other rivalries are with another Basque teams Eibar, Alaves and Osasuna and also competitive rivalries with Barcelona and Real Madrid. Osasuna and Sociedad in particular are also the other main producers of Basque players, but good luck signing any of them. It's exceedingly difficult to pry players from one club to the other, which is how intense the rivalry is. When playing as Athletic, you can expect to sign players on the odd occasion from these clubs, and it gets easier if you're able to build a solid difference in reputation between the sides, however even at that stage, some players will refuse the move. This is something of an unexpected challenge to many newcomers to managing Athletic, in that the majority of Basque players capable of improving the team do not want to join.

 

WHY ATHLETIC CLUB?

It's one of the more challenging saves in all of FM, because you are limited to signing only players with Basque heritage or players in Spain who are no older than 16 years old. It forces you to focus on utilizing what you have in the squad to the best of their ability and developing your youth and figuring out what you want the DNA of the club to be long term. This offers two different ways to play as Athletic Club:

1) Use the signing of Spanish U16 players to provide a wider base to pick from, or for an added challenge...
2) Only sign Basque players of any age, and do not sign any spanish U16 players unless they already hold Basque nationality. 

Athletic Club have one of the best youth setups in the game, so you can churn out prospects to replenish your first team and keep it home grown. You aren't buying any trophies here with a Tycoon. You need to have a strong handle on youth development and be ready to integrate those younger players into the side. 

 

EXPECTATIONS

 

Athletic has very high standards and expectations. During the first season the board and fan expectation is to qualify for the UEFA Conference, progressing to the Europa League and then Champions League over the following 2 years. This has softened somewhat from recent iterations of FM, so should be very achievable - to be honest you want to be challenging for the top 4 in year one to start building up your club finances as quickly as possible. This helps with the salary cap for future seasons.

Edited October 23, 2022 by bowieinspace

[bowieinspace]

The Squad

 

When starting an Athletic save you're fortunate to have a well rounded squad for the first season, however some improvements can be made (we'll come to that later). Let's start by overviewing what is available to you on arrival

Squad Personality - Determined
Captain - Iker Muniain
Hot Prospect - Nico Serrano
Top Earner - Inaki Williams
Key Player - Unai Simon

According to your welcome screen, the above are a few basics you're given. It's quite noticeable immediately there's wage disparity within the squad, with a handful of players on huge contracts - quite a few of these are older players so the wage cap shouldn't be a huge issue in La Liga over the first couple of seasons as these players are phased out - again, we will come to this later.

Goalkeepers

 

Athletic in recent years have had almost embarrassing riches in the GK position - long time servant Gorka Iraizoz was replaced by Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was then replaced by Unai Simon after Kepa's big money switch to Chelsea. In the end, it's a reasonable argument to suggest Athletic have ended up with the best of the bunch - Unai Simon is an extremely consistent and reliable goalkeeper, who is very well rounded, and is probably the best player on the team overall. As back up, Julen Agirrezabala is a wonderful prospect, with potential to be up there with Simon ability wise. I'd recommend finding opportunities to give him games, or you could consider loaning him out and bringing in another back up if you feel that's a better way for him to develop. 

 

Defenders

 

A reliable and sturdy backline - and also a good example of wage disparity.

Inigo Martinez - A leader in the backline, Inigo Martinez is an excellent defender. Aggressive, committed and a great ball player he offers a well rounded option. At 31 and on a big wage (entering the final year of his deal) you will need to think about whether he's a good fit long term, but for year one, he's an easy selection in your 11.
Dani Vivian - at 23 he's the best defensive prospect for the longer term, with a perfectionist personality meaning he will have no issues reaching his potential. A natural selection alongside Martinez
Yeray - A very reliable option who could easily be a starter for you, however perhaps falls slightly behind the above two. His current level is very comparable to Vivian, but Vivian's potential makes him the preferred choice. 
Unai Nunez - On loan at Celta Vigo which is certainly fine for year one, where you have no European competition to worry about. In year two, he can either be your 4th CB if you retain Martinez, or potentially could come in as a starter if he develops well during his loan spell - one to keep an eye on.
Peru Nolaskoain - Although listed as a DM (so you will see him below), Peru offers a good squad option. If you did decide to let Martinez depart Peru could be a good 4th choice allowing you to spend funds elsewhere. 

Mikel Balenziaga, Imanol and Yuri - Your three left backs offer very similar qualities. Historically Yuri has been the better option, but it's more even this year. The downside with Yuri and Balenziaga is age, Yuri is 32 and on a very large wage and 2 years left on his deal, and Balenziaga at 34 will start declining quickly. While these 2 will suit for the first season, it's an area you'll need to address fairly quickly. Fortunately you do have a capable player in Imanol on loan, so you can hope he develops well and can cover that side in season 2.

Ander Capa, Inigo Lekue and Oscar De Marcos - You have 3 right back options. De Marcos is an Athletic legend but at 33 he's not going to provide longevity. Inigo Lekue is a capable option but isn't going to be a world beater for you. Capa is the best of the 3, and at 30 has a few years left. Again though, due to age and overall quality, the right back area is one you'll be wanting to review fairly quickly into your save. Alex Petxarroman is on loan and you'll likely look to move him on when his loan ends.

 

Central Midfield

With a couple of solid young prospects, this is a strong area of the time, but will need some depth in the coming years.

Dani Garcia - Reliable and hard working, Dani Garcia is a great option to have in your squad as he can cover a few positions/roles. He is however 32 and in his final contracted year. You will likely not want to renew him however you could do this to provide a bit of depth for another year or so, depending on the terms he is after. Even if he declines slightly he won't let you down. 
Mikel Vesga - Another reliable option for your squad. Mikel Vesga is actually Valverde's first choice alongside Sancet in central midfield this season. He can play DM or a box to box type role, and at 29 has a few years left. 
Ander Herrera - The former Athletic player has returned on loan from PSG this season - at 32 he still has plenty of quality and will likely occupy a starting role for you. Athletic have a buy clause of only 220,000GBP, so you may wish to take this up if he stays injury free and has reasonable contractual demands. As a professional player with good natural fitness, he will likely be a good option for a few seasons if you keep him on.
Oier Zarraga - A young prospect who will be a rotation option at best
Oihan Sancet - One of your top younger players. Sancet can play a range of roles, either more attacking roles such as CMA or mezzala, box to box type roles or playmaker style roles. You can expect Sancet to be a staple of your midfield for years to come.
Unai Vencedor - Although Vesga is keeping him out of the team in real life, Vencedor remains a superb option on FM and if you play with a defensive midfielder should be your first choice in that role, especially as he has potential to grow as well. 
Benat Prados - Although his best role is noted above as a CMA this perhaps isn't a fair reflection. Prados is probably best suited to a deeper playmaker style role. Unfortunately he's hampered by weak physicals - depending on your style he may be your cup of tea, so one to watch while on loan.
Juan Artola - Listed as a CM, but also viable as a wide player, another one to keep an eye on during his initial loan spell.

 

Wide Players

 

Definitely one of your stronger areas, both in ability terms but also age/prospects

Inaki Williams - The man who never misses a game. Inaki is an excellent pacey wide forward, who you may prefer to utilise as a number 9. A hard worker too who can either play as a central forward in a pressing forward or advanced forward role, wide right as a winger or wide left as an inside forward. His versatility provides options for your system.
Jon Morcillo - While not the best player in your wide areas, he provides reliable back up and at 23 can do so for many years.
Nico Williams - The standout of your wide players - perhaps not on his current ability, but certainly in terms of his potential. At only 19 and already at first team level, Inaki's younger brother will be key to your save. Get his release clause upped immediately - do this on your first day. 
Iker Muniain - Legendary player for Athletic, and certainly an Athletic lifer. Muniain has been playing first team football for Athletic since he was 16. A creative player who can operate either wide left (cutting in on his right), as a number 10 or as a central midfielder in a mezzala type role. Iker will be a key player for you for the first few seasons.
Alex Berenguer - Alex is a very capable player, best wide left but can play on the right also or in a central role such as a shadow striker. He can also play deeper on the flanks as a wing back should it suit your needs. He may not be a guaranteed starter for you, but should be one who features a lot.
Gorka Guruzeta - After coming through Lezema Guruzeta left the club to find regular football outside of the top division. A spell at Sabadell in La Liga 2 was followed up with a successful La Liga 2 season with Amorebieta, scoring 13 league goals in 37 appearances. His in game ability is fairly low though and he will be a back up at best. As he only just joined the club you'll be unlikely to sell him in year one, but he could do an excellent job for your B team. 
Nico Serrano - An excellent prospect who starts on loan at Mirandes in La Liga 2. Keep a close eye on his playing time as if he doesn't play enough games there it will hinder his development.

 

Forwards

 

Two options here, although you may prefer to use Inaki as a number 9, as that allows Nico to play on the right side and Muniain on the left. 

Raul Garcia - Absolute ****house. Raul Garcia will rough you up. At 36 he's definitely showing signs of his age and is in his final contract year. Can provide an option for you at striker, number 10 or even as a central midfielder. Valuable for year one but you will likely want to get his huge wage off the books at the end of the first season.
Asier Villalibre - Has found his footing somewhat now in La Liga and provides a hard working, reliable option at centre forward. He is however probably not one you'd want to rely on as your starting centre forward in years to come.


Suggested Line Up

 

The Athletic squad does give you some excellent options in terms of formational flexibility, albeit without signing a player, 3 at the back may be tough due to squad depth. 

Here I have gone with a 4-3-3 option that suits the players skill sets. Athletic have a hard working, determined team with two wide players in Nico Williams and Iker Muniain who want to cut inside, alongside a midfield trio who can get up and down the pitch and win the ball back well. I have opted to go with Muniain on the left, however he could be moved into the mezzala role in this system with Berenguer taking up the role on the left flank.

Given that Athletic have defensively capable central midfielders and wide players who wish to cut in, my recommendation is to force the opposition in to your central midfield area to win the ball back there - this is made possible by a hard working front line who can execute a high press. Athletic's central defenders are not superb in the air, so stopping crosses would also be worth considering. To assist with this, we've used the higher defensive line/step up combination to try to avoid a team camping out around our box and putting in floated crosses to a tall forward. This has risk against pacey attacks so one you may wish to adjust game by game.

You can also play out from the back as all 3 centre back options are excellent ball players, alongside very capable central midfielders and full backs. In this system I have opted for Vencedor as an anchor man to provide some stability given two wing backs are being used. I also experimented with a half back, but this didn't work well with the mezzala as they were too far apart when playing the ball out from the back.

While Athletic's creative players are good, they're perhaps not good enough for a tiki taka system, and combined with the pace of the Williams brothers this favours a more direct approach. The fans/board also want to see a fast, direct, high pressing style so this is a good fit. In this system I have the work the ball in to box option ticked - while this counter acts this previous note, I found my players rushing attacks a little too much, so this instruction is a temporary measure until I can round out a better solution. 

You could also operate with a 4-2-3-1 system (favoured by Valverde in real life this season) if preferred without any issues. Equally the flexibility of some of the midfield and forward players will allow you to play a range of formations - you are likely however going to be best suited to using direct/faster attacks as opposed to a slower patient style whichever formation you use.

Edited October 21, 2022 by bowieinspace

[bowieinspace]

RECRUITMENT AND TRANSFER OPTIONS

Tips for recruitment and scouting

I usually run with the following player filters saved on the player search screen, so I can quickly flick through the options important to me:

Filter 1: All Basque Players
Nationality IS Basque, and Realistic transfer equals unticked

Filter 2: Realistic Basque Players
Nationality IS Basque, and realistic transfer equals ticked (usually set to 'doubtful' interest or above)

Filter 3: All Basque Youth Players
Nationality IS Basque, and age is at most 17 (or 18 if you prefer), realistic transfer equals unticked

Filter 4: Realistic Basque Youth Players
Nationality IS Basque, and age is at most 17 (or 18 if you prefer), realistic transfer equals ticked

If you are keen to also recruit Spaniards of 16 years of age, you can just adjust the youth filters by adding "Nationality is Basque OR nationality is Spanish", Age is at most 16. That will allow you to see Spaniards who you could sign who would then gain Basque nationality later.

Youth Intake Day and the period immediately after

Make sure you immediately scout all youth players from Eibar, Real Sociedad, Osasuna, Alaves and any other Basque clubs who are doing well on the game. I then use the general player search screen to find anyone who has appeared at another club.

I look at a combination of star rating and attributes once the scout has 100% knowledge. Generally I won't pursue anyone with less than 2 gold star potential. Above that, 3 gold star or above potential I always sign, 2 or 2.5 I base it more on the attribute spread and my general feeling on the player (e.g. whether they look pretty good already and perhaps the scout is wrong, or whether they might fit a certain role and perform above their level later). If you are signing any Spanish 16 year old, you can probably be a bit more picky. 

Once I feel I may sign them but don't want to pull the trigger straight away (or can't), I add them to my shortlist and re-scout every month to see any changes in price/wage or ability. 

Scouting

A good scouting structure for Athletic Club can work as follows:

Scout 1 - Next opposition
Scout 2 - Scouting La Liga, any player age
Scout 3 - Scouting Segunda (Liga 123), any player age
Scout 4 - Scouting Segunda (Liga 123), under 19s only
Scout 5 - Scouting France nation, under 19s only (you could have another scout doing all ages here if you feel it necessary)
Scouts 6 and 7 - Scouting Segunda B (3rd tier), under 19s only

You can of course add a few extras, however I tend to find after the first couple of seasons any outliers (e.g. notable Basque players who have moved abroad) you know of anyway and can scout separately. This combined with the player search filters should mean you don't miss any potential talent. 

 

Top Basque Players Outside of Athletic/Potential Transfer Targets

 

High Reputation Players who may not be Achieveable (Age, salary or both)

Antoine Griezmann - Owned officially by Atletico on the game (I thought he was still technically owned by Barca with a buy option built in to his 2 year Atletico loan, unsure if this has changed or if the game needs tweaking!). High wage, 31 years old, it's probably not realistic to get him until his decline is quite substantial and then he may prove too expensive anyway. 
Cesar Azpilicueta - the emergence of Reece James at Chelsea means the versatile defender may be easier to prise away from Stamford Bridge than in previous saves. He's 32 and on big wages at 150k p/w, so likely will a short cameo at the end of his career if you can get him.
 

 

More Realistic/Reasonable Options

Given Athletic's squad is largely capable, you can get by for the first season. However Athletic have a decent transfer budget at the start of the game (21m), you can use the list below to look at some players who could offer good long term benefits.

I've categorised the below into 'Top Picks' who are worth looking at if you want to add a player early on in that role. You'll also find a 'Best overall but hard to get' category in some positions, summarising those who you definitely want to get, but may not be affordable initially.

Goalkeepers

Top Pick
Alvaro Fernandez - Initially on loan from Huesca to Espanyol who have an optional buy clause, and is probably the best keeper alternative who won't break the bank but his loan makes a transfer more complicated.
Kepa Arrizabalaga - The Chelsea keeper is looking fantastic in real life right now after a torrid few years at Chelsea, but in game he's only moderately rated. A slight downgrade on Unai Simon and has a high wage.

Others
Sergio Herrera - the Osasuna goalkeeper has a manageable release fee (14m) and offers a good squad option - could be worth a look if for some reason you sell Simon, but otherwise probably a pass.
Aitor Fernandez, Oier Olazabal, Iago Herrerin and a few others provide squad options but probably not ones you would look at
Alex Remiro - former Athletic Club GK, who left a season ago under a cloud. Expect the fans to riot if you signed him! Probably not worth it anyway given you have two great keepers already on the books.
Iker Alvarez - A rare commodity...a man with both Basque and Andorran nationality. A solid back up who would be a decent pick up at the right price.


Full Backs

Top Pick
Aihen Munoz - Solid left back and definitely worth considering in the first window, appears to be somewhat interested and affordable, and his roughly on a level with Yuri/Balenziaga, but younger!
Andoni Gorosabal - Potentially the best right back option out there - may be available in the first window if you want to spend your budget on a new right back

Others
Javi Lopez - A young left back at Alaves who starts the game transfer listed. Looks to have good potential. Picking him up for around 4-5million is definitely possible, and is worth considering as a replacement for Balenziaga straight away, and he can be understudy to Yuri.
Joseba Zaldua - A very capable right back who plays at a similar level to Capa and De Marcos. Worth keeping an eye on in case you are in need of someone in that role, but he's not getting any younger.
Alvaro Odriozola - At Real Madrid but not favoured there, unfortunately he's very unlikely to be affordable initially due to his wage demands. If you feel the need to go hard for a right back, you could try to convince him.
Martin Aguirregabiria - 25 year old right back. Worth scouting and keeping an eye on but may not be the best option out there.
Kevin Rodrigues - Attacking left back option at Adana (Turkish club). Not a world beater but very capable and could suit your system.
Aritz Elustondo - Another good central defender option also capable of playing as a right back, but has no interest in joining Athletic.


Central Defenders/Defensive Midfielders

Top Pick
Jon Moncayola - DLP at Osasuna. A young player with potential to be very solid indeed. Affordable within the first window and with quite a few ageing players in midfield, picking up Moncayola is a very prudent choice.

Best Overall but Hard to Get
Mikel Merino - Following his transfer to Real Sociedad and continued snub of Athletic, there will be some work to do to get this transfer done. Most realistic chance would be if he moved to another club first. A strong midfielder who would provide an excellent option though if available. Too expensive at the start of the game and has minimal interest in joining. Probably the best overall player within this section
Hugo Guillamon - The Valencia player would be an excellent long term signing, however will come with a hefty transfer fee in the first window. 
Aymeric Laporte - a key part of the Man City backline. His wages are within range (just), but his availability will depend on how he gets on at Man City, definitely a chance here if he falls out of favour at City so worth shorlisting.
Martin Zubimendi - superb prospect at 23. If he becomes available, buy, buy, buy. Valued quite highly at Sociedad hence perhaps a touch unrealistic initially.

Other Options
Igor Zubeldia - Solid deep lying playmaker type. Young player who can be a starter/rotation option if you're able to get him in. A solid playmaker who is equally a natural at CB. Probably a bit expensive initially.
Ander Guevara - A decent defensive midfielder who would provide competition for places
Luca Sangalli - A hard working, two footed box to box player. Definitely worth keeping an eye on as he can provide a good squad option.
Jonathan Espericueta - the Mexican with Basque nationality...you will need to set specific database options for him to be loaded into the game. A decent prospect, but worth noting due to him playing in the Mexican league. Be sure to load him up, he could be useful! There's one or two others who may pop up in this camp so we will see who appears once the game has been played a bit more.
Asier Illaramendi - An excellent deep lying playmaker who at 32 doesn't provide good long term value, and has no interest in joining Athletic

Central/Attacking Midfielders

Top Pick/s
Aimar Oroz - The wizard of Oroz as he's been dubbed on this forum. Looks excellent still in FM23, and even further developed. Quite expensive for the first window, has only just signed a new contract, and a left sided attacking midfielder isn't the priority, but definitely worth keeping a close eye on.
Jon Julen Guerrero - just for the romance, you might want to bring Athletic Club legend Julen's son to the club. He's currently in Real Madrid's under-19s and has some promising technical stats, but clearly needs to develop further. He's only 18 and definitely interested in a move - at the start of the game. He's available cheap and has good potential.

Best Overall but Hard to Get
Mikel Oyarzabal - An attacking midfielder with massive potential. Given Raul Garcia is ageing, if you were able to bring in Oyarzabal it would be a real coup as he could hold down that position for years. He should always be your number 1 target, but whether timing and luck mean he comes your way is an unknown. He has a 5-6 month knee injury so his comeback from that, if not ideal, may see him become available at likely a high cost.

Others
Ruben Pardo - good central playmaker, but around the same level as what you have, so you'd be signing for depth. He's often done well in past saves, but he's 29, so you'd be better off looking at younger options.
Roberto Lopez - can play across the attacking midfield positions and at 23, has plenty of room to improve.
Roberto Torres - 33, but can play all across the midfield, with great technical attributes. A short term option, but a decent one.
Javi Martinez - no, not THAT Javi Martinez! There's another one at Osasuna who plays as an attacking midfielder. Worth scouting. Mainly in here for the name joke.
Ivan Martin - a young Villareal midfielder, currently on loan at Girona. Can play as a CM and anywhere in the attacking midfield positions, so offers versatility and depth. Likely to be available in the Summer of 2023.
Kike Barja - a young Osasuna winger who can play on both flanks. Probably more of a squad filler.
Martin Merquelanz - an AML option, no interest in joining Athletic.
Ander Barrenetxea - A talented 20 year old winger, who already has wonderkid status. Has no interest in joining Athletic
Robert Navarro - Attacking midfielder who could do well long term. Only recently signed a new deal at Sociedad so no interest initially - one to watch
Dani Rodriguez - A little gem of an attacking central midfielder at Barca, looks to have good potential and may well be available early on

Strikers

Top Pick
Jon Karrikaburu - a striker of good potential. It's almost worth pulling the trigger immediately given the lack of options in this area. He can be tutored by Raul Garcia for a year if his personality doesn't look good.

Others
Jon Bautista - Would offer another striker option, but isn't anything special.
 

Contracts

When you start the game, always check release clauses throughout the team. The last thing you want managing Athletic is not being aware a players release clause is within reach and losing them unexpectedly. Make sure the guys you definitely want to keep have prohibitive release clauses - or at least, you could live with selling them for the money it would take to prise them away. In the squad post above you can see all the release clauses on the right hand side. Be sure to review these as getting players poached can be a disaster for your save. There's probably around 3 or 4 that need to be upped immediately. 

When negotiating contracts, increase the clause to what you want it to be and lock it on the first negotiation. They'll ask for more wages but that's ok, you can't risk losing good players and finances aren't a big problem at Athletic. If you don't lock the higher clause, they may respond by locking a much lower value. Also consider locking in a three-year optional extension. Again, the wages requested will increase but if it's manageable, do it!

Salary Cap

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK YOUR SALARY CAP IN THE LA LIGA REGISTRATION SCREEN!!! Once again this information isn't clearly visible in transfer or contract negotiation screens. Athletic are close to their salary cap in year one, so if you up a few contracts to increase release clauses and bring in 1-2 players you may find yourself caught out.

Edited December 12, 2022 by bowieinspace

[bowieinspace]

BUILDING FROM THE BOTTOM UP

Athletic Club are a team built from within, their record of retaining their La Liga status despite only signing players from the local region is unrivalled anywhere in the world. In recent years since the world of big TV money began, with more players travelling overseas this in theory should have become a much tougher task for Athletic Club. Indeed Athletic have regularly lost big name players over recent years, such as Fernando Llorente, Ander Herrera, Javi Martinez and most recently, the pair of Kepa and Aymeric Laporte, but there has always been one thing to keep things together and bring year on year development….Lezama. 

Lezama is the club’s academy, and of the current first team squad most have come through Athletic Club’s own academy. Some players left to develop elsewhere before returning (that is a common theme at Athletic, e.g. Benat), and you should always write buy back clauses into player sales. Athletic’s focus on youth and confidence in their academy is so strong, they often turn down the opportunity to recruit other Basque talent to give their academy players a chance. Such a philosophy is a breath of fresh air in the modern footballing world, and one of the reasons I was attracted to Athletic Club on a personal level. In game, you do have the option of signing 16 year old Spaniards to help build a stronger academy. However the purist may prefer to avoid this, and only sign players of Basque nationality at any age – this is also a great way to make an Athletic save just a touch more difficult. It basically becomes a youth academy challenge, with just a few other clubs you’re likely to be able to pluck youngsters from (who normally won't sell to you).

 

Recruitment of youngsters

Be sure to keep a close eye on the academies of Osasuna and Real Sociedad. This is where the best Basque youngsters are most likely going to come through, however (especially with Sociedad) be prepared to be patient or pay over the odds as the rivalry is a fierce one and player loyalty runs deep in the region.

Fortunately, Athletic’s own academy can make the club largely self-sufficient. The structure of B teams and C teams in Football Manager has become more immersive and generally deeper over recent versions, meaning the reserve teams are a more viable way to develop young talent than they used to be.

 

The Current Crop

At the start of your save, Athletic’s youth players are split between Bilbao Athletic (B team) and Baskonia (C Team) and the under 19s team, so before making any squad changes it’s imperative you get to know the players in these teams. Some of them won’t make it, but a lot of them will provide good depth for the first teamt. One of the biggest things when managing Athletic Club if you're new to the team, is remembering that any player could become important....when managing Athletic, you need to be flexible, you'll need players with lower star ratings for depth, and you'll need to build a tactic around effective players sometimes who might not necessarily be the best in terms of star ratings.

 

Bilbao Athletic & CD Baskonia

A couple of seasons ago Bilbao Athletic played in the Segunda, a big step up from the 3rd tier. This was a great opportunity for these players to showcase their skills and challenge for a role in the first team. However the Segunda is a tough division of seasoned pros, and the young Bilbao Athletic team lacked the experience to challenge in the division and were relegated. Even with that, some youngsters really showed their quality and have earned their opportunities with the first team. Others have continued in the Segunda with loan moves or played for the B side again in the Segunda B. 

Baskonia play in the regional division, and to be honest, in game I tend to use them as a dumping ground for those players who are realistically never going to contribute to the first team as their division is inactive. However at the start of the game the team has a number of potential first team talents worth keeping an eye on. I won't post specific screenshots of players as most (both B, C and under 19s) have a variable potential that could land anywhere within a set range, meaning the same player on one save could be a Segunda level player, while in the next save could be a solid La Liga prospect. It's down to you to keep an eye on these players and track their development - just because someone only has a 2 star potential, don't dump them.....loan them, get them games and the right training schedules, they may contribute in the future.

Please note, players will sometimes begin each save in different reserve teams and with different potential ratings, so don't take the below screenshots as gospel. I've not listed players below 3* potential just to save space.

The key players from Bilbao Athletic (B Team):

B team talent in Fm23 isn't that strong. You can see a bit of potential here but no massive standouts - the best young players from previous years, such as Nico Serrano, Peru Nolaskoian, Nico Williams and Sancet have progressed in to the first team now. A few keeping an eye on here but no standout superstars

 

The key players from Baskonia (C Team):

Again a little bit of potential here but nothing standout - Aimar Penalver has some solid attributes and could make a good keeper in the future.

 

The key players from the under 19s:

Peio Canales was the best of the bunch in this version, however in my actual save (these screenshots are from a fresh save just to get all the pics for these intro posts) the ratings of some of these players swings quite wildly. As always with variable potential, you've just gotta keep an eye on development and see who looks good in your game world. Historically there has been a few real standouts with high potential but this year talent seems a little drier in the youth teams. 

There two main ways you can play as Athletic, either buying up 16 year old Spaniards to hoard talent and make sure they gain Basque nationality, or working carefully with the Bilbao academy players and signing players from the region. Either way, Lezama is an important part of Athletic Club and something that must be taken seriously. When you can only sign Basque players, developing strength in depth is much tougher than at other clubs. If a player is only 2-3 gold star potential, don’t discard them….work with them, develop their key attributes so they can effective first team players, and they may just surprise you. If you're playing as Athletic for the first time, and you're used to signing players based on star ratings to squad build, be prepared to change your approach...you'll need to utilise everyone!

Edited October 22, 2022 by bowieinspace

[bowieinspace]

SQUAD BUILDING: LOOKING AHEAD

 

Now we've looked at the various prospects in the youth squads, the first team and potential transfer targets, let's take a look at the first team squad and potential moves to upgrade or sustain your team quality over the initial seasons using players within the database at game start (obviously regens can play a part as you get perhaps 2 years in as well!):

Goalkeeper
Starting options: with Unai Simon and Julen Agirrezabala, you are well set for the foreseeable future. You may wish to bring in a 3rd choice, but not essential.
Potential upgrades: Simon is the best basque keeper in the game, so there's no where to really go here, outside of improving your back up options.
Potential sideways moves:  You'll see a handful of options in the transfer post above - Alvaro Fernandez is perhaps the standout.
Youth team prospects: Aimar Penalver and Alex Padilla look worth keeping an eye on as back up options
Likely players in 1-2 seasons: Hard to look past your current first team options as the best possible choices.

 

Central Defenders
Starting options: with Inigo Martinez, Yeray, Unai Nunez (out on loan) and Dani Vivian, you are again quite secure here and this area won't need any major overhauls any time soon.
Potential upgrades: Laporte is the main one for obvious reasons, but likely unobtainable. Robin Le Normand is probably an upgrade also but expensive.
Sideways moves: Aritz Elustondo and Igor Zubeldia at Real Sociedad would be an ideal pickup should one of the above depart, and Hugo Guillamon can do a great job as a CB also. 
Youth team prospects: You don't have a huge number of options in your own ranks, but with your existing options this isn't a huge panic.
Likely players in 1-2 seasons: No changes are necessary. You can even afford to sell Martinez if you get a large offer and Unai Nunez is looking good on loan. Nolaskoian offers a CB option too.

 

Right Back
Starting options: with Ander Capa, Oscar De Marcos and Inigo Lekue, again you are quite secure here. De Marcos will decline, but the other two can hold down this spot without issue for a couple of years.
Potential upgrades: Alvaro Odriozola - if you can get him you should. Azpilicueta is out there as well, but he's older and not so realistic. 
Sideways moves: Joseba Zaldua is one option, but is getting older. Martin Aguirregabiria and Andoni Gorosabel might be more realistic, but probably not worth substantial investment. 
Youth team prospects: Hugo Rincon and Lander Arenal are worth keeping a watchful eye on, but neither look super strong.
Likely players in 1-2 Seasons: Capa and Lekue, if you can sign Odriozola or Gorosabel they would give you more years of security in this position.

 

Left Back
Starting options: with Yuri  and Balenziaga, this is an area that will require your attention fairly quickly, although you have a little time.
Potential upgrades: There's not any specific upgrades on Yuri out there in terms of ability
Sideways moves: Kevin Rodrigues and Aihen Munoz are worth your attention. This duo are both young and can fill the spot for a good few years. Yuri has a few seasons in him, but if you can get enough money for Yuri to allow you to pay the Munoz fee, thats a long term move well worth considering. Another one to consider is Javi Lopez who is transfer listed - solid attributes and good potential ability... hard to say how he will develop, but letting go of Balenziaga and bringing this guy in to deputise for Yuri seems a very sensible move.
Youth team prospects: Imanol will return from loan and can take a first team spot, depending on his development he may be better suited to a back up role.
Likely players in 1-2 seasons: Yuri transitioning to either Munoz, Imanol or Javi Lopez as first choice, with one of the others as back up.

 

Central Midfield
Staring options: Athletic Club are well equipped for a DM and 2xCM system, or a 2xCM and an AMC tactic. Vesga and Dani Garcia are effective DMs, but Dani Garcia can also play well as a more orthodox CM. Vencedor can play the same role as Dani Garcia. Sancet is a more advanced CM, whilst Muniain can perform strongly as a more attack minded CM role, and Raul Garcia can also drop back. You also have Ander Herrera who is a standout option.
Potential upgrades: Mikel Merino is the obvious one here, but he will be hard to get and may go elsewhere before you can get him. This may not be a bad thing if he goes to a huge club and can't get much game time. Moncayola is also arguably an upgrade...perhaps more of a sideways move for your first season, but given hes young with potential to improve and you have quite a few older faces you'll need to move on, he's an obvious pick up. Hugo Guillamon falls into the same category as Moncayola, as does Zubimendi, but both are less likely to be achievable transfers in the first season
Sideways moves: There's a handful here - Benat Turrientes has some potential, and Luca Sangalli is a solid pick. Ruben Pardo is ok as well.
Youth team prospects: Peio Canales is the one to watch
Likely players in 1-2 seasons: Oihan Sancet, Jon Moncayola, Vesga and Vencedor will form the core of your midfield. If you can get Guillamon, Zubimendi or Mikel Merino then that's excellent.

 

Attacking Midfield
Starting options: with Alex Berenguer, Jon Morcillo, Iker Muniain and Nico Williams, you are well set up with versatile attacking midfielders. Raul Garcia can do well for a season also, maybe 2.
Potential upgrades: Mikel Oyarzabal is the major 'upgrade', but he will be very hard to obtain
Sideways moves: Robert Torres at Osasuna is 33 and probably lacks value. Still, he can play across the attacking midfield slots and should last a couple of seasons.
Youth team prospects: Nico Serrano needs a few years but looks very good. Ander Barrenetxea at Real Sociedad is a wonderkid but will be difficult to obtain. Aimar Oroz is the best young prospect most likely, and worth investing in. There's a handful of others such as Roberto Lopez, Robert Navarro and Ivan Martin who could be good within a year. Jon Julen Guerrero looks good again this year and is worth scouting also.
Likely players in 1-2 seasons: you're likely to keep your current attacking midfield options besides Raul Garcia and work on finding a route for Serrano into the first team. Aimar Oroz is the other one you want to add and then keep an eye on the others mentioned above. 

 

Strikers
Starting options: This has historically been the most difficult area, with Raul Garcia and Inaki Williams playing in less familiar positions. Villalibre is a stable back up but probably won't ever set the league alight.
Potential upgrades: There's no one out there, unless Griezmann is transfer listed! 
Sideways moves: Jon Bautista is very sideways...
Youth team prospects: slim pickings within your own ranks. It's worth getting Jon Karikkaburu straight away to give you an option coming through who could be excellent.
Likely players in 1-2 seasons: You'll need to make something work with Williams and Villalibre, or sign Karrikaburu. Other options are thin on the ground. Pray for good regens!!

Overall the main area to focus on transfer wise in the short term is the central midfield and left back areas, alongside getting Karikkaburu - within these areas you can make sensible long term changes and secure your position in case regens aren't developing in those areas. We're fortunate to have some good options in game!

Other areas don't require much work initially, however the right back spot will be next on the list. 

Edited October 22, 2022 by bowieinspace

[bowieinspace]

Additional Guides

A Guide on basque clubs and affiliates from @southside_hitmen

Edited December 24, 2022 by bowieinspace

[bowieinspace]

So I had to come and report on some insane transfer wheeling and dealing I did in December January, as I was expected a quiet January and it went a bit nuts:

December 21st - I get offers for Yuri out of the blue, fairly nominal amounts but none the less, for a guy with a high wage definitely worth considering. I check and on the same day Aihen Munoz has been transfer listed by Sociedad. I accept the bids for Yuri and I get Munoz for around 6million, stretching the remaining budget a little but a very sensible move to secure my left back position.

January then ticks by with nothing really happening. I decide I'm not going to renew Inigo Martinez and he signs a pre contract with Al-Sadd, I am also not resigning Raul Garcia but happy to keep him for the final months of the season, I plan to do the same with Dani Garcia, while Villalibre signs a pre contract agreement with Southampton. As deadline day rolls around I am expecting to play out the season with what I have...but suddenly I see Aimar Oroz has been transfer listed by Osasuna due to disagreements over playing time, albeit still at an 18million fee. At this stage I have basically no budget to play with, but I start to wonder if there's a way I can capitalise. 

To play with in terms of funds I have Ander Herrera, whos loan I can terminate and save 99k per week in wages. I have a couple guys leaving on frees in June who may leave now for small fees, and then I have Mikel Vesga tell me on deadline day he's looking for a new challenge. I decide to go for it and see if I can raise enough funds to get Oroz in - I figure if I can raise 8-10 million I have a chance of doing a deal with instalments. 

Move 1 - Sell Vesga for 5 million, I get a few offers and this is key to raising the funds.
Move 2 - Terminate Herrera's loan and add a bucket load to my wage budget
Move 3 - Dani Garcia has signed a pre contract with Sporting, Inigo Martinez with Al Sadd and Villalibre with Southampton. If I shift one of them I can gather maybe 1 million fee plus reduced wages. Naturally Martinez offers the most financially, but Al Sadd aren't keen, same with Southampton. I have to sell Garcia and get 900k plus his 21k wages off the books. This leaves me short in midfield but I figure I'll gamble with only league games left to play.

I get the Oroz move done, largely with instalments but his wages are pretty low so it's a good investment. It does leave me with only Vencedor, Moncayola, Sancet, Raul Garcia and then Oroz as options to cover 3 central midfield spots, which could become problematic if I get a couple injuries. Then I notice Ander Herrera has been mutually terminated by PSG - when I'd spoken to his agent before he wanted astronomical wages to convert his loan to a permanent transfer, but thought I'd take a look anyway. I got him back for 18 months for 17k per week!!!

Now my squad looks like this:

GK - Simon, Agirrezabala
RB - Capa, Lekue
LB - Aihen Munoz, Javi Lopez
CB - Yeray, Vivian, Inigo Martinez (for next season Nolaskoain and Unai Nunez come back and cover the first two). 
DM - Vencedor, Ander Herrera
CM - Moncayola, Sancet, Oroz, Raul Garcia (the latter will leave at the end of the season and I'll have choice of 2-3 younger players to offer cover as the 4th choice)
LW - Muniain, Berenguer
RW - Williams, Morcillo (Serrano will replace Morcillo in the summer)
CF - Inaki Williams and Karikkaburu (Villalibre extra depth until June).

So this season I have gotten rid of: Balenziaga (34), Yuri (33), Oscar De Marcos (34), Dani Garcia (33) and Mikel Vesga (29)
Bringing in: Javi Lopez (20), Aihen Munoz (25), Moncayola (24), Julen Jon Guerrero (18), Aimar Oroz (21) and Ander Herrera (for about 1/6 of his loan wages). 

Crazy first season.

[dothestrand]

Thanks for the updates @bowieinspace. Athletic Club remains one of the best saves in the game, and of course I'll be starting at San Mames first. Unfortunately my laptop's too old to run this version of FM, so I'll hopefully be starting closer to the full release date if I can pick up a more modern piece of tech!

Every year brings more challenges. Players getting older, some on large salaries, who need to be phased out. And judging by your January update, there's a lot of movement you can make quickly so that your squad is younger but no weaker. It looks like a lot of your immediate targets are transfer listed quickly as well!

Whilst I won't go for a full Lezama save, I'll try to be more realistic and avoid stockpiling players from the Real Sociedad/Alaves/Osasuna intakes. Signing guys from those clubs once they're in the first team/B squads or once they're transfer listed seems slightly more realistic. I have fewer issues signing young Basque players who make it through the academies of non-Basque clubs though. And of course, try to make more of the feeder clubs. Danok Bat are usually quite handy for the odd player!

Looking forward to hearing everyone's progress.

[jippo45]

Cheers bowieinspace,

Very good guide, I appreciate it and its certainly helped me. I've started as Bilbao but turned off transfers in the first window.

I've just got to January and we're doing very well in the league. Currently 3rd after 15 games. 9 points behind Real Madrid and 1 behind Barca. Won the first 2 rounds of the Copa Del Rey too. 

Due to turning off the transfers at the start there has been limited transfer activity but I have sold Balenziaga. I've chosen to renew Martinez's contract. Raul Garcia has a transfer to Lokomotiv Moscow lined for the end of his contract. I'm not really using him though so I'd be happy for him to leave this window but I don't know how to shift him early. How did you do this with Dani Garcia?

My issue now Jan has started is that there is a load of interest in Inaki Williams with Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City putting in bids around £40m. I don't want to sell and trying to negotiate for his release clause of £116m. Now he is unhappy with the valuation.

I'm having similar issues with Dani Vivian (who I start over Yeray alongside Martinez) who has Chelsea and Bayern after him. Again I have no interest in selling really so again asking for min release clause of £80m. This has also made him unhappy too. So both these player's bids are starting to cause issues with dressing room happiness. 

Tactics wise I'm very similar to you with a 433 DM Wide formation with a gegenpress. Same roles along the backline as you. Mid 3 have DM Anchor, CM's Carrilo and CM (A). Both wide men have Inverted wingers (A) roles. I really haven't been able to get anything out of Munian though meaning I've ended up playing both Williams brothers on the wings. I also couldn't get anything out of Raul Garcia or Villalibre meaning Guruzeta got a chance and he has scored 7 goals from 4 starts and 3 sub appearances as a pressing forward (A). Realistically I can't see form lasting and would love to get Munian in some form if you have any tips?

I have an 'Excellent' youth intake with some very promising strikers apparently so I'm excited to see who comes through.

Oh, and Mexico won the World Cup on my save beating England in the Final on pens 5-3 after a 2-2 draw.  

[warlock]

On 21/10/2022 at 22:25, bowieinspace said:

I hope the guides above are helpful!

I've never managed Athletic but I wanted to say what a fantastic introduction to the club this is. Appreciate the effort 

[bowieinspace]

4 hours ago, jippo45 said:I'm not really using him though so I'd be happy for him to leave this window but I don't know how to shift him early. How did you do this with Dani Garcia?

Tactics wise I'm very similar to you with a 433 DM Wide formation with a gegenpress. Same roles along the backline as you. Mid 3 have DM Anchor, CM's Carrilo and CM (A). Both wide men have Inverted wingers (A) roles. I really haven't been able to get anything out of Munian though meaning I've ended up playing both Williams brothers on the wings. I also couldn't get anything out of Raul Garcia or Villalibre meaning Guruzeta got a chance and he has scored 7 goals from 4 starts and 3 sub appearances as a pressing forward (A). Realistically I can't see form lasting and would love to get Munian in some form if you have any tips?

 

Thanks for the kind words!

in terms of Dani Garcia, if he’s signed a pre contract in January, a ‘sell now’ button appears on the inbox item confirming the deal normally. Sometimes the club are willing to accept an early transfer but not always. 

tactics wise I’ve had reasonable success with Muniain as an inside forward but he can also play some central midfield roles - I use him as a mezzala sometimes. I’d say the main reason you struggle to get anything from him is the positive mentality/high tempo combined with all attacking roles in the front 3. You could use Muniain in a support role (switch the cm(a) to his side, and have him function as more of a creator, eg an wide playmaker. Ultimately though it sounds like your results are going pretty well so whether it’s worth tweaking too much is up to you!

[bowieinspace]

1 hour ago, warlock said:

I've never managed Athletic but I wanted to say what a fantastic introduction to the club this is. Appreciate the effort 

Thanks Warlock! This thread has been a combined effort from a few people over recent years!

[ernemann]

Just started my first Athletic save of this year and as always I wont be buying any players. Ander Herrera although he is quite cheap I Will only buy him if he plays Like a Dream. But the main Thing is say goodbye to all the Old players and getting our Young talents into the team. Cant wait to get my hero Nico Serrano back from loan 😀👋

[bowieinspace]

2022-23 - End of Season Update

 

With a heap of free time and a long weekend in my country, I've sailed through my first season already - and it was overall pretty successful.

Competitions
La Liga - 2nd place, 79 points.
Copa Del Rey - Knocked out in second round to a lower league team - eek!

B Team - Promoted via the playoffs to La Liga 2!

Real Madrid coasted to a league win with 91 points - certainly looking like they will be a tough challenge in the coming years. Barca didn't have their best season just missing out on 3rd to Atletico, but a Champions League position will keep their finances ticking over - I expect with some of their quality young players being a year old they will only get better next season. 

A very disappointing Copa Del Rey exit to Cordoba was the disappointment of the season, but it did at least allow us to focus on the league which was probably beneficial for year one.

Transfers
4

 

A very busy first season for transfers as you can see above (note that we've spent a fair bit here - removing Gorosabel who was using my 23-24 budget, we spent 51million in 2022-23 with a 20million budget, reclaiming just 7.5million in sales....so using instalments we turned a 20million budget into 44million net spend (give or take) - this was made possible also due to getting Yuri and Herrera off the wage bill (which makes up about 15% of the wage bill!)

Our journey began with summer 2022 transfers for Jon Moncayola from Osasuna - at 10.5million he's a fantastic long term pick up, this was followed up by the purchase of forward Jon Karrikaburu from Real Sociedad who will be our long term centre forward assuming no world class newgens, and then we also brought in Julen Jon Guerrero from Real Madrid as a longer term prospect. Our window finished up with a bit of a change around at left back - moving out Mikel Balenziaga which allowed us to bring in Javi Lopez, who looks a very solid left back prospect. This has proven to be a good move with Javi Lopez showing solid development. 

We then went towards the January window expecting a quiet month, but it ended up being very busy! Firstly we allowed Yuri to leave for just 500k - we had shortened his contract so was potentially leaving for free in the summer anyway - the fee was pretty nominal but allowing him to leave and removing his high wage allowed us to pick up Aihen Munoz who had been transfer listed. We had to pay a Real Sociedad premium but got the deal done for 7.25 million which saw our budget depleted (even having already used a lot of instalment options on prior transfers). 

This looked to be us done but then a few deadline day surprises were in store for us. This was kicked off by primary target Aimar Oroz being transfer listed by Osasuna, albeit for a fee of over 20million - given his wage demands were low I was confident we could get him in if we could raise some funds (e.g. by selling AND reducing the wage bill). Coincidentally on the same day Mikel Vesga came to us asking for a new challenge - we were able to get 5million for him which give us some budget to work with, and we also moved on Dani Garcia for just 900k and terminated the loan of Ander Herrera which gave us substantial wage budget to utilise. These 3 moves just about gave us enough funds to complete a transfer for Aimar Oroz - we paid around 10million up front with the rest in instalments. We've definitely hampered our budgets for future seasons but I think all of our transfers this year were either necessary to replace ageing squad members or are simply great options who will be with us for years, so I'm very happy. The icing on the cake came when Ander Herrera was released by PSG following the termination of his loan with us. We then picked him up on a free for just 17k per week! Mad!

Moving in to the summer of 2023 I had 10million budget to work with, so not much to play with, however the release of Inigo Martinez, Raul Garcia and Asier Villalibre, plus the other high earners we got off the books during the season reduced our wage bill substantially, so while our financial balance isn't great, our outlook is promising. I elected to utilise our budget to develop our right back position - Inigo Lekue is a squad option at best and Ander Capa, at 31, is nearing the latter stages of his career. We moved Inigo Lekue on and then targeted Andoni Gorosabel or Alvaro Odriozola to come in and replace him - neither are a particular improvement on Capa but are 4 years younger. We elected to go with Gorosabel - both were available for similar fees but his wage demands were considerably lower. We paid a high fee for him at 24.5 million (largely instalments) - definitely an overpay - but given we have no young prospects coming through I felt the money was worth spending. It may limit any opportunities we could have to pick up Mikel Merino or Hugo Guillamon should they become available, but I felt our midfield options were better and right back needed to be prioritised. We do have a little budget left to play with so I am being patient incase something opportunistic comes up. I'd be very surprised if any further deals outside of youth transfers came up. Oh we also signed 3rd choice keeper for a nominal fee and an 18 year old left back for the B team.

2023-24 - Looking Ahead

Our goal for 23-24 is to retain our Champions League spot, so anything in the top 4 would be great. We've retained our key players, but we've lost some experience for sure, so guiding the younger squad to a similar position as last year would be just fine, while developing our young players and making our position stronger for 24-25. 

Squad:
GK - Simon and Agirrezabala, Aitor Fernandez third choice
RB - Gorosabel and Capa
LB - Javi Lopez and Aihen Munoz
CB - Vivian, Yerary, Unai Nunez and Peru Nolaskoain
DM/CM - Vencedor, Herrera, Moncayola, Sancet, Oroz and Guerrero. 
RW - Nico Williams and Nico Serrano
LW - Muniain and Berenguer
CF - Inaki Williams and Karrikaburu
Additional Depth - Jon Morcillo, plus Imanol, Aitor Paredes and Juan Artola who will represent the B team in La Liga 2. 

[bowieinspace]

Also just an an aside there seems to be quite a significant bug with player development. My plan is to pause my athletic save until a fix is released as this bug would be pretty disastrous on a youth academy style save. I wouldn’t stress if you want to get into a save as they’ve confirmed fixes will be save game compatible, I’d just be somewhat cautious going beyond one season or maybe two at a push.

For anyone unaware the issue surrounds development of certain attributes, particularly technical ones which don’t develop really at all, and some other mental/physical ones that develop way too much. 

[ernemann]

6 hours ago, bowieinspace said:

Also just an an aside there seems to be quite a significant bug with player development. My plan is to pause my athletic save until a fix is released as this bug would be pretty disastrous on a youth academy style save. I wouldn’t stress if you want to get into a save as they’ve confirmed fixes will be save game compatible, I’d just be somewhat cautious going beyond one season or maybe two at a push.

For anyone unaware the issue surrounds development of certain attributes, particularly technical ones which don’t develop really at all, and some other mental/physical ones that develop way too much. 

We all know there are lots of bugs at this Stage. I never play more than one og two seasons in beta cause dont Want a longer save when there are so Many bugs 

[tyro]

Nice thread. Thank you.

 

[bowieinspace]

16 hours ago, bowieinspace said:

Also just an an aside there seems to be quite a significant bug with player development. My plan is to pause my athletic save until a fix is released as this bug would be pretty disastrous on a youth academy style save. I wouldn’t stress if you want to get into a save as they’ve confirmed fixes will be save game compatible, I’d just be somewhat cautious going beyond one season or maybe two at a push.

For anyone unaware the issue surrounds development of certain attributes, particularly technical ones which don’t develop really at all, and some other mental/physical ones that develop way too much. 

A fix has been released for this, hopefully the fix works well! 

[jippo45]

First season finished

2nd in the league and cup runners up after losing to Real Madrid in a somewhat 1 sided final where I didn't get a sniff. Qualification for the Champions League is better than I expected so I don't think it could have gone any better 

 

Following my last update we had a patchy Jan losing 3 league games. Some tough fixtures plus a few happiness issues saw us drop some points. I was able to resolve some playing time issues with Yeray and Berenguer, whilst I was able to keep Vivian happy after a rejected bid from Bayern by promising him Champs League. Inaki Williams was also unhappy after rejected bids but dropped his concern a month or so later when PSG stopped being interested in him.

The season really got started again after a tweak in tactics that was somewhat accidental. I had accepted some tweaks before a game against Barca which put my mentality to cautious and width to fairly narrow. I had also changed my AML to a support role. Now this didn't really work vs Barca and I had to change back during game to end up with a 4-4 draw in the cup. However I forgot to change the tweaks back and went on a very good run where my defence improved considerably keeping a host of clean sheets. The support AML role also saw an improvement in form for Munian as bowieinspace suggested it would. Therefore my tactic is now looking as below;

 

Transfer business wise I was able to hold on to the main stars who were attracting interest. I was also able to bring in Odriozola on loan with an option to buy for £13m (IIRC). I don't have the budget available to me to make this permanent yet but hopefully with some selling and TV income I will. Raul Garcia, Dani Garcia are due to leave on a free and Herrera's loan will finish freeing up approx £360k off the weekly wage bill. I will see what happens with Herrera and maybe pick him again. Ideally I'd like what occurred on bowieinspace save to happen (contract terminated and I pick him up on a free for far less wages) so we shall see.

As for other moves I'd like to bring in a left back with Yuri getting old and on big wages but my transfer budget at present (£7.4m) is limiting me. Hopefully once the season ticket and TV money comes in it'll get a boost. I could also do with bringing in a CM especially if the Herrera plan doesn't come through as I hope. Moncayola is high on the shortlist with Osasuna being relegated. Aimar is also there so we shall see what pans out.

Nico Williams is attracting a lot of attention now (Inter, Chelsea, Juve) and his release clause is currently £85m. I'd like to get him tied down to a new deal but I don't know if possible. If someone bids the clause he could be going which could totally change the transfer window plan.

Youth

As per the previous update we were given a heads up of an 'excellent' youth intake. There are a number of very promising players here so its great to see SI have released a patch for the development issue. Here are the stand outs including a 6'5" two footer striker;

 

[bowieinspace]

That's a fantastic first intake there @jippo45! I had a similar preview to you but my intake was a fair bit worse to be honest which was disappointing (I got the golden generation tag and everything!)...hopefully my guys develop well but their attribute spreads look pretty meh overall. One good left footed winger which I already have in Nico Serrano and Nico Williams! I would certainly have preferred a good full back

Odriozola would be a good pick up if you can afford him. I'm a bit gutted on my save he's been transfer listed by Real Madrid now for 6.5mil and has reduced his wage demands a bit, so my early window move for Gorosabel is looking a bit worse (albeit it's still fine) - I should have been more patient! 

[WFaithorn98]

@bowieinspaceThanks for commenting this thread on my post. It's been a helpful read although I trying to ignore the transfer being made on here so I don't end up copying them.

tactics I've seen on here, I went with a 442 to try to ustilise both Raul Garcia and Inaki Williams, it has been brilliant in an attacking sense but pretty bad defensively so I will make some adjustments in break.

 

[WFaithorn98]

Also do you have any advice when it comes to hiring staff for the B/C team as most staff that the games says are interested by the filtering often want U19s roles and then demand way more money which I can't offer when I change it to the B team role.

[bowieinspace]

10 hours ago, WFaithorn98 said:

Also do you have any advice when it comes to hiring staff for the B/C team as most staff that the games says are interested by the filtering often want U19s roles and then demand way more money which I can't offer when I change it to the B team role.

Honestly the player pool in terms of transfers is pretty small so you’ll find yourself copying transfers early on just cause it’s the only realistic options! 

In terms of b/c staff I just hire a good technical director and leave it to them…far too much hassle and it’s niggly/glitchy at times.

In terms of your tactic I can imagine it would struggle defensively. Attacking mentality, two central midfield roles who will roam around a fair bit, wide midfielders both on attack (so super attacking when combined with the team mentality), but then you’re trapping outside and asking your players to stop crosses, so the full back and wing back (the later who will go on adventures anyway) are being asked to cover a lot. You’ll either see your central midfielders leave gaps, or your full backs will have too much to do so I’d expect to see a few different issues depending on the opposition set up. 

[WFaithorn98]

3 hours ago, bowieinspace said:

Honestly the player pool in terms of transfers is pretty small so you’ll find yourself copying transfers early on just cause it’s the only realistic options! 

In terms of b/c staff I just hire a good technical director and leave it to them…far too much hassle and it’s niggly/glitchy at times.

In terms of your tactic I can imagine it would struggle defensively. Attacking mentality, two central midfield roles who will roam around a fair bit, wide midfielders both on attack (so super attacking when combined with the team mentality), but then you’re trapping outside and asking your players to stop crosses, so the full back and wing back (the later who will go on adventures anyway) are being asked to cover a lot. You’ll either see your central midfielders leave gaps, or your full backs will have too much to do so I’d expect to see a few different issues depending on the opposition set up. 

I was thinking of changing the centre midfields roles to central midfielder (defend) and deep lying playmaker (support) as both players would then hold position. I originally had Neco Williams on support but it led to him getting poor match ratings and little goal involvements. I might try having both the centre midfielders as defensive midfielders as another option with similar roles to those I’ve just mentioned. 

As per your advice I will start using a technical director/director of football for B/C team staff.

[bowieinspace]

1 hour ago, WFaithorn98 said:

I was thinking of changing the centre midfields roles to central midfielder (defend) and deep lying playmaker (support) as both players would then hold position. I originally had Neco Williams on support but it led to him getting poor match ratings and little goal involvements. I might try having both the centre midfielders as defensive midfielders as another option with similar roles to those I’ve just mentioned. 

As per your advice I will start using a technical director/director of football for B/C team staff.

Yeah probably a few ways you could go about tweaking it - I’ve not used 4-4-2 yet in this match engine so a little hesitant to be too specific. Given the rest of your system though I think it makes sense to have two roles that form more of a double pivot style set up in the middle, just to anchor things a bit and have some solidarity through the spine given the attacking mentality and attacking roles in the wide areas.

[couragewolf101]

Doing a save right now:

here's how i've setup.

 

So far three league games in

Valencia (A) lost 3-4
At. Madrid (H) won 2-0
Mallorca (A) won 2-0

 

[jippo45]

Summer Transfer Window update 2023/24

So, as feared I wasn't able to get Nico Williams signed onto a new deal in time to prevent a club bidding his release clause. Therefore he has now joined Chelsea for £85million. 

Obviously this boosted my transfer budget by plenty however I've not really made much use of it as the window hasn't really gone to plan. The planned move for Odriozola failed who ended up going to Inter Milan who matched my bid. Unfortunately PSG have not released Herrera as I hoped but I did bring him back on loan on the final day of transfer window.

Therefore my transfers in have been as follows;

Moncayola - £9.5m

Javi Martinez - £775k

Julen Jon Guerrero - £5.5m

Aimar - £10.75m (relegation release clause)

Azpilicueta - £75k

Aihen Muñoz - £10m

Ander Herrera - Loan

 

Transfers out

Nico Williams - £85m

Raul Garcia - Free

Dani Garcia - Free

 

I have a hefty £58m left to spend but unsure where to go. I'd like Mikel Oyarzábal, Merino, Robin Le Normand, Andoni Gorosabel and whilst I can offer their release clauses they have no interest in joining and I don't have enough room in the wage budget to offer them a deal they can't refuse. Laporte and Griezmann are being well used by their clubs so there isn't any hope of grabbing either of those anytime soon either. Personally I'd love a top striker or a left footed AMR to replace Nico Williams but they aren't available at the moment. I'm currently in the process of trying to find and scout Basque newgens. Athletico have a very promising right back who is now added to the shortlist. He's not interested right now but I'll closely monitor him as Right Back is an area I need to improve on soon with Capa, Azpilicueta getting old.

 

Tactics

I'm struggling a bit more this season to get wins and finding myself making far more tweaks in game than last season. I got off to a bad start struggling for a 1-0 home win against Betis but then getting totally outplayed in a 3-0 loss to Real Sociadad and 1-0 to Athletico. Since then I've been switching between a 4231 system and my previous 433 DM Wide formation (with some tweaks) and grinding out some wins against 4 lower half teams and surprisingly Barca. Currently sat 4th after 8 games this season on 18 points. I've not really been able to replace Nico Williams at AMR. Berenguer hasn't cut it there most likely because he is right rather than left footed hence the tweaks I'm making trying to get something out of him. I'm close to giving up on him though and have recalled Nico Serrano back from a loan to try there. He isn't a natural AMR but is accomplished there and left footed. Morcillo is plan C.

Champs League

I've drawn Juve, Arsenal, and Young Boys so a tough group. I beat Young Boys at home but lost easy to Juve away where I didn't get a look in but was lucky to keep the score to only 1-0.

 

 

[bowieinspace]

Ah that’s such a shame to lose Nico Williams, he’s pretty irreplaceable to be honest. I’m in season two as well and am using Nico Serrano as back up to Nico on that right side as an inverted winger. He’s been really good for me when he’s come in - obviously no where near Nico Williams ability but very capable and promising. I’d say it’s worth just committing to playing him there to get him developing as quickly as possible. Otherwise perhaps play Inaki as a winger on the right and figure out a solution for centre forward?

Edited October 29, 2022 by bowieinspace

[the_hdk]

great intro to an amazing club. really a great read

[MattyC78]

Thank you again as always for the into.  This is a great place for those that love Athletic in Football Manager.  I've been off on other saves but I'm back in Athletic mode finishing off a last couple of seasons before the new games comes.  I usually wait for Christmas but I don't think that is going to happen this year as I'm itching to get going but I'll wait for the full game to launch.  It's been interesting viewing other people starting saves and I'm looking forward to starting next week and I'll be back to provide a few updates shortly.

[bowieinspace]

January 2024 Quick Update

 

So as expected a very quiet end of the summer 2023 transfer window, and the January 2024 window followed suit with just one loan move out for Peru Nolaskoain - my fourth choice CB - who wanted a bit more first team football. I didn't want to give him the games at Athletic so I just gave him a loan to avoid him getting upset about it.

Overall we've had a positive season so far, getting through a Champions League group containing Juve, Chelsea and Shahktar in first place was a real highlight. We sadly lost in the Supercopa semi final to Atletico, who continue to beat me everytime despite creating next to no chances. We have a Copa Del Rey quarter final against Real to come still and we're sitting comfortably in the top 4, battling Barcelona and Atletico for 2nd-4th basically. Real Madrid have a 6 point lead at the top and I'd be surprised if they fell into a battle with the rest of us. 

In the summer I'll need to replace Ander Herrera so a midfielder will be required - I've got one B team player who may be able to step up but otherwise I am also eyeing any available moves for Guillamon, Mikel Merino or Zubimendi that may become possible...not looking too promising at the moment though. There's a couple youth prospects I really want from Sociedad/Osasuna but they don't want a bar of any conversations at the moment!

[jippo45]

2023/2024 Update

Currently in April so maybe could have waited til the end of season to update but not able to play right now so thought I'd update instead.

League wise we're in 3rd and have no hope in catching the top 2. Rivals Real Sociedad are my main threat. They have game in hand but this against Barcelona so I'm hoping they'll lose that to make it more comfortable for me. We we're easily knocked out by Barcelona in the Supercopa 2-0 going behind within 2 mins and then never really getting a chance. Copa Del Rey we reached the semi finals beating 2 lower league teams and then Almeria in the Quarters. Real Madrid whipped us quite convincingly 3-0 at theirs again taking an early lead in the 3rd min lol. I don't think I've been able to take anything from any games against Real Madrid so far.

Champions League however we are live and kicking. We went through the group stage on the final day. We beat Young Boys 3-1 away while Juve lost to Arsenal 2-0. This left us and Juve joint 2nd level on 10 points each. We had both won and lost against each other, same goal difference, so I believe it went down to goals scored where I had beat them by 1. 

Last 16 saw us drawn against Milan where we won 3-0 and drew 1-1. We then drew Freiburg in the quarters. I've played the first leg at home and won 3-1. They scored their away goal late on so we'll soon see how important that ends up being.

 

Transfers

Come the winter window I've sold Berenguer, Yeray, and Nunez. All were unhappy; Yeray wanted a new challenge, Berenguer was running his contract down and wanting to explore his options, and Nunez wanted playing time. All 3 only brought me in approx £10m

Transfers in I made a move for Hugo Guillamón for £46m spending a chunk of the Nico Williams money. I needed some cover at CB, DM, CM and he fitted the bill being the versatile man that he is. He's been somewhat underwhelming so far having been sent off twice including 8 mins into his debut!!  

I also brought in Yanis Rahmani from Eibar for £3.7m for another striking option. Villalibre and Guruzeta have been awful for me this season scoring 0 in about 20 odd combined appearances. Yanis Rahmani has manged 7 goals in 14 appearances in all competitions. So far, so good. 

I've also brought in 4 young newgens. 3 from my affiliates and then an AMC suitability named Ander Bilbao from a club named Izarra. Combined these cost about £1m total.

Youth intake

Another good batch of youngsters this year. These 3 are the pick of the bunch

I'll be back with a final season update once I get a chance to play later today  

[JPKD]

On 26/10/2022 at 19:17, WFaithorn98 said:

@bowieinspaceThanks for commenting this thread on my post. It's been a helpful read although I trying to ignore the transfer being made on here so I don't end up copying them.

tactics I've seen on here, I went with a 442 to try to ustilise both Raul Garcia and Inaki Williams, it has been brilliant in an attacking sense but pretty bad defensively so I will make some adjustments in break.

 

4-4-2 is good with a low block, two banks of four, and leaving space for the wide players to exploit. As others have suggested you will also need more conservative roles in midfield. I have Herrera as a DLP for games I expect to dominate paired with a BWM on support. 

[thexavii]

Here we go again  Best forum topic

[bowieinspace]

1 hour ago, thexavii said:

Here we go again  Best forum topic

Absolutely 

@jippo45 you’re getting some super newgens by the looks of it!! My first year was a touch underwhelming after getting a golden generation tag on my preview (still a couple decent players but not much depth). Year two and I’ve got another golden generation! Hopefully this one treats me well

[bowieinspace]

1 hour ago, bowieinspace said:

Absolutely 

@jippo45 you’re getting some super newgens by the looks of it!! My first year was a touch underwhelming after getting a golden generation tag on my preview (still a couple decent players but not much depth). Year two and I’ve got another golden generation! Hopefully this one treats me well

And another disappointing intake, at least in terms of star ratings. One really good looking left footed winger (which is exactly the same as my last intake)…not a huge problem as Muniain, Williams and Berenguer will all need replacements in 3-4 years or so, so good to have options coming through.

The other players in the intake were initially disappointing but actually some good attributes in there so a few may be underrated and actually come good over the coming years.

[couragewolf101]

second season in - i get this youth intake preview.

(TBF, i probably expect some above average players at best)

[jippo45]

17 hours ago, bowieinspace said:

Absolutely 

@jippo45 you’re getting some super newgens by the looks of it!! My first year was a touch underwhelming after getting a golden generation tag on my preview (still a couple decent players but not much depth). Year two and I’ve got another golden generation! Hopefully this one treats me well

 

16 hours ago, bowieinspace said:

And another disappointing intake, at least in terms of star ratings. One really good looking left footed winger (which is exactly the same as my last intake)…not a huge problem as Muniain, Williams and Berenguer will all need replacements in 3-4 years or so, so good to have options coming through.

The other players in the intake were initially disappointing but actually some good attributes in there so a few may be underrated and actually come good over the coming years.

I am loving my newgen intakes I must admit . I think you do need to take the star ratings with a pinch of salt though as I believe they are based on your Ass Man's judging ability attributes. My guy has 14 for ability and 13 for potential so he may wide of the mark on these ratings. What's your Ass Man's attributes for these?

My first intake was labelled as excellent whilst my second was labelled 'golden generation' although imo the first intake looked the better of the 2. 

A couple of my newgens transfer values have really shot up. The left back Alberdi is between £18.5-30m and the striker Aizpurua £19-30m. While these 2 have played a handful of games this season the increase in value is interesting and presumably PA is factored into this somehow? My next highest value newgen is Ander Bilbao who I bought in for £230k. A few screenshots of these 3 below,

 

 

I finished my second season last night so I'll post an update on that shortly once I've done the summer transfer window  

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by jippo45

[jippo45]

2023/2024 Season Finish

Come the end of the season we finished in a comfortable 3rd place. Sociedad who were main threat for 3rd, at the time of last update, fell away badly at the end of season winning only 1 of their last 7! Another season of Champions League awaits.

At the time of the last update we had won 3-1 in the first leg of the Quarters against Freiburg and we went on to win away 1-0 in the second leg. This drew me up against Liverpool in semi's. The first leg was away and I got roundly beaten 5-1! As is the case whenever I seem to come up against any elite side away from home I take a battering. No matter what tactics, mentality, formation I seem to use the game is totally one sided. At home in the second leg we were 2-0 up early and therefore 5-3 down on agg but with an important away goal. Could it be, could we overturn the deficit? No. In the end we won 3-2 but lost 7-4 on agg. Liverpool went on to win the competition so at least we say we lost to the winners.

Transfers

I was given a transfer budget of £20m and very early into the window spend most of this on Álvaro Odriozola who I lost to Inter Milan the previous season. Inter however only managed to finish 6th in their league so this time around I had Champs League qualification over Inter to tempt Odriozola. Odriozola also wasn't automatic first choice and only started around 50% of Inters games. Therefore I was able to do a deal for £13.75m plus £2m after 50 appearances. This shores up my RB spot for the considerable future. Capa left on a free and I sold Lekue so I now have Odriozola first choice with an aging Azpilicueta as back up. I also brought in a transfer listed 32yr old Joseba Zaldua for further depth on the final day of the window.

The only other first team player I brought in was my old pal Ander Herrera. Again not released by PSG but transfer listed. I spend £500k on the 35yr old who has been a consistent performer for me.

I also brought in 3 other youngsters for nominal fees - RM, LM, and a RB. None of them look great but scouts have given then potential 4.5 stars so I've rolled the dice.

My finances are currently £95m but my remaining transfer budget is £4.8m. I think I'm going to ask the board for more funds but as the window has now closed any thing they do provide can't be spend until Jan.

The January move for Yanis Rahmani turned out to be a great one. Playing up front as an advanced forward he got 15 goals from 16 starts and 5 sub appearances across all competitions. He has the PPM 'Shoots with Power' and 'Runs with the ball often' which really complement the role. Well worth a move for a back up or even a starting striker. He's likely a stop gap for now until my promising newgen strikers develop a bit more. For me Inaki Williams is best played AML as his finishing can be downright infuriating at times 

Tactics

I am still running the 433 DM Wide formation. I am constantly tweaking an away version but below is what I'm pretty much happy with at home. This shows my optimum first 11 too. However, I sometimes play Guillamón at CB instead of Martinez allowing me to put in either Herrera or Moncayola into the Carrilero spot. Aimar is missing from the screenshot but he'd usually be on the bench instead of Zarraga. In fact due to Williams being injured he started the opening 2 games at AML scoring once. 

 

 

[bowieinspace]

2023/24 Season Review

 

Competitions

La Liga - 2nd place, 86 points (Real Madrid won with 99)
Copa Del Rey - Lost in QF to Real Madrid
Supercopa - Lost in SF to Atletico Madrid
Champions League - Runners Up, lost in final to Real Madrid

Overall an excellent season which saw us achieve our goals - we retained our second place with an increased points total (overall I thought our performances were improved as well. Our cup performances were mixed with a 'ok' Copa Del Rey seeing us lose to the superior Real Madrid in a close game, and (another) unfortunate loss to Atletico in the Super Copa in a game we generally were the better side - this keeps happening vs Atletico!

The Champions League was a real highlight of the season, only falling at the final hurdle vs Real in the final - the biggest disappointment is that we were just awful in the final and slumped to a deserved 3-0 defeat - it was one of those games where on the highlights we just looked terrible, slow and off the pace, giving the ball away constantly etc. After a fantastic run through the knockouts, eliminating Chelsea, Arsenal and Man Utd (as well as beating Liverpool in the groups!) with some stunning performances, the final was a total let down. None the less it was a great run and certainly better than expected.

 

Transfers

The summer of 2023 saw Andoni Gorosabel join which was our major acquisition for the season, improving our RB position. In an otherwise quiet season we then saw Jon Morcillo leave for a fairly low fee due to being in the final year of his contract, and Ander Herrera depart at the end of the season when his contract expired. The only other transfer business was a young defender from Osasuna (16 year old) for 7.25million and a back up goalkeeper for a nominal fee from Sociedad to be our third choice.

Generally speaking we're having big issues in the transfer market this summer (2024) - our main interest is in Guillamon who Valencia will only sell for his release clause up front - I don't have 57million in the budget so hoping I get a chance to do that via instalments but seems unlikely. Mikel Merino is the other one but he's just signed a new deal with Man City. With the usual limitation of only signing Basque players of any age, e.g. no Spanish nationality 15/16 year olds, my options are limited to local rivals. At present, no one wants to join or is even open to negotiations with us, so I basically can't make any moves. I am hoping that changes as our club rep improves otherwise it will be a very slow burn!!

 

Youth Intake

My second consecutive golden generation that disappointed on intake day, at least initially. However there's some solid attributes in there and players who may come good, so I'm quite positive about our pipeline overall.

 

Looking Ahead

Squad for 24/25:

GK - Simon, Agirrezabala, Gaizka Ayeza
RB - Gorosabel, Capa
LB - Javi Lopez, Munoz
CB - Vivian, Yeray, Unai Nunez, Nolskoain
DM - Vencedor, Alboniga-Menor
CM - Sancet, Aimar Oroz, Moncayola, Julen Jon Guerrero
RW - Nico Williams, Serrano
LW - Muniain, Berenguer
CF - Inaki Williams, Karrikaburu

As you can see we've not made any steps forward here, if anything the loss of Herrera and inability to replace him has made us weaker in midfield depth. We can probably make it work by shifting Moncayola into DM to cover Vencedor as cover, and playing Muniain in central midfield at times as well. Julen Jon Guerrero and Alboniga-Menor are not quite there yet but I'm just short of options, so I'll likely be relying on the others and using those two as subs later in games we are comfortably ahead.

I see 24/25 as another holding stations type of season - we just need to retain our position and aim for good cup runs. I hope by the time 25/26 rolls around we will either be able to add someone like Guillamon to strengthen the team, or one or two of our young prospects will be starting to get close to first team level. 

[bowieinspace]

6 hours ago, jippo45 said:

I am loving my newgen intakes I must admit . I think you do need to take the star ratings with a pinch of salt though as I believe they are based on your Ass Man's judging ability attributes. My guy has 14 for ability and 13 for potential so he may wide of the mark on these ratings. What's your Ass Man's attributes for these?

My first intake was labelled as excellent whilst my second was labelled 'golden generation' although imo the first intake looked the better of the 2. 

Yeah that's correct, especially with an Athletic save you have to take star ratings with a pinch of salt and focus on what works/attributes sometimes. My assman has 16/16 JPA/JCA so quite reasonable, but I have a feeling it's the HOYD who gives the initial star ratings on intake day - either way, once into our youth team the ratings didn't really change. Overall the intakes haven't been terrible by any means, just not quite as good as the previews.

I do think there's potential in the bunch though, I just need some high potential defenders as there's just nothing coming through at Athletic or the other basque clubs. 

[Hasjasja]

Very nice topic, a joy to read!

It has been a few editions ago that I had a Athletic-save (back when Aduriz was their main man upfront). Was very fun and after reading here I am tempted to do one again.

A question though; do you guys had any luck getting good newgens/regens from the French Basque clubs? So is it worth loading up those leagues when starting up a new game and do you guys actively scout these clubs?

[dothestrand]

After a few computing issues (had to get a new one, basically), I've finally got my hands on FM23!

Looks like my first season will go the way everyone else's has - trying to deal with an ageing squad where lots of guys are out of contract at the end of the season. I'll wait and see what the transfer market does at this point. Chances are some of those guys will get offers this Summer and I'm not that bothered about offering them new contracts just yet.

The usual players are on my shortlist. One name not mentioned is Iker Alvarez, a young Andorran/Basque keeper at Villareal, who's 20 and has a driven personality, and would be your second keeper, probably. Dani Rodriguez at Barcelona may be worth a punt as well, but one for the future there.

 

[WFaithorn98]

Finished my first season in sixth, behind Real Sociadad on goal difference. I had an injury crisis with strikers which lead to me changing to 4-3-3 dm which I will probably stick with next season.

In terms of transfers I bought in Odriozola and Jon Guerrero from Madrid and was able to get Herrera on a free after cancelling his loan.

I don’t have any transfers in mind at the moment for the summer, also for young player development, what level of working with youngsters should I be looking at for the U19s squad as currently look for staff that are 16 or above (is this too high as it rules out other staff who may have better coaching attributes) also should first team coaching staff be doing coaching assignments for the youth team and B/C team or does this affect their coaching effectiveness.

[bowieinspace]

1 hour ago, dothestrand said:

After a few computing issues (had to get a new one, basically), I've finally got my hands on FM23!

Looks like my first season will go the way everyone else's has - trying to deal with an ageing squad where lots of guys are out of contract at the end of the season. I'll wait and see what the transfer market does at this point. Chances are some of those guys will get offers this Summer and I'm not that bothered about offering them new contracts just yet.

The usual players are on my shortlist. One name not mentioned is Iker Alvarez, a young Andorran/Basque keeper at Villareal, who's 20 and has a driven personality, and would be your second keeper, probably. Dani Rodriguez at Barcelona may be worth a punt as well, but one for the future there.

 

I’m not away of Iker Alvarez but I have been tracking Dani Rodriguez in my game since the start so definitely one I can add in the post above

[dothestrand]

On 03/11/2022 at 17:59, bowieinspace said:

I’m not away of Iker Alvarez but I have been tracking Dani Rodriguez in my game since the start so definitely one I can add in the post above

Iker Alvarez definitely has Basque nationality. He's available for around 7m. Good personality and lots of potential. Reckon he's better than Agirrezabala personally. 

[couragewolf101]

Really liking how my future Inaki Williams replacement is coming along.

[jippo45]

2024/2025 Season Update

Into March and we are currently in a battle for 3rd, again. We are way behind Real Madrid and Barcelona so its all about getting Champs League qualification again. Speaking of Champs League this is the first season of the new format. In the big old league we finished 12th meaning we had to play in the knock out round playoff where we beat Red Bull Salzburg to qualify for the last 16. I must admit I have absolutely no idea how the fixtures are chosen in the group stage. Does anyone?

 

In the cups we were knocked out of the Copa Del Rey by Real Madrid in the Quarter final away. No surprise there then! However we did manage to finally get one over them in the Supercopa. I beat Athletico 3-2 in the semi and then took Real Madrid to pens in the final after a 2-2 draw aet. Twice we scored late goals to equalise first in the 88th min to make it 1-1 and then in 120th min to make it 2-2. Our first piece of silverware! 

Transfers

No increase in transfer budget so I still have approx £5m. Therefore I made no major transfers in during Jan. Just a couple of youngsters  my scouts think have some potential. Neither look close to challenging for a first team spot anytime soon though.

Transfers out I've let Azpilicueta go after he became unhappy with playing time, and loaned out Villalibre. 

Youth

Another excellent intake. I could really do with some talented centre backs and a right back to be honest but looks like we'll have to wait.

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by jippo45

[Branst23]

I suppose its that time of year to spend an evening reading my favourite thread! 

Couple of questions:

What surprises you most about the team on FM?

Who's your hidden gem within the squad?

 

Aupa! 

[bowieinspace]

1 hour ago, Branst23 said:

I suppose its that time of year to spend an evening reading my favourite thread! 

Couple of questions:

What surprises you most about the team on FM?

Who's your hidden gem within the squad?

 

Aupa! 

I think the biggest surprise for me was the lack of any strong prospects within the youth ranks - usually you expect 1-2 who look decent but I really had nothing from within the under 19s or B/C teams who looked likely to reach first team level (maybe just bad luck on my save though). 

That kinda links in to the second question - I guess not a hidden gem but I've been so impressed with Nico Williams on this addition - such a good player in this years edition.