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

[MattyC78]

5 hours ago, dothestrand said:

No idea what Inaki was so undervalued in my game. I did well to get 9m to be honest based on his value but I'd have expected somewhere around 40m for him really. Not that he's flourished at PSG tbh. 

 

It is odd how values change between saves but also fluctuate wildly within a couple of months.  I suppose ultimately it comes down to how much both clubs value a player. On that note, I have against my better judgement turned down the offer for Inaki.  I also turned down £8.5 million for Lekue earlier in the summer.  In any other world I would have sold both like a shot but I decided that they were both irreplaceable.  I rely very much on his pace.  Karrikaburu looks like a considerable downgrade currently and I feared we would be a worse team for about three years if we sold him.  Whilst money is tight there is not much available to spend it on and if we qualify for the Champions League for a couple of years then money will not be an issue.  I will probably regret it in a few months but Inaki remains an Athletic star.

[bowieinspace]

1 hour ago, MattyC78 said:

It is odd how values change between saves but also fluctuate wildly within a couple of months.  I suppose ultimately it comes down to how much both clubs value a player. On that note, I have against my better judgement turned down the offer for Inaki.  I also turned down £8.5 million for Lekue earlier in the summer.  In any other world I would have sold both like a shot but I decided that they were both irreplaceable.  I rely very much on his pace.  Karrikaburu looks like a considerable downgrade currently and I feared we would be a worse team for about three years if we sold him.  Whilst money is tight there is not much available to spend it on and if we qualify for the Champions League for a couple of years then money will not be an issue.  I will probably regret it in a few months but Inaki remains an Athletic star.

I think you've made the right call - Inaki is on a huge wage but ultimately there aren't gettable options who really improve on him or are even on par with him. I've found Karrikaburu to be excellent though, but I've had them both in my team and Inaki was key for a few years. It's only now I'm a good few seasons in and I have newgens coming through that I felt comfortable letting Inaki go

[dothestrand]

Just to make a change from showing off regens, I wanted to highlight some of the original youth players and where they were at the start of the third season (24-25).

Aimar Vicandi has gone from strength to strength. He made the first team squad in 23-24 and played 28 games, scoring 7 goals and averaging 6.95. More than decent. Chelsea are sniffing around but he's tied down for the next five years.

Lander Arenal is my backup right-back and deputises for Odriozola when he needs a break. Never lets us down. Attributes aren't really developing that much and the star rating from the coaches isn't much to write home about, but I don't see much reason to spend a lot on say, Gorosabel, as a reserve.

Peio Canales and Gaizka Alboniga-Menor are both in my B squad and making steady progress. As this is likely to be Herrera's last season, there's a place in the first team squad for one of them. Hopefully it motivates them both to develop across the year. I'd like some more improvement in their physicals. Canales is more silky, as you'd expect from someone equally suited to playing out wide, whilst Alboniga-Menor has a stronger all-round game. He's probably in pole position at the moment.

Guys like Luis Bilbao and Ibon Sanchez have potential, but the two intakes have seen wide players join the club with greater room for development, so they probably won't make it here.

I've been quite fortunate with the four guys mentioned. I'm sure they have variable levels of development, but they've really grown over the last two seasons.

Edited November 15, 2022 by dothestrand

[jippo45]

Hopefully should finish off the 2026/27 season off sometime today. Quick update though as this could be a big season for us

We are right in with a chance of winning the league. 10 games to go, 3 points behind Barca with 2 games in hand. I don't have to play either Barca or Real Madrid again either. Game on!

We are also in the Cup final with a derby day against Real Sociedad after taking the hard route and knocking out Barca and Real Madrid along the way!

[jippo45]

Spoiler

 

2026/2027 Review

League - 2nd

Copa Del Rey - Winners 
ChampiOns League - Lost to AC Milan last 16

Supercopa - Lost to Real Madrid in semi's

So after the last update with 10 to play we won 7, drew 1, and lost twice. Villareal did the double over me as I struggle to play against their brand of 4231 and they edged me out twice. I also rather inexplicably lost away to Espanyol. You'd think they'd roll over to allow someone else to beat their rivals Barca to the league but no instead they put in a belter of performance and gave me a stuffing. The draw was a frustrating 0-0 away day to Betis as the penultimate game of the season. They never threaten to score all game but no matter what tweaks I made I just could fashion anything clean cut. This meant Barcelona won the league before the final round, their 4th title in a row. 38 year old Lewandowski continues to lead the line with 32 league goals. The man is ridiculous! Real Madrid finished 3rd. They sacked Ancelotti and hired Julian Nagelsmann at the end of the season. They have also just sold Camavinga to PSG for £182m!!  

Better news came in the cup where I beat rivals Real Sociedad 1-0 in an extremely boring game. Our goal came in the 91st minute with a close range header from subsitute newgen Inigo Serrano. Talking of him if anyone has any ideas on how they would play/develop him I'd be interested to hear them. I'm at a loss with what to do but he's 6'5" and both footed with a lot of potential (screenshot below - shout out to bowieinspace for the newgen facepack);

Spoiler

Transfers

Absolutely nothing in during January. Out only saw Rahmani sold to the MLS.

Summer window I've released Nico Serrano who was a player I just couldn't get anything out of really. He didn't seem to be developing as I'd hoped and even loaning him out for regular game time didn't seem to be helping. Jon Morcillo I sold to Betis for £4.2m. I was in a cycle with him where he'd want more game time, I'd give him it for a while to keep him happy, then drop him for better options only for it to repeat again. I have newgen options out wide now to compete with Inaki Williams, Aimar, and Munian. More annoyingly I was force to sell a promising defender who decided with 18 months on his deal and in perfect happiness that he would explore his options. No matter how hard I tried he just would not even enter contract negotiations. Therefore I've sadly cashing in selling to Spurs for £3.3m and a 50% sell on clause. Thats the second youth intake defender I've had to sell now because they won't sign a new deal.

Transfers in I've put most of budget into buying a newgen full back called David Arbeloa from Athletico paying his release clause of £36.5m. Between him and Alberdi I should be set for first choice fullbacks going forward.

The day after I confirmed this transfer however Nico Williams gets transfer listed at Chelsea but they're asking for £78m. I'm still in the summer transfer window during my save so I might see what I can do to finance a move for him but I'd need £57m of player sales to raise the funds so realistically its not going to happen unless my tight board actually decide to allow me to use some more of the £180m that is sat in the bank. There is no other club interested at the current asking price so I'll probably sit tight for now and see if the asking price comes down or even attempt a loan bid.

Spoiler

Youth Intake

A poor one this year and I've only offered contracts to around 4/5 of them. There is only 1 stand out from the lot who is a left footed centre back. However his physicals desire some attention.

Spoiler

 

[couragewolf101]

On 15/11/2022 at 03:34, bowieinspace said:

I think you've made the right call - Inaki is on a huge wage but ultimately there aren't gettable options who really improve on him or are even on par with him. I've found Karrikaburu to be excellent though, but I've had them both in my team and Inaki was key for a few years. It's only now I'm a good few seasons in and I have newgens coming through that I felt comfortable letting Inaki go

Otoh in my save, Inaki is still making the odd appearance at 34.

[Mordurette]

Bought Merino first transfer window for €19.75m. 87k wage per week. Don't know if I did good but hopefully he'll be classy at our midfield.

[bowieinspace]

8 hours ago, Mordurette said:

Bought Merino first transfer window for €19.75m. 87k wage per week. Don't know if I did good but hopefully he'll be classy at our midfield.

Yeah that’s quite surprising! He wasn’t available in my save certainly

[Mordurette]

1 minute ago, bowieinspace said:

Yeah that’s quite surprising! He wasn’t available in my save certainly

Deadline Day miracle 🤩

[MattyC78]

Interesting signing.  I have never been able to get him in any save.  He has never been available for less than £72million this year.  

[Jimpanzee]

I'm not playing as Bilbao myself as I always like to start at the bottom of the pyramid, but just wanted to say this is a great thread and I'm following all of your posts with interest! 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Jimpanzee

[dothestrand]

Midway during season three. It can't be as good as the description, surely?

 

[bowieinspace]

Well I've been making my way through my new season very slowly thanks to work deciding to get in the way. 13 games in, 12 wins, 1 draw, +37 goal difference.

My squad changes have worked quite well.

[bruffell06]

How are you setting up now @bowieinspace? Still similar to your initial post?

I'm tempted to load up a Bilbao save and give it a go.

[MattyC78]

20 minutes ago, bruffell06 said:

How are you setting up now @bowieinspace? Still similar to your initial post?

I'm tempted to load up a Bilbao save and give it a go.

Give it a go.  It's a fun save with challenges you don't get elsewhere.

 

[MattyC78]

On 18/11/2022 at 14:33, dothestrand said:

Midway during season three. It can't be as good as the description, surely?

 

Wow!  I'm a little jealous.  I'd love an intake like that.  I only seem to get a winger or two a year with no obvious technical abilities.

[MattyC78]

We have just finished our second season and we managed to overcome Real finishing ten points clear of them.  Unfortunately Barcelona had a monster season and pipped us to the title.  It went to the last day of the season where we beat Real 3-0 but Barcelona put seven past Cadiz to finish first.

Inaki Williams continued to be a key player for us with a 7.57 average in the league with 30 goals but unfortunately he was eclipsed by Robert Lewandowski managing a hefty 48 goals in the league.  We lost to Real in the super cup semi-final and then tumbled out to Tenerife on penalties in the fourth round of the Cupa Del Rey.  We had a great run in the Champions League albeit with a kind draw pitting us against Inter, Tottenham and Athletico before we got beaten by Barcelona at Wembley.  Lewandowski scored his 67th goal of the season for them to win 3-2 - utterly filthy.  Our wait for our first trophy goes on.   

Our transfers last season were light.  Mikel Rico came in to mentor the B team (although that's not quite what I told him).  Alvaro Fernandez joined as a back-up goalkeeper and we signed a young Basque midfilelder (Aitor Arteaga) from Eibar which I hope you will see again in the future.

The squad needs a little refresh.  We go into the transfer window with £19 million but the options are limited.  We have got to the point where we need to bring through a few youngsters for regular games.  Raul Garcia is retiring and Asier Villalibre wants to leave due to a lack of games so we need to trawl our B and youth teams for an able back-up.   

Edited November 19, 2022 by MattyC78
Correction

[bowieinspace]

1 hour ago, bruffell06 said:

How are you setting up now @bowieinspace? Still similar to your initial post?

I'm tempted to load up a Bilbao save and give it a go.

Yeah quite similar, I’ve made a few tweaks to suit players but no substantial difference.

I explored taking work ball into box off but found it made my defence worse… seems an odd conclusion but I found we were losing the ball more regularly and in a less organised circumstance, getting caught more often in situations where our rest defence wasn’t well organised.

I have a lot of opposition instructions which aren’t mentioned in the post (mainly focused around trapping inside and winning the ball in central midfield), and I will adjust my step up/drop off instructions regularly depending on the opposition.

[Zengoroth]

Just wondring whether anyone here has ever found any Basque regens from outside of Spain/France nationality? In real life there are Basque players with Romanian, Dutch, Mexican and Andorran nationality to name a few, but I have personally never found any regens that are not Spanish or French.  

[dothestrand]

4 hours ago, Zengoroth said:

Just wondring whether anyone here has ever found any Basque regens from outside of Spain/France nationality? In real life there are Basque players with Romanian, Dutch, Mexican and Andorran nationality to name a few, but I have personally never found any regens that are not Spanish or French.  

I've signed a guy who's born in the Basque country from Man City's academy in this save! In a previous version I signed a guy with Basque second nationality from City's academy who was born in Lancashire! Must be because of Txiki Begiristain. 

[dothestrand]

Season 24-25: Same As It Ever Was

La Liga: 3rd, 85 points (+3 from last season)

Champions League: Lost in Knockout Play Off Round 

Super Cup: Semi Finals

Spanish Cup: Quarter Finals

Our third season had a feel of deja-vu about it. Real Madrid ran away with the league. We kept pace with Barcelona the whole way, but stumbled in the penultimate game of the season against their arch-rivals Espanyol (who should've done us a favour!), which allowed them to overtake us. If not for a poor run of form against lesser opponents in January, we'd have been comfortably second.

We had a great start in the Champions League league phase, beating the likes of Ajax, Rennes and Genk, and drawing at Arsenal. If we'd beat Roma at home, we'd have got through to the final stages. Again, it coincided with our sticky patch and a 0-0 draw in a game we dominated meant we missed out. Still, a tie against Celtic in the knockout play off round sounded great on paper, but they absolutely hammered us 3-1 at Celtic Park and then we struggled to a 2-1 home win. An earlier exit that I'd have liked.

We didn't achieve much in the cups either. Valencia beat us on penalties in the Super Cup SF, whilst Seville did the same in the Spanish Cup QF. What I wouldn't give for a few reliable takers. I feel like I have five Martin Palermo's whenever we get to a shoot out.

Squad Performance

Really strong performances across the first team squad - I can't really complain about their efforts this season. Even the backup players like Alvaro Fernandez, Aihen Munoz, Dani Vivian (who played more games than Yeray actually), Dani Rodriguez, Aimar and Kike Barja (I'll be onto him in a moment) contributed significantly. We've got a good depth in the squad now, which I'm very happy with, and no real need to transition players out (Muniain is the only guy who's in the last 1-2 years of his time here but he's still playing really well). Nico Williams was top scorer with 27 La Liga goals, though I often spend half my time shouting at the match engine when he misses sitters!

As an aside, Dani Rodriguez was the NXGN winner this season, following in the footsteps of Gavi and Jude Bellingham x2. 

Transfers and Youth Intake

Not much really in/out. I signed a young defender from Osasuna and a young striker from one of my feeder clubs, Santurtzi. We had a few injuries to wide players when the January window opened so we activated Kike Barja's release clause at Osasuna for 5.25m. He put in some solid performances and even though he's not likely to be a regular, he probably won't let us down.

In terms of outgoings, we let Nolaskoian leave as we didn't have a role for him, and one of my previously promising midfielders, Gaizka Alboniga-Menor, was unsettled by Chelsea, so we moved him on.

Our youth intake was apparently a golden generation in the making. Whilst I wouldn't say there are many players here who'll be first teamers in the next year or two, there are half a dozen or so guys with minimum 4 star potential. Thankfully, there are some defensive players here, as well as the inevitable wingers.

Looking Ahead

It's likely to be a Summer of stability. A few young players are coming in for small fees as punts for the future, and some of the guys who probably aren't going to make it here can move to pastures new.

With three intakes under our belts, I'll do a slightly more structured approach to their development. The u19s can be for the current 1* players, the C squad for 1.5* and the B squad for 2*

Champions League places should be the bare minimum now and we really should be pushing (probably) Barcelona for 2nd spot again. I'd like to see better performances in the cups, particularly Europe, to boost our rep. 

[MattyC78]

22 hours ago, Zengoroth said:

Just wondring whether anyone here has ever found any Basque regens from outside of Spain/France nationality? In real life there are Basque players with Romanian, Dutch, Mexican and Andorran nationality to name a few, but I have personally never found any regens that are not Spanish or French.  

I don't have so many leagues  added due to my tired laptop but I have never found anyone outside of Spain and the odd player from France. 

[bowieinspace]

On 22/11/2022 at 03:20, Zengoroth said:

Just wondring whether anyone here has ever found any Basque regens from outside of Spain/France nationality? In real life there are Basque players with Romanian, Dutch, Mexican and Andorran nationality to name a few, but I have personally never found any regens that are not Spanish or French.  

I can’t say for sure that I’ve seen someone with a nationality other than Spanish/basque, but I have definitely seen good basque players come through at other clubs on occasion. I remember one at Man City and one at Bayern specifically from last games - I’m sure there were more. I assume they had an additional nationality but I don’t remember 

[JoOSTAR]

@bowieinspace What tactic are you running? Maybe you can share it?

[bowieinspace]

4 minutes ago, JoOSTAR said:

@bowieinspace What tactic are you running? Maybe you can share it?

It's on the first page in the intro posts - I've not had any need to change it and when I've tweaked it I've generally not been happy with something, I have quite a opposition instructions on which aren't shown but that's about it. 

The opposition instructions are basically in a nut shell:

Central midfield, defensive mid and central defenders - close down, mark tigher, tackle harder
Wingers and full backs - Show on to weaker foot

[bowieinspace]

January 2027 Update

 

Will try to keep this brief!

In La Liga we have played 21, won 20, drawn 1. Naturally we are top, and have a 12 point cushion so things are looking promising for potentially our first domestic league title!

In the Champions league we went through the league phase in 2nd with 19 points from 8 games. 

We're still in the Copa Del Rey (quarters) and lost to Atletico (again lol) in the Supercopa...penalties this time.

 

Transfer wise we let Yeray go on loan to Lille for the last 6 months of his contract - he wasn't being played following the Guillamon signing and I had newgen Mikel Goni as first choice back up to get him developing quicker. Aihen Munoz is going to play out the remainder of the season until the end of his contract and I'll be promoting a newgen to take his LB spot next season (probably as first choice as well). 

Mikel Merino was transfer listed at Man City, they wanted obscene money for him so I opted for a loan for the rest of the season. I do have an optional buy clause but I won't pay it, I'll just wait and see if he becomes cheaper in the summer as he will only have 12 months left on his deal. This has allowed me to loan out Peio Arregi to get more game time as he's not quite good enough for me to fully trust him if Vencedor can't play. 

[jippo45]

2027/2028 Season

League - 2nd

Cup - Lost to Betis in 1/4 final

Champions League - Lost to Napoli 3-2 on agg in the knock out play off round

Supercopa - Winners

Similar to previous seasons with a similar points haul in the league and whilst Barcelona seem to faltering with the slow decline of Lewandowski Real Madrid are strong as ever. A disappointing defence of the Cup saw us slump out to Betis away in the quarter final. Strong supercopa showing was the highlight taking the hardest route and beating both Barca and Real Madrid. This win being our 3rd piece of silverware (2x Supercopa and 1x Copa Del Rey)

Transfers

As stated in my previous update the main transfer was newgen full back David Arbeloa for £36.5m. Nico Williams was available on the transfer list shortly after I concluded that deal but in the end I wasn't able to raise the funds and he left for Bayern Munich for £50 on the summer transfer deadline day. I did bring in a 36yr Antoine Griezmann for £1.4m on deadline day. He played a good number of games for me and ended up with 11 assists scoring 6. However his physicals were very much depleted and was a bit part player and although having a year on his contract he decided to retire come the end of the season.

In the January window I brought in a 21yr old newgen centre back Enrique Uriarte from Las Palmas for £10.5m giving me some much needed cover and competition for Nunez and Vivian. This also means I can play Hugo Guillamon further forward more often now. 

Spoiler

As for players out I lost a couple to retirement. Griezmann as previously stated and also Munian who decided to retire 2 days after signing a new contract. Quite the change in mind. Álvaro Odriozola is the other notable out who left for more football at Reims. Odriozola is not much of a loss as I have David Arbeloa and Andoni Gorosabel for cover there. I have not brought in any players this summer window simply because there is nothing out there that I can afford or is interest that can improve my 11. However, with the loss of Munian, Griezmann, and the decline of Inaki Williams it has left me very short in the wide attacker roles. Its only really Aimar I have that can play there. With Nico Williams being out of my reach I have decided to completely revamp my tactics going forward. I even took charge of friendlies to mould this. I present to you this monstrosity (and usual starting 11);

 

As you can see I'm now into November of the 2028/2029 season and currently sit 2nd 1 point behind Real Madrid after 12 games. The system works but is still a work in progress. I've not quite settled on the striker role, the left AM role, or decided fully on whether the central DM should be Anchor man or a DM (d). The rest however I'm pretty set on. Its very narrow as you can see so to counteract this the attacking width is set to widest and there are induvial player instructions to sit wider, with roaming allowed on the 2 AMs. The wingbacks can sometimes get isolated and lose possession so I've found setting them to 'take less risks' helps them keep possession. Drop off more, the sweeper keeper, and the cover defender are there to defend against punts over the top which previously were the bane of my life. Trap inside because thats where all my players are! Its not a finished article and utilises a lot of specialist roles. My B team who play have been getting battered in the Segunda but its working for my first team which to be fair it has been purposely crafted around.

 

[bowieinspace]

@jippo45 what are your intents for the wing backs in this system? I always ask when i see complete wing backs cause it’s such a niche role. The roam from position PI it comes with can mean they drift inside to find creative opportunities, and they need some impressive creative attributes to really make use of the role. Looking at David Arbeloa he may be better suited to a straight wing back role! Especially with your system lacking width it makes sense to use a role that holds them wider all the time

[jippo45]

34 minutes ago, bowieinspace said:

@jippo45 what are your intents for the wing backs in this system? I always ask when i see complete wing backs cause it’s such a niche role. The roam from position PI it comes with can mean they drift inside to find creative opportunities, and they need some impressive creative attributes to really make use of the role. Looking at David Arbeloa he may be better suited to a straight wing back role! Especially with your system lacking width it makes sense to use a role that holds them wider all the time

Thats a good point. My intent for them is primarily to provide width and to get up and down the pitch so maybe Wing Back (a) would be best. Its probably my misunderstanding of the role and I don't think whilst I was hastily putting it together I noticed the roam from position PI. I'll try the tactic with Wing Back (a) as basically I just want them on the touchlines to give the central players more space.

Edited November 25, 2022 by jippo45

[bowieinspace]

1 hour ago, jippo45 said:

Thats a good point. My intent for them is primarily to provide width and to get up and down the pitch so maybe Wing Back (a) would be best. Its probably my misunderstanding of the role and I don't think whilst I was hastily putting it together I noticed the roam from position PI. I'll try the tactic with Wing Back (a) as basically I just want them on the touchlines to give the central players more space.

I think you’ll find it does more of what you want for sure! The complete wing back position is one of those that often gets misused as people miss the fine print haha. Good luck!

[MattyC78]

After a couple of years of making limited transfers, for 2024/25 we had a bit of a mini squad rebuild.  We had some transfer budget and we have borrowed some from future budgets.  It was initiated by three players being on the transfer list but we ended up having to pay a little more due to our rivalry with Real Madrid and Real Sociedad.  I would never put up with that nonsense normally but with Athletic it ultimately comes down to do you want the player and can you afford them.

Ander Herrera returned on a free to replace the retiring Raul Garcia.  Aihen Munoz was next in, resulting in Yuri being moved on.  Asier Villalibre wanted out for first team football which I could not provide so when I got a fair offer from Levante we decided to let him go. Unai Nunez would not sign a new contract and he seems to be not as good as previous years so as he was planning to leave on a free we decided to cash in (also Levante) and he was replaced as our fourth choice centre back by the returning Unai Bilbao.  At this stage I thought I was done.

Then Jon Karrikaburu and Alvaro Odriozola were transfer listed and we couldn’t resist the opportunities.  An unhappy Imanol was sold in January to help balance the books a little. 

 

In January we tumbled out of the super cup to a flying Barcelona in the semi-final.  At this stage they were leading the league and beating everyone.  I think they got distracted by their progress towards the Champions League final whereas we were comprehensively beaten by Napoli (Parthenope) in the quarter finals.  We got our revenge on Barcelona by beating them in Copa Del Rey final to seal our first trophy in our three seasons.

We went on to just about pip Barcelona to the title as they appeared to struggle with their fixture pile up. 

The arrival of Jon Karrikaburu was very timely as Mr Reliable (Inaki Williams) after years of not missing a game was out for chunks of the season with various injuries and the African Cup of Nations.  Karrikaburu was much better than I hoped with 27 goals in 19 league starts.  It makes me think should I have taken the big money for Inaki last year.  Barring injures we have had a fairly stable team.  I still struggle to get the best from Inigo Martinez (We have not got on in previous versions of FM) but there are no real options to replace him.  He has stayed because we have repeatedly been able to bring his wages down to a reasonable level but I am just waiting for a decent youth player to oust him.   

[bowieinspace]

Damnit @MattyC78 you just beat me to getting a league title on the thread hahaha. Either way you did it a season or two earlier than me  

Awesome work bud, it’s been harder this year with Real being very strong/consistent so great to see someone smash them

[dothestrand]

Season 25-26: One Step Forwards But Two Steps Back?

La Liga: 2nd, 78 points (-7 from last season)

Champions League: Lost in Round of 16

Super Cup: Semi Finals

Spanish Cup: Semi Finals

Squad Performance

This was a difficult season to assess. As you can see, we finally got the second place we'd been getting closer towards (behind a rampant Real Madrid, yet again) but with 7 fewer points than the previous season. Barcelona had a massive drop-off from the previous season themselves. The squad pretty much downed tools at the end of the season, as we picked up 3 points from the last 5 games (all draws), and they weren't especially difficult games - away to Barcelona apart. We'd secured second place with three games to go so maybe a degree of complacency kicked in. That's something I'll remember when I think about squad changes this Summer.

Anyway, for most of the season, we were impressive. We got out of the traps well, which included home wins against Atletico Madrid and Barcelona - though Elche brought us down to earth, thrashing us 4-1 at their place. By and large though, we were picking up wins at home and drawing a few too many games away. But we pulled away from the pack of clubs behind us in the New Year and looked in good nick until the late-season collapse.

Champions League performances were pretty good. Astana of Kazakhstan were the only really weak opponents in the first stage of the competition. We beat Feyenoord, Rangers and Sparta Prague, drew with Porto but lost to PSG, Napoli and Inter. This led to a first knockout round against Ajax, which we beat 4-2 on aggregate. Our reward for that was getting beaten easily by Liverpool, but no shame in that.

Super Cup semi was against Real Madrid, so that's an obvious write-off as they're impossible to beat. Atletico Madrid knocked us out of the Spanish Cup at the semi final stage by the odd goal. Overall though, this represented a decent season but 78 points isn't going to get us second place again if Barcelona get their act together, so we've got to improve.

A slight dip in performances across the squad in terms of average rating. Pretty much everyone (including some of the bench) were above 7.0 last season. Now, it's seven players barely passing that benchmark score. Nico was top scorer in La Liga again, but if he doesn't score, he usually has a stinker (he got 9 MOTMs but had just as many 6.0 type games). He's a winger with finishing of 12, so I can't expect any more really. 

In milestones, one of my regen strikers won the NXGN award (he was runner up last season) and Aimar Vicandi won the Golden Boy award. 

Transfers and Youth Intake

A quiet year. There was no-one on the market who could improve the squad. Benat Turrientes came in to provide cover for Moncayola, but never really got going. It's touch and go as to whether he stays on. Otherwise, just a few regens with some potential.

We had (and were due) a poor intake this year with just a couple of guys with first team squad potential. I've got a couple of guys from Osasuna and Almeria coming in this Summer.

Looking Ahead

Most of the core first team squad are still in their prime and I'll resist any bids for them. Simon is an interesting case though. Man Utd want him but never bid. Real Sociedad have a really excellent looking 18yo GK who has shown interest in signing for us and is available for around 12m. I could just sign him anyway. But if I could sign him and get 50-60m for Simon? Tempting....

Muniain is 32yo and has a year left on his deal. His captaincy leaves a lot to be desired and I'll replace him in that role. If he gets in a funk, so be it. He's been usurped by Aimar Vicandi and Dani Rodriguez, and we have Aimar, so I may see if I can move him on. We've regens in wide positions who can fill a squad place.

Otherwise, it'll be a stable Summer and we're hoping for some further improvement next season.

[bowieinspace]

2026/2027 Season Review - Centurions!

 

La Liga - 1st, 100 points
Copa Del Rey - Lost in Semi Final to Real Madrid
Supercopa - Lost in Semi Final Atletico
Champions League - Lost in Quarter Final to Man United

Huge domestic league success hitting 100 points and only losing 1 game. We lost away to Real Madrid with about 5 games to go in a tight game to lose our invincible opportunity, but no complaints there - overall just an excellent league season. In the Champions League we played Man United 3 times and they absolutely battered us twice at Old Trafford. We went into the second leg of the knock out match against them 2-0 down and could definitely have turned it around, but we weren't clinical enough at home where we finally played well. In both the away games it felt like we couldn't string two passes together! Cups were a somewhat regular result with tight losses to Real and Atletico.

 

Transfers/Squad Building

Ander Barrenetxea was a fantastic signing for us and has actually improved a lot too. We've elected to move him to right back generally speaking as I play a wing back attack on that side and he's brilliant in that role - this gives youngster Ander Pascual more opportunities at LW. Mikel Merino was a really successful loan and I'm keen to bring him in permanently, unfortunately he's 31, within the final 12 months of his deal and transfer listed, but Man City still want 35million for him! I'm just playing the waiting game really and hopefully that one happens as it will mean I can loan 1 of my younger players out for a full season of games. I could sign Zubimendi for 40million but it's not that interesting to me - Merino as an older option is probably a better fit for us as it dovetails better with our up and comers.

Mikel Gallego is flying with his development and looks set to be a top, top player. Pascual is moving a touch slower in terms of attributes but his potential has remained high throughout, so excited to see what he can do. Etxabe and Garai are both very solid and look set to be good players for us until an elite talent appears in their positions. Chevalier I am not convinced by - he's that type of newgen you see who isn't big enough to be a CB, isn't technical enough to be a DM and isn't explosive enough to be a full back. He's just one of those utility guys who would maybe find a niche in a back 3 or something. Either way, I'm starting to wonder if other right back prospects may be the way to go, so looking for a loan opportunity for him. Julen Jon Guerrero had a fantastic loan spell in Portugal and returns much improved, so I've incorporated him into the squad this season. Arregi also had a good loan spell but may benefit from another, so his position may depend on our ability to sign Mikel Merino. 

Squad - 

GK - SImon, Padilla, Ayeza (Agirrezabala is still around but likely being sold)
RB - Barrenetxea, Gorosabel, Chevalier (trying to loan out Chevalier!)
LB - Lacruiz, Villar.... Javi Lopez has been sold and AIhen Munoz released on a free so these two could come in from the academy
CB - Vivian, Guillamon, Goni, Etxebarria
DM - Vencedor, Arregi
CM - Sancet, Moncayola, Gallego, Julen Jon Guerrero
RW - Nico Williams, Etxabe
LW - Aimar, Pascual
CF - Karrikaburu, Garai

 

The New Promotions from the Academy

If I get Mikel Merino in, either this guy or Arregi will leave on loan

 

This guy was going to get 7-8 games in the first team at the tail end of last season only to pick up a 8 week injury. He's back now, slightly hampered his progress, but he will share LB duties with Villar this season...

 

Lacruz's bad fortunate with his injury allowed this guy to get the first team opportunity at the end of last season. He did ok and I rate Lacruz more highly, so he will likely get more opportunities but Villar looks solid too.

[bowieinspace]

Update!

Mikel Merino is still way too expensive but something may become possible there which would allow me to loan out Arregi. 

I was however able to snag 30 year old Robin Le Normand! Paid a reasonable fee of 25million but he’s high natural fitness and professionalism so he will be an elite player for a good few years. He gives me a top tier defensive option so Etxebarria has been loaned out for the season. This move also allows me to utilise Guillamon in a dm role with Le Normand and and Vivian at CB if for example Vencedor was injured for a cup final or something

[dothestrand]

Congratulations @bowieinspace for overcoming the Real juggernaut. It would definitely take something special to finish above them and 100 points is a superb effort. My best bet is City continuing to buy their best players! 

 

[bowieinspace]

9 hours ago, dothestrand said:

Congratulations @bowieinspace for overcoming the Real juggernaut. It would definitely take something special to finish above them and 100 points is a superb effort. My best bet is City continuing to buy their best players! 

 

Thanks! Carlo Ancelotti leaving had a bit of an impact in my save. Klopp came in and they are still good but have dropped off a bit seemingly. They also sold Vinicius Jr to Man City which has helped too

[MattyC78]

We're set for our attempt to try to retain the league title.  Travsfers were much more restrained than last year.  We bought a couple of youngsters (from Rennes and Osasuna) but the main bit of business was Andoni Gorosabel as our back-up right back for £4 million.  We sold Lekue for £2.4 million, Berenguer for £14.25 million, Unai Bilbao for £2.5 million and Lander Arenal for £2.2 million.  We do have an issue though as Iker Munian is unhappy as we turned down an offer from Chelsea.  He has less than a year left and may be leaving so we may have to consider taking the captaincy from him.

I like the approach of introducing youngsters as they are introduced to the first team so I am following suit.  I really enjoy the youth development and this is part of the appeal of managing Athletic.  I have promoted a couple of youth prospects who look good but I may be expecting a little too much too early.  Alvaro Pascual is a 18 year old attacking midfielder who we have been retraining as a striker who has been hanging around the first team for the last year.

Gorka Saizar is another attacking midfielder who we are planning to use as cover in midfield.  He spent last year on loan at Huesca and is making the step up for additional depth.

The final introduction is Ekaitz Sesma who has probably been promoted a year early but we are looking a little short after selling Berenguer.  Hopefully he will settle in quickly to first team football.

 

[jippo45]

Congrats MattyC78 and bowieinspace on the league titles!

[dothestrand]

OK, in the 2026 Summer, I've bought a 35yo Griezmann on a 2y deal for 10.25m on 125k per week. Stamina down to 11 and that will only plummet but his technical/mental attributes are undimmed and his personality is tremendous. Plus, it means Nico can play AMR again if needed.

[bowieinspace]

16 hours ago, dothestrand said:

OK, in the 2026 Summer, I've bought a 35yo Griezmann on a 2y deal for 10.25m on 125k per week. Stamina down to 11 and that will only plummet but his technical/mental attributes are undimmed and his personality is tremendous. Plus, it means Nico can play AMR again if needed.

I definitely considered Griezmann around that time as well but didn’t go for it, still will have a couple years in him given how much slower players decline this year 

[dothestrand]

2 hours ago, bowieinspace said:

I definitely considered Griezmann around that time as well but didn’t go for it, still will have a couple years in him given how much slower players decline this year 

My regen strikers just aren't there yet and regular minutes in the second division seem to be way better for player development than being in the first team and coming off the bench. So Griezmann just needs to do a job this season at the very least. If he retires, that's not the end of the world but he's still got all the skills and mentality to play a valuable role even if it's mainly cameos from the bench. 

[bowieinspace]

The major update today seems really good. I think it’s a bit easier to sign under 18s now thankfully

[bowieinspace]

January Update and Player Spotlight

 

We finally won our first Supercopa! Not a big deal but we've been consistently unlucky in that cup so nice to finally get one. 

Transfers wise it's super quiet for us really, we signed a couiple of youth players but I think our days signign experienced players are waning. On the competitions front we're still ticking along in the early stages of the Copa del Rey, and we look set to qualify in the top 8 of the Champions League league phase. 

I thought I'd tie in January updates with a bit of a spotlight on elite players who have come through with us from a young age. This time around it's Mikel Gallego - we signed him at 18 from Sociedad so he's not a pure academy product, but he's our top talent for sure and still plenty of room to grow.

Before

 

After

 

Edited December 3, 2022 by bowieinspace

[bowieinspace]

I've just watched Jon Moncayola do a panenka, and the keeper just stood there and caught it LOL I had the uncontrollable lol's for a good minute or so

[MattyC78]

We have reached the end of 2025/26 and the defence of our title.  In terms of transfer updates, we brought in David Garcia for £1.6 million in January after he turned us down in the summer as the belated replacement for Unai Bilbao.  We also bought a few Basque youngster which I hope be pushing for first team spots in a year or two.   Real Madrid have completely fallen away and were no challenge whatsoever. However, Barcelona were formidable in reaching 100 points and running way to the title, leaving me in a battle with Athletico for second place.  Robert Lewandowski was phenomenal.  Thankfully at 37, he cannot continue forever. 

Barcelona also dominated Europe and were one goal better than us over two games in the semi-finals before they went on to retain their title.  In the Super Cup we were knocked out in the semi-final by Athletico before we went on to get our revenge in the Copa Del Rey by beating them 3-0. 

We have a few youngster kicking around the squad but we are still very much reliant on the same core group of players.  Iker Muniain, Inaki Williams and Nico Williams are irreplaceable in this team. With two of them in their thirties we have to hope they have a little of Lewandowski's longevity.

   

I have been contemplating dothestrand's comments about youngsters getting a full season of first team football and feel I may be promoting players too early and then holding back their development.  I have been having problems with the B team.  The wage restrictions mean I can only register a couple of our youngsters.  It may be a job for the summer contemplating how I maximise youth development otherwise the future years are going to be a struggle.

 

[gggfunk]

Hi,

Do you guys play as yourself or use a fake manager? I'm about to start my Athletic save but can't decide who to use as my manager, obviously choosing myself is not realistic at all. Can you recommend any former Athletic player or staff that is not in game? Preferably not too old as well.

[bowieinspace]

49 minutes ago, gggfunk said:

Hi,

Do you guys play as yourself or use a fake manager? I'm about to start my Athletic save but can't decide who to use as my manager, obviously choosing myself is not realistic at all. Can you recommend any former Athletic player or staff that is not in game? Preferably not too old as well.

Not sure if Aritz Aduriz is in game, could be a good one. I use a made up person myself and make them have some bits resembling me, but with the requisite experience etc within professional football to warrant being given the Athletic job

[dothestrand]

1 hour ago, gggfunk said:

Hi,

Do you guys play as yourself or use a fake manager? I'm about to start my Athletic save but can't decide who to use as my manager, obviously choosing myself is not realistic at all. Can you recommend any former Athletic player or staff that is not in game? Preferably not too old as well.

I was Julen Guerrero in the last game but he's also a Spanish u17 coach. Best to pick a legend who isn't a current coach so you don't find yourself duplicated. Many of the former legends from the 80s and 90s like Exteberria and Goikoetxea have coached so may be in the game. But Iraizoz, Dani (Ruiz-Bazan Justa), Urzaiz, Larrainzar and Ezquerrero may be names to try. 

[MattyC78]

2 hours ago, gggfunk said:

Hi,

Do you guys play as yourself or use a fake manager? I'm about to start my Athletic save but can't decide who to use as my manager, obviously choosing myself is not realistic at all. Can you recommend any former Athletic player or staff that is not in game? Preferably not too old as well.

I play as myself but keep meaning to play as a legend in a previous Athletic saves such as Gorka Perez.  I am planning to go deeper into the save this year and I will name myself after the biggest regen star next year.