[FM22] Los Blanquiazules

[Coin85]

I remember watching this team play some years ago. Found an article about them and got my interest in playing with them and to try to replicate their european adventure, Let's see if I have what it takes to do it...

Communities across the Basque Country are united by a flag, a language and a way of life they have fought to retain.

This solidarity makes Basque football a complex beast. The rivalry between the two biggest clubs in the region, Athletic Club of Bilbao and Real Sociedad of San Sebastián, is particularly intricate. Meetings between Athletic and La Real are characterised by the passion and intensity of the most fiercely competitive derbies in the world, but without the same depths of animosity.

One trait the two biggest clubs in the Basque Country share is a special welcome for the two biggest clubs in Spain, which means even the greatest Real Madrid and Barcelona teams have struggled on their trips to the Basque Country.

At San Mames in Bilbao, Real Madrid can always expect a red hot reception. Los Blancos won there only once in seven games between 1997 and 2002. During the same period, they won the European Cup three times. From 2011 to 2016, when Barcelona won the European Cup twice, the Catalans failed to win on any of their eight trips to San Sebastián.

These triumphs over Spain’s giants fit the historical narrative of the Basques as a people accustomed to resisting on home soil. The team that broke the mould came not from the big cities of Bilbao or San Sebastián but the region’s capital: Vitoria-Gasteiz – home of Deportivo Alavés.

Alavés dared to be different by reaching the pinnacle of their achievements all over Europe. Whereas Athletic and La Real’s most famous triumphs have come in Spain – each winning La Liga twice in the 1980s – Alavés can look back on great occasions in Turkey, in Norway, in Italy, in Spain and in Germany. Led by the impressively moustachioed Mané, Alavés went to all of these places on their improbable run to the UEFA Cup final in 2001 and lost only twice: once in the suburbs of Madrid, of all places, and once in the vast arena of Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion.

Alavés began their European tour not far from Asia. Not far from Syria. Not far from the city of Aleppo. Following a 0-0 draw with Gaziantepspor at the Estadio Mendizorroza in the home leg, they travelled to south-east Turkey and a very different match ensued. Alavés trailed at half-time but scored three times after the break to win 4-3. This ability to score frequently away from home would set the tone for a memorable campaign.

Two ties with Norwegian teams followed. Both Lillestrom and Rosenborg were seen off by two goals on aggregate, with each home leg drawn and both games in Norway resulting in 3-1 wins for Alavés. Their reward for downing Rosenborg was to be drawn to face Internazionale.

After the sides shared six goals at the Mendizorroza, an Inter side containing Christian Vieri, Alvaro Recoba, Laurent Blanc and Javier Zanetti failed to deal with Alavés at the San Siro. Inter’s fans rioted following their 2-0 home defeat which featured late goals from Jordi Cruyff and Ivan Tomić.

Another La Liga minnow had been making progress in the UEFA Cup and fate threw the two together, bringing Rayo Vallecano from the Spanish capital to a quarter-final first leg in the Basque capital. The Basques cruised to a 3-0 victory at home. In the second leg at Rayo’s 15,000-capacity Vallecas stadium, Alavés suffered their first defeat of the club’s European adventure. Yet they had already done enough. Rayo had seen off Lokomotiv Moscow and Bordeaux but fell 4-2 on aggregate to Alavés, bringing to an end the Red Sashes’ sole continental campaign to date.

The semi-final draw was kind, pairing the two strongest remaining sides – Liverpool and Barcelona – while Alavés would face Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern. The Germans had a formidable pairing of their own up front, giant Czech striker Vratislav Lokvenc linking up with a 22-year-old Miroslav Klose. Kaiserslautern also boasted World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff and the talented playmaker Mario Basler, although Djorkaeff missed the first leg and Basler’s contribution was not the finest.

Resplendent in their striking pink away shirts despite playing at home, Alavés dominated the opening encounter but they had a helping hand from Norwegian referee Rune Pedersen to get them started. Cosmin Contra’s penalty in the 20th minute came after the softest of awards for a slight obstruction on Jordi Cruyff. A second decision ten minutes later was less controversial and Contra converted again. Just before half time, a free kick made it through to the back post and an unmarked Cruyff couldn’t miss. Three goals up with three-quarters of the tie remaining, Alavés already looked out of sight.

Perhaps believing that Pedersen wouldn’t give a third penalty against his team, Basler bodychecked Cruyff as the Dutchman made his way into the box. The referee again pointed to the spot and Ivan Alonso took over spot-kick duties to put Alavés four goals clear. The Mendizorroza was bouncing and not even a Kaiserslautern goal – yet another penalty – could dampen the home fans’ spirits. Especially when they saw their team put together a flowing move ten minutes from time ending in Magno Mocelin’s curling shot into the top corner for a fifth goal.

Alavés, of course, were accustomed to their best performances coming away from home so confidence was high ahead of the second leg. Djorkaeff started for Kaiserslautern and scored a fine opener, reducing the aggregate score to 5-2. But then Alavés pulled away, hitting four to bring their total across the tie to nine. They hadn’t just squeezed through to the final. They had strode there.

And it was to Germany they would return for a showdown with a team far more familiar with European finals. Gérard Houllier’s Liverpool had seen off Barcelona, with the only goal of the tie a Gary McAllister penalty fired beyond the reach of a teenage Pepe Reina.

The Westfalenstadion was a fitting arena for the finale. Liverpool fielded five Englishmen including Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Emile Heskey – the three scorers of England’s five goals in a World Cup qualifier in Munich later that year.

Alavés, meanwhile, were an international outfit. They started with three Argentinians – goalkeeper Martín Herrera and midfielders Hermes Desio and Martin Astudillo – the Norwegian centre-back Dan Eggen, Romanian right wing-back Cosmin Contra, Ivan Tomic from Serbia and, of course, Jordi Cruyff from the Netherlands. Two South American forwards – the Uruguayan Iván Alonso and Brazil’s Magno Mocelin – came off the bench.

They had won all over Europe. Now they had one final test. And what a final. So often showpiece games fail to live up to the hype. But this was Alavés. This was one shot at glory. They had scored twice in Italy, four times in Turkey, six times in Norway and it was time to add to their four goals in Germany.

Liverpool struck first. And second. Markus Babbel headed in a free kick from close range before a shaven-headed Steven Gerrard, baggy red shirt billowing around him, burst through midfield to double the lead. But Alavés hit back. Iván Alonso, an early tactical substitute for the struggling Dan Eggen, had only been on the pitch for five minutes when he rose above Babbel to plant a header past Sander Westerveld.

With half-time approaching, the game swung firmly back in Liverpool’s favour when Michael Owen slalomed through the Alavés backline in a manner reminiscent of his goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup. This time he didn’t score but only because an Argentinian, the goalkeeper Martín Herrera, raced out and hauled him down. Penalty, dispatched into the bottom corner by McAllister.

But, again, this was Alavés. The two-goal deficit may have seemed mountainous at the interval but six minutes into the second half the game was level again. Javi Moreno scored both goals, a well-placed header followed by a low free kick that went under the Liverpool wall.

Substitute Robbie Fowler restored the Reds’ lead which meant Alavés were staring at defeat as the clock ticked towards ninety. But then a corner found Cruyff at the near post, somehow finding space in the midst of seven Liverpool men. Cruyff nodded the ball in, sparking wild scenes before it began to dawn on everyone that there would be thirty more minutes of this madness.

A couple of industrial challenges saw Alavés reduced to nine men in extra time, meaning penalties were clearly the Basque side’s best hope of claiming the trophy. In fact, one slip would be fatal for the team’s hopes with the golden goal method in use.

It was cruel. A McAllister free kick from the left seemed to be destined for the goalkeeper Herrera when Delfi Geli intervened. Geli’s leap saw him deflect the ball beyond Herrera into the far corner of the unguarded net. Liverpool’s players raced to McAllister and past him to the stands where their fans were gathered. The nine men of Alavés, all of them in the penalty area, having given everything, collapsed.

Since their glorious year in Europe, Alavés have spent four seasons in Spain’s third tier. They also reached the Copa del Rey final in 2017, losing to Barcelona at the Vicente Calderón in Madrid. It was the first time they had ever made it to the final of a domestic competition. Another great occasion in the club’s history, yet not quite on the same level as their European exploits in 2001. It’s hard to believe Deportivo Alavés will ever again embark on such a special journey.

... or maybe it will not be as hard to believe?

Article by David Bevan found at https://thetxoko.org/2018/10/25/when-alaves-took-on-europe-and-nearly-won/

Edited March 17, 2023 by Coin85

[Coin85]

Deportivo Alaves - Season 01 - 2021-22 - Pre-Season and Transfers

So the aim of the save is to give the team the success it deserves. I wonder how many seasons will it take....

I used the pre-season to evaluate the players and decide who have a place here and who doesn't. In the end, we won all but one match against Sturm Graz, but the players are all fit, so it's fine.

In the transfers department, I sold Édgar Méndez, Joselu and John Guidetti, and well as some youth players that had no room here. I managed to get 9 new players: Fernando Valenzuela, Filipe Augusto, Valeri Qazaishvili, Jaime Seoane, Victor Rodriguez, Rémy Cabella, Ramon Azeez, Derlis Gonzales and Pepelu. Yeah, it is a lot of players, but we needed some new faces around. Let's hope they can actually help us achieve our objectives.

For this first season, all I really want is something around mid-table. Everything beyond that is a bonus.

[Coin85]

Deportivo Alavés - S01 - August/September

15th August - Levante 0 x 1 Alavés
Shots: 3/0 - 7/2
Possession: 65 - 35
xG: 0.43 - 0.66
Goalscorers: Valeri Qazaishvili (23)

20th August - Alavés 2 x 0 Real Sociedad
Shots: 10/6 - 4/2
Possession: 34 - 66
xG: 1.44 - 0.34
Goalscorers: Derlis Gonzalez (50), Rémy Cabella (90)

29th August - Sevilla 1 x 0 Alavés
Shots: 9/2 - 7/3
Possession: 59 - 41
xG: 1.13 - 0.59
Goalscorers: -

12th September - Alavés 1 x 0 Getafe
Shots: 15/6 - 5/1
Possession: 58 - 42
xG: 2.14 - 0.48
Goalscorers: Fernando Valenzuela (16)

19th September - Granada 1 x 1 Alavés
Shots: 9/5 - 2/1
Possession: 44 - 56
xG: 1.49 - 0.31
Goalscorers: Fernando Valenzuela (90+2)

22th September - Alavés 3 x 1 Elche
Shots: 17/6 - 3/1
Possession: 52 - 48
xG: 2.51 - 0.35
Goalscorers: Rémy Cabella (29, 82, 90+4)

26th September - Alavés 4 x 1 Osasuna
Shots: 16/8 - 9/2
Possession: 53 - 47
xG: 2.99 - 0.88
Goalscorers: Jason (5), Rémy Cabella (30), Derlis Gonzales (pen 66), Valeri Qazaishvili (90+1)

A very good start. The loss against Sevilla was expected, but the draw against Granada wasn't.  We played really bad on that game, and we were lucky to get a point.

Currently we're 4th with 16 points, tied with Real Betis and 3 points behind Barcelona.

In october we simply have Atlético, Barcelona, Valencia and Bilbao to play against. Geez... =\

[Coin85]

Deportivo Alavés - S01 - October/December 2021

3rd October - Atlético de Madrid 0 x 0 Alavés
Shots: 6/3 - 6/4
Possession: 44 - 56
xG: 0.50 - 0.83
Goalscorers: -

16th October - Alavés 1 x 0 Barcelona
Shots: 10/4 - 6/2
Possession: 46 - 54
xG: 1.27 - 0.40
Goalscorers: Fernando Valenzuela (73)

24th October - Valencia 2 x 2 Alavés
Shots: 20/8 - 8/5
Possession: 41 - 59
xG: 1.72 - 1.17
Goalscorers: Fernando Valenzuela (43), Rémy Cabella (74)

27th October - Alavés 2 x 1 Athletic Bilbao
Shots: 20/10 - 5/2
Possession: 57 - 43
xG: 2.78 - 0.69
Goalscorers: Fernando Valenzuela (15, 59)

1st November - Alavés 0 x 0 Cádiz
Shots: 13/3 - 2/0
Possession: 71 - 29
xG: 1.53 - 0.21
Goalscorers: -

7th November - Real Betis 0 x 1 Alavés
Shots: 6/2 - 9/4
Possession: 55 - 45
xG: 0.55 - 1.05
Goalscorers: Rémy Cabella (32)

21th November - Celta Vigo 0 x 1 Alavés
Shots: 19/8 - 6/2
Possession: 58 - 42
xG: 2.11 - 1.24
Goalscorers: Derlis Gonzalez (pen 58)

28th November - Alavés 1 x 1 Villarreal
Shots: 9/6 - 3/1
Possession: 44 - 56
xG: 1.91 - 0.12
Goalscorers: Rémy Cabella (pen 84)

2nd December - Alavés 2 x 0 Mallorca
Shots: 21/10 - 5/2
Possession: 62 - 38
xG: 2.03 - 0.45
Goalscorers: Ramon Azeez (10), Rémy Cabella (82)

5th December - Rayo Vallecano 0 x 2 Alavés
Shots: 4/3 - 15/10
Possession: 46 - 54
xG: 0.33 - 2.65
Goalscorers: Ramon Azeez (50, 84)

12th December - Real Madrid 1 x 2 Alavés
Shots: 12/7 - 7/5
Possession: 43 - 57
xG: 1.42 - 0.96
Goalscorers: Fernando Valenzuela (42), Víctor Rodríguez (88)

15th December - Copa del Rey - Tamaraceite 0 x 2 Alavés
Shots: 4/1 - 9/3
Possession: 28 - 72
xG: 0.38 - 0.69
Goalscorers: Saúl (24), Luis Rioja (48)

 

So... what the actual f....!!! We're not supposed to play like that or be that lucky, but I'll take that!. The matches against Celta, Valencia and Real Madrid we were supposed to lose, and yet we managed 5 points out of 9! Heck, the Atlético and the Barcelona matches we were also supposed to lose.... oh well, we're building a cushion of points at least.

Edited March 19, 2023 by Coin85

[Coin85]

Deportivo Alavés - S01 - January/February 2022

2nd January - Alavés 4 x 1 Espanyol
Shots: 10/6 - 4/2
Possession: 48 - 52
xG: 1.19 - 0.44
Goalscorers: Cabella (30, 63), Valenzuela (56), Seoane (72)

5th January - Copa del Rey - Antequera 0 x 3 Alavés
Shots: 2/1 - 12/4
Possession: 41 - 59
xG: 0.27 - 1.74
Goalscorers: Toni Moya (4), Saúl (33), Jason (64) 

12th January - Alavés 3 x 0 Levante
Shots: 9/5 - 5/2
Possession: 50 - 50
xG: 1.07 - 0.57
Goalscorers: Valenzuela (48), Qazaishvili (81), Rubén Duarte (84)

15th January - Copa del Rey - Castellón 3 x 5 Alavés
Shots: 7/5 - 19/10
Possession: 33 - 67
xG: 0.90 - 2.34
Goalscorers: Toni Moya (9), Jason (18,37), Qazaishvili (41), Pina (73)

20th January - Alavés 2 x 1 Sevilla
Shots: 6/4 - 1/1
Possession: 53 - 47
xG: 1.50 - 0.03
Goalscorers: Derlis Gonzalez (24, pen 82)

This should've been a clean sheet, but why if we can go and score an own goal? =\

23th January - Real Sociedad 2 x 2 Alavés
Shots: 9/8 - 7/4
Possession: 41 - 59
xG: 0.96 - 0.79
Goalscorers: Cabella (20, 37)

26th January - Copa del Rey - Real Sociedad 3 x 2 Alavés
Shots: 20/11 - 15/11
Possession: 51 - 49
xG: 2.10 - 1.84
Goalscorers: Valenzuela (12), Rioja (89)

Back to back matches against Sociedad. Great games, both of them (even though the first one was more... "convoluted"?). Too bad we didn't win.

30th January - Getafe 1 x 1 Alavés
Shots: 8/4 - 10/3
Possession: 44 - 56
xG: 0.90 - 1.47
Goalscorers: Cabella (34)

Okay, we should have won that. Definitely!

6th February - Elche 0 x 2 Alavés
Shots: 6/2 - 12/8
Possession: 45 - 55
xG: 0.43 - 2.25
Goalscorers: Valenzuela (62), Cabella (75)

13th February - Alavés 1 x 1 Granada
Shots: 9/6 - 5/4
Possession: 62 - 38
xG: 1.37 - 0.62
Goalscorers: Qazaishvili (61)

Grenada is being kind of a bogey team...

20th February - Osasuna 1 x 0 Alavés
Shots: 7/2 - 7/2
Possession: 45 - 55
xG: 0.75 - 1.13
Goalscorers: -

How.... how can I actually explain what happened here!?

27th February - Alavés 1 x 2 Atlético de Madrid
Shots: 6/5 - 6/4
Possession: 61 - 39
xG: 0.57 - 0.48
Goalscorers: Derlis Gonzalez (21)

This one was winnable. But again the team failed to score. We're lacking a good goalscorer. Oh well, I only have myself to blame.

We're currently at 2nd place (wut!?...), 9 points behind Barcelona (who have a game in hand), and 3 points ahead of Celta.

[Coin85]

Deportivo Alavés - S01 - March/May 2022

03/04/22 - Alavés 2 x 3 Real Betis
Shots: 9/6 - 10/6
Possession: 40 - 60
xG: 1.09 - 0.85
Goalscorers: Gonzalez (30), Isaac (52)

09/04/22 - Alavés 0 x 1 Celta Vigo
Shots: 5/0 - 19/13
Possession: 44 - 56
xG: 0.64 - 1.85
Goalscorers: -

21/04/22 - Cádiz 3 x 4 Alavés
Shots: 15/9 - 13/7
Possession: 47 - 53
xG: 2.33 - 1.97
Goalscorers: Cabella (30), Pina (42), Rioja (85), Seoane (90+1)

Finally an end to the winless run! What was that, 8 games? Geez, end-of-season slump...

24/04/22 - Villarreal 1 x 0 Alavés
Shots: 12/4 - 2/1
Possession: 59 - 41
xG: 1.00 - 0.32
Goalscorers: -

30/04/22 - Alavés 2 x 0 Rayo Vallecano
Shots: 7/5 - 10/4
Possession: 68 - 32
xG: 1.12 - 0.75
Goalscorers: Qazaishvili (7), Duarte (9)

06/05/22 - Mallorca 1 x 3 Alavés
Shots: 14/5 - 14/6
Possession: 42 - 58
xG: 1.30 - 1.79
Goalscorers: Seoane (3), Cabella (22), Laguardia (35)

10/05/22 - Alavés 2 x 2 Real Madrid
Shots: 8/5 - 10/9
Possession: 60 - 40
xG: 1.54 - 2.24
Goalscorers: Gonzalez (20), Cabella (21)

15/05/22 - Espanyol 0 x 1 Alavés
Shots: 15/6 - 16/8
Possession: 53 - 47
xG: 1.80 - 2.22
Goalscorers: Valenzuela (34)

And with that we finished in 4th place with 70 points, and got ourselves a place in the Champions League next season.

Top goalscorer was Rémy Cabella, with 18 goals.

[Coin85]

Deportivo Alavés - S02 - Pre-Season

So for this new season I wanted to revamp the team (well, I was kinda forced to, since teams came knocking at our door). With that said, some players left us, while some joined us. The transfers out were Fernando Pacheco, Florian Lejeune, Víctor Rodríguez, Ramon Azeez, Pere Pons, Victor Laguardia, Ximo Navarro, Saúl, Antonio Sivera, Carlos Isaac, Valeri Qazaishvili and Filipe Augusto. The new faces include Arnau Tenas (Barcelona B), Joshua Kitolano (Odds), Faride Alidou (Hamburg), Javier Belman (Fuenlabrada), Lluís (Real Zaragoza), Alejandro Pozo (Sevilla), Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (Free Transfer), Romário Baró (Porto), Kang-In Lee (Mallorca) and Marcelo Allende (Montevideo City Torque). I'm using the pre-season to improve fitness, match practice and to gel the squad. 

My aim for this season is still mid-table. The squad got a huge overhaul, so as long as we don't get relegated it is fine. Most players are young and have room to grow, so let's take advantage of that.
 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Coin85

[Coin85]

Well, I guess the game is mad at me somehow...

=\

 

[Coin85]

Deportivo Alavés - S02 - July/September

31/07/23 - La Liga - Alavés 4 x 0 Levante
Shots: 27/12 - 3/1
xG: 5.01 - 0.06
Possession: 53 - 47
Goalscorers: Pepelu (11), Aguirregabiria (19), Lee (43), Allende (82)
That is the type of performance I want for the team. We completely dominated the match, and we could've scored more, if it wasn't for the woodwork. Twice.

07/08/23 - La Liga - Getafe 0 x 2 Alavés
Shots: 5/0 - 10/4
xG: 0.54 - 1.50
Possession: 37 - 63
Goalscorers: Valenzuela (6), De la Fuente (75)
That is a more down-to-earth performance. We again hit the woodwork, and we had more than double the number of passes completed (780 to 342). A win is a win, but we could've played a little better.

14/08/23 - La Liga - Alavés 2 x 0 Osasuna
Shots: 14/8 - 1/0
xG: 1.77 - 0.04
Possession: 50 - 50
Goalscorers: Javi López (53), De la Fuente (75)
Again a match that we never got in danger of losing. And we hit the woodwork again wth...

20/08/23 - La Liga - Villarreal 1 x 1 Alavés
Shots: 19/10 - 8/5
xG: 1.44 - 0.92
Possession: 54 - 46
Goalscorers: Cabella (32)
The first match of the season were we got outclassed. Luckily we got a point, and I'll take it with a smile.

27/08/23 - La Liga - Alavés 2 x 2 Almería
Shots: 21/9 - 8/6
xG: 2.78 - 1.10
Possession: 55 - 45
Goalscorers: Valenzuela (13, 50)
We played better, but they were more clinical. We should be winning this type of matches...

10/09/23 - La Liga - Alavés 1 x 0 Real Madrid
Shots: 12/5 - 10/5
xG: 1.02 - 1.49
Possession: 56 - 44
Goalscorers: Cabella (61)
Playing toe-to-toe against Madrid, completing 250ish more passes AND winning? Yes, please!

14/09/23 - Champions League - Dortmund 2 x 1 Alavés
Shots: 21/8 - 4/2
xG: 3.33 - 0.37
Possession: 61 - 39
Goalscorers: Cabella (88)
The epitome of being dominated. At least we managed to keep the scoreline respectable, because it could've been waaaaaay worse.

17/09/23 - La Liga - Barcelona 0 x 1 Alavés
Shots: 7/3 - 11/3
xG: 0.89 - 1.81
Possession: 52 - 48
Goalscorers: Cabella (pen 70)
Just like the Madrid match, we managed to play toe-to-toe against a bigger team, and also, we got lucky that Piqué gave us a penalty.

20/09/23 - Champions League - Alavés 3 x 1 Milan
Shots: 16/9 - 14/8
xG: 2.63 - 1.14
Possession: 53 - 47
Goalscorers: Cabella (18), Lee (29), Gonzalez (86)
That surprised me. I wasn't really expecting to get anything from this match. Maybe a lucky point. That reminds me of Alavés' european adventure...

27/09/23 - Champions League - Benfica 2 x 3 Alavés
Shots: 20/9 - 17/11
xG: 1.94 - 2.72
Possession: 57 - 43
Goalscorers: Lee (28), Allende (75), Cabella (90+3)
And this one was just like the tales of Alavés in Europe. Benfica scored first, we came back 2-1, they scored at the 88th minute and we got the winner 5 minutes later! Simply superb!

[Coin85]

Deportivo Alavés - S02 - October and November 2022

02/10/22 - La Liga - Real Sociedad 2 x 2 Alavés
Shots: 21/14 - 14/5
xG: 1.94 - 2.37
Possession: 48 - 52
Goalscorers: Lee '28, Gonzalez '70
We were about to win that rivalry game, but a Merino goal at the 94th minute gave Sociedad a point.

05/10/22 - La Liga - Alavés 1 x 4 Valencia
Shots: 9/2 - 15/7
xG: 0.74 - 1.85
Possession: 40 - 60
Goalscorers: Baró '11
We got completely outplayed in this match. But Valencia is running away with the league title, so it is fine.

08/10/22 - La Liga - Girona 0 x 6 Alavés
Shots: 10/6 - 16/9
xG: 1.29 - 2.94
Possession: 49 - 51
Goalscorers: Cabella '25 (p) '61 '63, Baró '27, Ferraresi '39, Valenzuela '74
The squad was on fire due to the Valencia loss and wanted blood. The result is the scoreline with a Cabella hattrick.

12/10/22 - La Liga - Alavés 2 x 0 Huesca
Shots: 18/7 - 8/1
xG: 2.93 - 0.79
Possession: 53 - 47
Goalscorers: Pozo '24, Lee '37
A match were we never looked like losing.

15/10/22 - La Liga - Celta 1 x 1 Alavés
Shots: 24/9 - 15/6
xG: 3.83 - 1.26
Possession: 60 - 40
Goalscorers: Lee '77
Celta isn't as hot as last season, but they still have a good squad, so anything counts.

19/10/22 - Champions League - Alavés 1 x 0 Benfica
Shots: 14/5 - 4/3
xG: 1.59 - 0.48
Possession: 47 - 53
Goalscorers: Cabella '56

22/10/22 - La Liga - Alavés 1 x 0 Cádiz
Shots: 19/9 - 5/4
xG: 1.81 - 0.07
Possession: 58 - 42
Goalscorers: Gonzalez '66

25/10/22 - Champions League - Milan 4 x 6 Alavés
Shots: 20/16 - 12/10
xG: 2.23 - 2.09
Possession: 60 - 40
Goalscorers: Lee '4 '7 '85, Cabella '23, Baró '90+3, Gonzalez '90+6 (p)
Here both teams threw caution to the wind to have an amazing match. We were 3-1 up, they drew, scored for 3-4, we drew with 5 minutes remaining and scored the 5th and the 6th goal in added time. An amazing match.

30/10/22 - La Liga - Rayo Vallecano 2 x 4 Alavés
Shots: 4/2 - 13/8
xG: 0.56 - 2.69
Possession: 48 - 52
Goalscorers: Allende '13, Cabella '40 '44, Baró '55

02/11/22 - Champions League - Alavés 1 x 2 Dortmund
Shots: 14/4 - 13/3
xG: 2.30 - 1.72
Possession: 56 - 44
Goalscorers: Rodríguez '64
Again we couldn't win against Dortmund, but at least we're now in the Knockout Stage of the Champions League.

Now we have the World Cup break, and the next league game is only in January.

 

Tables:

Edited March 29, 2023 by Coin85

[Coin85]

Deportivo Alavés - End of Season 2

La Liga

So we had one or other hiccup during the season, but again it was an amazing season, where we finished 2nd 7 points behind Valencia (!) due to Madrid losing his last match against Espanyol. Sociedad and Athletic are still kinda of bogey teams.

Copa del Rey

Athletic being a bogey team again...

Champions League

Interesting how our first european match is, iirc, in the same stadium where we historically lost to Liverpool all those seasons ago. I though we were gonna go down to PSG, but a De la Fuente goal in the last minute saved us. And City... they have both Haaland and Mbappé, so give me a break.

 

Going forward I'm gonna take a look at the market and see if I can find any interesting deals. Some loan players are coming back and will ask for a team spot, so it will be interesting to see...

[Coin85]

Deportivo Alavés - End of Season 3

Well, what can I say about this season... it wasn't what I expected really, considering last season. Last season we finished 2nd in La Liga and reached the semifinals of the Champions League. This season we finished 5th in the league and got knocked out at the First Knockout Round by RB Salzburg. The team had good moments, but also some really bad slumps (like that time we got slaughtered 5-0 in the Champions League...), but the team managed to... "get back" on track (well, not really). In the Copa del Rey we lost to Espanyol in the Quarter Final, but I was using a 2nd string of players, so whatever.

Well, at least we won the Supercopa de España, so a trophy at last!

I already have some deals done with players that are going out of contract and also with players from relegated teams (including Athletic Bilbao heh). I also have some players on loan that will (maybe) play a part in the first team next season. Some changes will be needed, and they WILL be made.

Once I'm done with the pre-season I will post something more detailed.

[Coin85]

Deportivo Alavés - Start of Season 4

Like I said in the previous post, I was gonna analyze the squad and go to the market if needed. Well, some teams came sniffing around my players, so that was kinda of a necessity. I managed to get some very nice players, some even on "transfer listed by request" stats, so even better.

The following is my main squad for the season. Yellow boxes means that the player is a regen.

And my tactic... well, it is a bit of an odd one, but it is what I like and it is working at least for now, so... yeah.

I hope that I can get some silverware with those players, so let's see what we can achieve.

[Coin85]

Deportivo Alavés - End of Season 4

So the season is over and I just got the following message:

Worth reading!? Really!? Oh c'mon, can I fire this guy??? NO THAT'S NOT WORTH READING!!!

So basically yeah, we finished 2nd in La Liga this season with 94 points, 3 behind goddamn Barcelona.

In the Copa del Rey we defeated Barcelona in the Semi Final.... just to lose to Real Madrid in the Final.

In the Europa League we lost in the Quarter Final to Arsenal...

I doubt we will actually challenge for the league title next season because.... 6 (not sure of the exact number) players are leaving us at the end of the season for nice amounts of money, but I'm not sure I will be able to replace them accordingly. Joshua Kitolano, Nicolò Fagioli, Abdallahi Mahmoud, Kang-In Lee and Álex Collado are all leaving us for a combined total of around 190 million pounds.

Oh well, back to the drawing board then...