Bumper update! Still off work due to injury (I'll be fine), so smashing out FM for many hours a day while on paid leave and on bed rest. Lovely stuff.
2038/39 Season Review - The Last Dance
Going into this season I felt like it was the final hurrah of my existing squad before some upheaval was needed... I wanted to get as much as we we could out of it.
La Liga - Winners 101 points
Copa Del Rey - Winners
Supercopa - Winners
UEFA Super Cup - Winners
Champions League - Lost in RO16 to Bayern.
A superb domestic season, but sadly we didn't achieve our goals in the Champions League. We had a pretty poor run through the league phase leaving us going into the playoff round - we comfortably beat Hertha there but a tough draw as an unseeded team against Bayern awaited... Bayern and Liverpool are probably the scariest teams out there, so I didn't want to see them at this stage. We won 2-1 at San Mames and lost 2-0 in the second leg in Germany.
However as the summer rolled around it was time for sales:
Departures:
Jon Martin now 31, departed to PSG for 50million after 416 appearances for Athletic Club
Julen Diez, 29, departed to Chelsea for 40million. He'd been with us for 3 seasons and had performed admirably - we cop a big loss on him but money isn't an issue - I needed to make room for others coming through.
Aitor Aketxe, 26, departed to Bournemouth for 36million. An excellent servant in the defensive mid area, however he was never more than a rotation option and I had other options
Jon Castro, 31, departed to Arsenal for 40million. 403 appearances for Athletic Club and one of my personal favourites... he was hugely influential in the DLP role to our success and it was a sad day to move on from him.
Jose Jimenez, 29, departed to Arsenal for 31.5million. 331 appearances for Jimenez who was a superb rotation option for us throughout his time at Athletic - covering for Cordoba at LB and also at CB.
Ibon Marin, 28, departed to Arsenal for 40million. 364 appearances for Marin! He was a superb option in defensive midfield - I had quite a few options coming through so decided midfield was the primary area I was going to whield the knife initially in my squad overhaul. Without Marin, Castro and Aketxe I would be bringing through multiple new midfielders.
This meant new faces! In the summer of 2039 we saw the following new faces enter the side - note that these pictures were taken in November 2040, so around 15 months after summer 2039 - they've developed quite a bit since they first came into the squad! When we first reviewed the squad after the above sales with these guys in, we looked way worse than we did before, but now we're looking very strong.
Ok not exactly starting with a banger here, Jon Goni made huge strides while on loan and facilitated the sale of Jimenez - he's back up to the legendary Cordoba. I think he totally peaked at the end of his loan as he's not developed much since then, but Cordoba hogs the minutes so he's just a reliable back up really.
Victor Encaje is one who has had a few years on loan - primarily a DM but he's actually in the squad as the 4th choice CB first and foremost, but he's just solid and useful.
Raul Aizpurua came through at Osasuna and totally slipped under my radar really. I scouted him and he didn't seem to have much potential but I really liked his attribute spread - I signed him for 10million in the January 2039 window and loaned him back to Osasuna - he just improved so well and despite never having much potential according to scouts and coaches, he's become an excellent option in our midfield as a DLP - not world class by any means but a really good fit for our system. He is back up to Xabi Aizpurua who I shifted back to DLP from AM - he's really superb. These two replaced Castro and Marin.
Benat Virto was on loan at Hellas Verona in 2038/39 and I planned another loan for him, but a cruciate ligament injury in the April scuppered that plan. He remained with the team for 2039/40 to recover with the view I'd get him minutes as a 3rd choice right wing. I had planned initially to move key player Unax Urrutia from RB into the attacking line, but that wasn't working that well, so when Virto returned from injury he became back up to Jon Ibanez at right wing - he continues to improve and I can see him being an important player for us long term.
Jon Prieto joined from Alaves for 16.5 million - another one that I signed in Jan 2038 but loaned back to his original club to continue his development. I'd been targetting him since his intake, but he wouldn't join until he turned 18. He then joined as back up to Julen Aguirre at left wing and has come on leaps and bounds since then and at the time of writing (early 2040/41 season) he's a genuine threat to Aguirre's spot in the team... despite his incredible years, Aguirre is 31 now and just starting his decline.
This guy is a real diamond... he came through our academy and always showed middling promise, but two loans firstly at Zaragoza and then Sporting CP saw him come on really well... another who according to star ratings didn't have a high ceiling but I just liked the attribute spread. It's proven to be faith repaid as you can see now he's a top tier defensive midfielder and has exceeded my coaches expectations. He was the direct replacement for Aketxe.
Moving Unax Urrutia into the forward line was partly to allow this guy to come through at RB as back up to Alex Etxeberria. However... Urrutia struggled to find form in our front line and with Virto coming back from injury I needed to find solutions. I was conscious that Blasco and Javi, two long term central defender options for us were into their early thirties and would soon need replacements lined up. I hadn't really considered this guy to be a CB (he couldn't play the position at all), but after reviewing his attributes I thought he would definitely be decent there... it took nearly the full season of playing him most games at CB to naturally learn the position, and his attribute shift to suit a CB was remarkable, alongside his general development - certainly not a decision I regret. Centre back was an area of concern as Blasco and Aitor Etxeberria had held that area down for a long time... Etxeberria had shifted into defensive midfield to replace Javi (who moved back as cover), but everyone was ageing and I feel like I'd always kinda made do there for years... Etxeberria and Javi were both DMs really, Blasco was a retrained RB. Lafuente here taking to the position so well has been a god send... combined with:
Jewel of our academy Sergio Garmendia now forms a formiddable centre back duo with Lafuente - these two will be the central defenders we rely on long term.
Finally with the loss of Jon Martin, we needed a new centre forward to cover for Etxabe. Ander Garmendia was the man. He's a player we signed from Villarreal at 18 years old for 13.25million... honestly he was a total punt at the time because he didn't look like he would live up to that price tag really, there was just something I liked about him. He came in and played for the B team for a season and scored A LOT of goals. He then earned promotion to the first team as a 2* player (with one additional grey star potential) to replace a guy in Jon Martin who had made 400 odd appearances for us who was still world class... he has been amazing though, scoring goals for fun! Etxabe is so good though, but this guy is a reliable back up.
2039/40 Season Review - The New Recruits
Easily our biggest overhaul squad wise left us considerably weaker, but I knew the short term pain would probably be worth it long term.
I didn't expect how difficult it was going to be though...
In La Liga we started off with an opening day victory against Real Sociedad, but then it went down hill... an away loss to Barca was followed up with a draw away to Zaragoza, a loss to Real Madrid in the UCL and a loss away to Sporting Gijon in the league.... while imperious at home our away form was very poor with draws against Osasuna, Villarreal and Espanyol before Christmas. In January we lost in the Supercopa semi to Barca, away to Real in the league and a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Real Sociedad in a match we totally dominated. By the end of January we were 11 points off the top sitting in 4th place having already lost 4 and drawn 4, while sitting 1st in the xG table. I knew the quality was there and we were playing well, but we were conceding way more goals than we should have done. I just stuck with it and from there on we were superb - a great run in Feb-Apr saw us only drop points in a loss away to a srong Cartegena side. With 4 games to go with were 5 points behind Real Madrid and 3 points behind Barcelona and I felt like we were unlikely to win it, but we did at least have Real Madrid at San Mames on the final day which might allow us to do something. In the 3rd to last game Real Madrid had a surprising draw away to Sevilla, and Osasuna did us a huge favour beating Barcelona. Come the final day we were 3 points behind Real Madrid and all we needed was to beat them at home to secure the title... and we did!! A season which I thought was going to totally pass us by ended up in a domestic double.
La Liga - Winners, 91 points
Copa Del Rey - Winners
Supercopa - Lost in SF to Barca
Champions League - Lost in QF to Liverpool
In he Champions League we narrowly lost a tight game to a Liverpool side who are very impressive... no shame in that one.
Fortunately squad turnover was largely behind us, but we did see a departure for Josu Blasco in the summer of 2040, a man who made 458 appearances for Athletic Club. He left for Saudi for 32million. We also saw back up keeper Iker Zubillaga leave. Javi is also due to leave the club in January after many years of service.
Urtzi Saizer came in to replace Zubillaga... not impossible he usurps Alberto Etxabe but he has a way to go yet.
Now I think given this is such a long post it's a good chance to have a look at some of our legends:
Still in the 300s for league appearances (he rotated with Nico Williams for quite a few years), but Unax Urrutia is a club legend... a truly world class right back who has been a key player in our success.
466 league appearances and counting - Cordoba has been our main man at left back for a long time now.
Juan Etxabe is one of the most reliable forwards I've ever had on FM. 263 goals in 360 league appearances and counting, and a Ballon D'or winner.
Julen Aguirre at 31 is just starting to decline, but no significant impact yet.
Gorrotxategi... once an inconsistent woodwork specialist is now an incredibly reliable, clinical player. 431 league appearances and counting.
Jon Ibanez... an absolute legend. 393 league appearances, no thanks to a full year out with cruciate ligament injury.
Much younger, but a very impressive Xabi Aizpurua.
With Blasco gone, Javi soon to depart, Aguirre at 31, Gorrotxategi at 30, Ibanez at 30 and Cordoba at 32 we are reaching the end of this golden generation. We've had some wonderful new players come through but it'll be tough to replicate this group.
Cordoba is at 553 career appearances for Athletic, meaning he's only 61 shy of Iribar's record. Given our best LB prospect is only 16, I think he'll beat it.
Hey @bowieinspace, incredible stuff! Trying my hand at Athletic myself, but can't really get the tactics to work. Do you mind sharing yours? I know it's not plug-and-play but for inspiration i think i can be really helpful :)
FM24 - Athletic Club (Bilbao) - Loyalty and Long Term Saves!
in Good Player & Team Guide
Posted
Hey @bowieinspace, incredible stuff! Trying my hand at Athletic myself, but can't really get the tactics to work. Do you mind sharing yours? I know it's not plug-and-play but for inspiration i think i can be really helpful :)