Hola! and welcome to the finale of season five in Bilbao, where the Basque Boys have ten league games to try and retain their La Liga title, while a familiar foe awaits in the champions league semi-finals…
First up are Zaragoza. Two of my strikers are injured, so I’m forced to play Idiakez up front, and he hits a double, why have I been wasting him on the wing all this time?!
In truth, this is all down to the players, I just click buttons…
Champions League semi time, and it’s our old pals Real Madrid. We should be 3-0 up in twenty minutes, but Revault’s being a c*nt. In the end we have to settle for 1-0, but it’s an away goal. I fear we’ll live to rue those missed chances though. Salernitana beat Juve 3-0!
Antandec have been very generous in the past, but they choose now of all times for revenge. It’s the first time we’ve let in a late equaliser in ages, so this was coming eventually…
Oviedo never make it easy, but today’s our day. They have more shots than us, and our keeper is man of the match, so we’re fortunate. Bilbao 3, Ovied-0…
As is so often the case, the fixtures deal us a double header against Real Madrid. The first meeting is a standard competitive affair in the league, but a draw only helps Barcelona…
Two days later is the Champions League semi second leg. We defend well, and the expected backlash never comes. Laslandes eases the nerves, and Makelele’s equaliser isn’t enough. We’ll face Salernitana in the final after they beat Juve 3-1 on aggregate. Dare we dream?!
This isn’t ideal, but that final is a month away yet, so he might be fit…
This looks a close game, but in reality, we’re 4-1 up and annihilating them, and then let in two stupid late goals. Thank god Guerrero scored that penalty…
On paper, rock-bottom Elche at home should be a walk in the park, but it’s anything but. Their keeper is on fire, but that man Guerrero strikes after half time – a win’s a win…
Fourth-placed Sociedad are tricky, but we assert our authority to show them who the real basque boys are, thanks in part to an ultra-rare Carlos Perez goal…
Lowly Levante don’t offer much competition, and only score because we give them a cheap penalty. We march on…
Logrones at home is our last match before we jet off to Rome to face Salernitana. The situation is thus…
We’re second, Real are top, two points ahead, and Barca are third, four points behind with a game in hand. They play each other today, so if we win and Barca win, our fate is in our own hands on the final day…
We do our bit thanks to a Laslandes double, but we had to work for it. As soon as I click the done button, my eyes shoot up to the top right hand corner to see the scores… Barca won!!!
So now only Salernitana and Merida stand between us and a European and domestic double…
First up is the champions league final, where apart from Etxebe, I have a full squad to choose from. Karanka’s only 72% fit, so I decide not to risk him, and Ríos continues at centre back.
So, what about Salernitana? I’m sure like me, you’re wondering how on earth they got to this final. Well, they’re managed by Delio Rossi, and finished runners-up to Juve in Serie A last season, and beat PSG to qualify.
They then breezed through their group of Bayern, Maccabi Haifa, and Ekranas, and then knocked out Man Utd and Juve, so they’re clearly no mugs.
Their star men are Francesco Parrotta (GK), who’s had 8 man of the match awards this season, Massimiliano Rosa (SW/DC), who’s been there since 97/98 and is highly consistent, and Cristiano Masitto (SC), who’s scored 30 goals in all competitions so far this season.
So here we go, the stage is set for the first of two humongous games, our chance to be crowned kings of Europe…
It’s not a good first half. Masitto (who else?) puts Salernitana ahead with a venomous strike, and we end the half with just two shots on target.
As the second half minutes evaporate, I’m beginning to think it’s not our year, but Arenaza, who I almost subbed at half time, scores the equaliser, and then sets up who else but Julen Guerrero to get the winner. I could marry that man… YOU FUCKING BEAUTY!!!
Three days later we get the chance to retain our league title. Barcelona somehow lost to Valladolid midweek, putting them out of the race, so only Real Madrid can overtake us now, but all we have to do is beat Merida.
I name an unchanged side, and it’s a perfect start. But Merida soon equalise, and the champagne is back on ice. Their keeper is having a blinder (fancy that!), but for the second match running, our talisman wins it for us… I FUCKING LOVE THAT MAN!!!
Unsurprisingly, the fan base is growing…
And here’s the final table. I thought last year was close, but this year was un-Real. We finish with 6 less points than last season, lost 2 more matches, scored 14 more goals, and conceded 12 more. And to think, I was never really confident of retaining the title!
Las Palmas, Hercules, Levante, and Elche go down, and Mallorca, Tenerife, Córdoba, and Celta are promoted.
The player stats…
Elsewhere, Man Utd win the English treble, European super cup, and world club cup, Torino win Serie A, Lazio lift the Coppa Italia, Barcelona win the UEFA Cup, and Blackburn the Cup Winners Cup.
I feel so indebted to Guerrero, that I sign his brother as a present…
We get £2m for the champions league, and a further £6m for the league…
I join my strike duo on the stage at the awards, as Laslandes takes the football writers award, Arenaza gets the golden boot, and I’m manager of the year for the first time!
Wow… Still kings of Spain, and now kings of Europe as well! I’d love to end this story here because it would be the ultimate high to go out on, but it would seem silly when there’s only the world club cup left to win, so I’ll play one more season, and hopefully we can tick that final box.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for for reading this and my other blogs this year (I hope you’ve enjoyed them!), and I hope you all have a great Christmas and new year. See you in January for the seventh and final season… Feliz Navidad!