'Arry for QPR!
1
2012-12-21 15:20#73166 Arvind K : 'Arry for QPR!
Chris Powell took my spot. He's inherited a talented team, 1/2 of them Brazilians
Andriy Shevchenko: From Hero to Hero
Read or be impaled by a flying shuriken
Chris Powell took my spot. He's inherited a talented team, 1/2 of them Brazilians
The Next Chapter
Athletic Bilbao have today unveiled their new manager as Andriy Shevchenko.
The Ukrainian, formerly a manager of QPR, will balance both Athletic and Ireland managerial duties.
"I'm very pleased to be able to have a chance to manage a team like Athletic Bilbao," Shevchenko said in his press interview. "Spain is a new adventure for me and it's brilliant that (Athletic chairman) Josu Urrutia has given me this job opportunity."
Good luck in your new job at Bilbao! Tough job to take really due to restrictions on buying but i'm sure you'll be up for it!
Shame about QPR but a good start to your adventure!
Shame about QPR but a good start to your adventure!
1
The Board: Josu Urrutia
"Buenas tardes, Andriy."
I heard the voice as soon as I had entered the room. It was a meeting room, and all the board directors were there. Josu Urrutia sat at one end of the table. I saw an unoccupied chair and walked to it quickly, taking a seat.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Urrutia," I said politely. I didn't know much about the Spanish language, just a few basic words, although I had a feeling I had to master it soon if I wanted to continue in this new job.
"Just call me Josu!" The chairman smiled with a dismissive wave of his hand, now speaking in English much to my relief.
"Right," I nodded, sensing this chairman would be a lot easier to deal with than my previous one.
"Congratulations on getting the job," Josu grinned at me. "Hopefully you can take this club to the next level. We are gathered here today, just a few hours after your appointment, to talk about the future of the club, and what you're planning to do here, all that boring stuff," he shrugged.
"Okay."
"Firstly, the board and I have had a discussion," Josu gestured to the rest of the board members sitting in the same room. "Juande, the previous manager, left us at 10th in the La Liga table. We are also in the Europa League First Knockout Stage, where we will face Shakhtar Donetsk around 20 days from now in the first leg. We are also in the Copa Del Rey Semi-Final. Juande beat Malaga 3-1 in the first leg so it'll be up to you to polish them off and take us to the Final."
I nodded slowly, absorbing the information. Then it occurred to me. In the knockout stages of the Europa League and close to being in the Copa Del Rey Final. Why would they sack this Juande? Of course, maybe it was because of their league position.
That made me realize - remaining stagnant in 12th or 13th place at QPR was perfectly fine, but not at Athletic Bilbao. The ambitions and requirements at this club was much, much higher.
"For your first season at Bilbao, we expect you to finish in the top half of the table," Urrutia got up and tapped his finger on a chart at the front. After squinting for awhile, I could see it was the La Liga table.
"Sounds good," I nodded.
"You have a transfer budget of 22 million," said one of the board directors. "But you only have 4 days to spend it."
I nodded grimly. It was the 27th of January. If I wanted to get in reinforcements, I needed to do it fast.
"Do you know as a manager of this club, you can only sign Basque players?" Another board director asked cautiously.
"Yes, sir," I said genuinely. To be honest I hadn't known until about thirty minutes after taking the job, but I couldn't back out now.
"That's settled then," Josu smiled.
Athletic Bilbao
Full Name: Athletic Club/Athletic BilbaoFounded: 1898
Ground: San Mames Barria (Capacity: 53,100)
President: Josu Urrutia
Manager: Andriy Shevchenko
League: La Liga
2013-14: La Liga, 8th
Facilities
Top training facilitiesGood youth facilities
Affiliated Clubs
Bilbao AthleticC.D. Baskonia
Aurrera Ondarroa
Gernika Club
Zamudio S.D.
S.D. Indautxu
CD Numancia
Burgos C.F.
Barakaldo C.F.
Zalla U.C.
It will be interesting to see how you cope with the Basque-only rule. Good luck in Spain, not enough Spannish stories here 
(Or Dabool, that is a hint 
)
(Or Dabool, that is a hint )
2012-12-21 20:02#73190 The FM Rookie : It will be interesting to see how you cope with the Basque-only rule. Good luck in Spain, not enough Spannish stories here
The Basque-only rule is annoying
2012-12-21 12:44#73201 Glenn T :Watch out, Andriy to field a team with average age of 122012-12-21 20:02#73190 The FM Rookie : It will be interesting to see how you cope with the Basque-only rule. Good luck in Spain, not enough Spannish stories here
The Basque-only rule is annoying
1
Spanish Debut
My first match as Bilbao manager saw my side being pitted against Malaga in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey Semi-Final. The previous manager had won the first leg for us 3-1, so finishing the job here shouldn't and wouldn't be a problem.For once, I was right. Improvising at the start of the game, I decided to implement this 'Tiki Taka' tactic that a friend of mine had told me about. He went by the name of Tellak and was a football manager enthusiast, although for some reason he never went beyond being a coach at the famous Barcelona.
At Barcelona, Tellak learnt from the senior players and developed his own style of Tiki Taka, and I decided to use that as my primary tactic for Bilbao, considering Tiki Taka fitted the Spanish style, and Bilbao having an all-Spanish team and all.
The first match didn't go as planned, but at least we had a lot of goals.
A late goal from Malaga's Isco ensured I didn't earn a win in my first match as Athletic Bilbao manager, but it is more than enough for us as we win this tie on aggregate 6-4, and progress to the Copa Del Rey Final, where we will face the almighty Real Madrid.
Come on the mighty Madrid!
You are reading "Andriy Shevchenko: From Hero to Hero".
