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A Name few will remember....; Arenas Club de Getxo
Topic Started: Nov 6 2009, 10:35 PM (477 Views)
Aljarov
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I was looking for a challenge...I thought about making the most of a newly added league, and having never had a good LLM in Spain, opted for Spanish Tecerra Division Arenas Club, a team with a storied history from the early days, a Copa Del Rey winner, and 4 time finalist they also played 3rd in La Liga back in 1930.

Having hailed from a small town of just 83,000 on the Biscay coast, this Basque club has languished outside of the top two divisions since before the end of WWII. An amateur club with a ground of just 500 and not a professional contract, even a PT one, on the books....restoring this club to glory in the days of $$$$ and Galacticos would be a challenge upon challenge.

As if it wasn't hard enough, the new incoming coach Al Jarov, has agreed to stay true to the clubs Basque roots with an almost exlcusively local squad. No more than 2 players will start a game that hail from outside Spain, and at least 7 will be from Basque itself (unless it gets ridiculously hard! It was - no chance!)

Even the Manager's job is unpaid....but that's all this FM researcher could get, and he was lucky for that. Now, it's a chance to chase a dream....to rebuild a fallen club that once soared so high....
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Aljarov
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Arenas Club de Getxo - 2009/2010

After taking charge of his first ever team, the amateur Arenas Club, Al Jarov was upbeat. This was his chance to stake his claim in the footballing world...and what better way than to try and resuscitate the Getxo club who back in the day used to rub heels with the likes of Barcelona, and even had a Copa Del Rey in their trophy cabinet.

The amateur club has little int he way of money, facilities or talent...relegation seemed to be the talk of the town, but Jarov was adamant and declared "we will stay up" during his presentation to the media.

A few player stood out, veteran Manu at 37 was clearly the cream of the crop, even if he didn't have the legs any more. Restrcited by the need to have 6 U23 players, and not a talented one amongst them, Arenas would be held to what was essentially a 16 man squad all season.

Traditionally a wheeler-dealer, Jarov soon set about making upgrades, and was pleasantly surprised to pluck an ageing Togan international to patrol his left side of defence. Josu Mendez was added as a second striker (the club had but one senior striker to start) and Marcos was a solid addition to partner Manu at the back. With club captain Ruben on the right, the defence looked solid. Txumi was in goal, and despite being fairly ordinary, he would be tough to beat behind that solid defence.

In midfield, Artiz Santos and Iban Franco were added to a thin corps to add some balance, especially on the right.

But it was the addition in late September of Gaizka, that really fired up the hopes of the Arenas Club faithful. The 29 year older striker had good pace (12) and solid finishing for the 4th tier (11) and had started the season well at Third Division Group 4 rival, Elgoibar with 5 goals in 5 games.

The effect was instantaneous as Areans Club went from also rans to contenders. He blasted 4 hatricks in his first 7 games and amassed 20 goals in his first 14 games. Then injury struck....he missed the final 5 games of the season but by then had already cooled considerably as he fought knocks and with him went any chance of a playoff place. Still, the striker finished a mile ahead of the top scorer and MVP charts with 28 in 28 games (27 starts, 1 sub app) for 33 in 33 on the year. His time with Arenas would be short lived, as semi-pro Reus stole him away on a $250/wk deal that Arenas could not match.

In addition to losing Gaizka, Artiz Santos was stolen away in early January by Amorabieta, weaking the central midfield area considerably. His absence was actually every bit as damaging as the injury to Gaizka, and Areans Club never looked the same after he left despite adding some good talent in Jorge Fernandez and Mikel Elejalde.

An upgrade in goal, alledgedly, with Poli never worked out and top Tecerra Divison striker Sergio Castillo was a massive flop, failing to score in his first 10 games and netting only 4 in 20 appearances as Gaizka took all the plaudits.

And so, the first year finished flat, but comfortable in 10th position, mid-table finish. Disappointing given the momentum around Christmas, but still well ahead of any potential trouble that many in the media had predicted.

Some screenshots...

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....and so the rebuilding ahead of season 2 begins...there will be many new faces, as clearly the ageing players faded badly in the second half. A focus on trying to bring in better U23 players who could actually contribute will be a priority, as will tryingt o make something more of the affiliation with Racing, who provided little support in year 1.

An inauspcious start, perhpas, but certainly a step inthe right direction....
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Nevermore
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Classic first season, I hope you have a squad been enough for 2nd season.
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Aljarov
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Yeah, bit of a rollercoaster...

Oddly, 3 of my coaches have been nicked, and the club wont let me sign more, which is fairly assenine given they're on amatuer contracts and thus cost nothing!!
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Aljarov
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Arenas Club de Getxo - Season Two.

And so, Season Two kicked off with a sense of expectation around Bolue III, after a strong first campaign in charge, Al Jarov's side had raised the spirits of this long dormant giant of La Liga's formative years.

With several players both in and out, the toll of an amateur club was clear - it's hard to hold a player...with the many vultures in the Second Division B circling waiting to snap up the most promising and talented that Arenas had to offer.

Highlights included the arrival of Bittor, a centre forward to replace the departed Gaizka, and Inigo Idiakez, a former DErby county player. Also in came David, a solid D/MC and Aimar, a creative forward capable of playing in the hole, on the right or up top.

The club was also thrilled to add 5* keeper Jon Juanes, after the failings between the sticks in 2009/10, an upgrade in goal had been priority #1.

A solid start to the campaign saw Arenas sit atop the Third Division Group 4, but it was a long campaign and there would be many more peaks and troughs before the final whistle would blow.

And so, we fast forward to the final week of the season. Arenas sat 5th but were a potential win from 1st overall. Top 4 made the playoffs and the final match, against 1st placed Laudio, had been circled months ago. Now the day was here, Arenas Club was buzzing....a win and with other results going their way they would finish top. A maximum 3 points would mean no lower than 2nd. Even a draw was likely good enough to make the playoffs.

And it was as it had been all year, Aimar, who came up with the lone goal to seal top spot.

In the playoffs, Arenas navigated Fuerteventura and Paraja Playas to seal promotion at the second time of asking - a tremendous undertaking for the minnows from Getxo. With a 500 seater stadium and 0% chance of expansion...the next step was going to be the hardest. The club would have to become competitive on a shoestring, bank enough cash to pay players to make them competitive, all the while saving for a new stadium....something the current chairman couldn't bankroll by himself.

And so, Arenas popped their head up our of the murky waters of Spanish amateur soccer, and into the blue skies of semi-pro ball. 2010/11 would be a brutal season, that much was for sure, but the building job was still on track. Several top Third division players were added on amateur deals to help with the limited payroll.....and a scouting trip to Luxembourg was about to pay huge dividends.....
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Aljarov
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Arenas Club de Getxo - Season Three.

"Change is in the air.....you can almost taste the anticipation and excitement in Getxo, as this old fallen giant of yesteryear starts on her quest back to the pinnacle of Spanish soccer". Jarov, the third year head coach at Arenas Club had performed a minor miracle in getting the amateur side out of the Tecerra Division and up to the Segunda Division B. They were placed in the B1 division along with some familiar names - B sides from Atletico Madrid, Bilbao and others.

"And for my next magnificent trick, I will guide Arenas to B1 safety". Few were amused, though the smile on the Chairman's face underlined his confidence in the still inexperienced Jarov. "I don't think we're certainties to go down, not by any means. Sure, we're 500-1 for the title, but Rome wasn't built in a day, and our only goal is to avoid the drop back down. Sure it'll be hard as hell, but I've added some talent and I think we can consolidate. The Chairman has been generous in offering a wage budget for the first time in the club's 100 year history. I'm going to use it wisely....but it will take time".

Ever the savvy shopper, Jarov picked up several of the Tecerra's best player's on free transfers and amateur contracts so as not to dent the small wage budget. Turnover was high, as Jarov brought in no less that 15 new faces, with a special focus on the U23 players. After 2 years of essentially playing with 16 man squad's Jarov realized it would be key to have a full 22 man at his disposal "I can only do that by adding quality U23 players who can contribute, not just take up space on my bench".

The season started in harsh fashion....a goalless opener signed the start of a demoralizing 8 game winless streak to start the campaign. "I still believed....it was just a matter of getting the new lads to gel. We could still dig ourselves out." Few conscribed to Jarov's optimism, but the Chairman remained relaxed, not evening giving Jarov the slightest indication things were off track.

And as sure as spring comes after the harshest of winters, Club Arenas finally notched their first win. Then their second. "We caught a break...there were several bad teams int he B1 this year...we're not out of this by any stretch".

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12 wins from the next 30 games saw Arenas not only survive but almost make the top half. "11th place....? Am you kidding? Of course I'm delighted" said a proud Jarov. "We played our asses off the second half of this season. We took a big step and I can already say, I'm sure we're not going to have any problems next year either. We're a couple of seasons - at least - away from moving up...but we've made some important steps and we'll keep on building for the future."

Arenas club signed a feeder agreement with local rival CD Getxo who will return to the Tecerra for next year. "It's a good chance for some of the kids to stay locally and get a game, and it will be of particular benefit to our [would be] reserve players. The absence of a reserve league has been a blight to the development of our players, this is a win-win for all concerned."

The fans crammed into Bolue II all season and it has to be a concern to the board that the council have already ruled out any possible expansion of the ground - holding it to just 500. "It's not adequate for this level, let alone the next one up. Thankfully we're soluble, and hopefully we can continue to grow sponsorship and commercial revenues while keeping payroll in check. To that end, I'm continuing to work without a paid contract, as are several of the staff. The growth of this club is the most important thing. We can cross the stadium bridge later. Maybe we'll ground share, maybe we'll build. It's all too far int he future to worry about now."

Perhaps, but if the great work Jarov has started continues...it might be sooner than anyone realizes.
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Aljarov
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Arenas Club de Getxo - Season Four - Segunda Division B1 (2nd year).

The scouting mission from two years ago to Luxembourg had been instrumental in the survival of Areans at the D2B level. Wiley veteran Jeff Strasser, the club captain, has recommended an international team mate, who in turn recommended another, and another. Before Arenas fans and Getxo locals aliek knew what had happened no less than 6 Luxembourg internationals had signed for the club. The pick was Rene Peters, an AMC with good creativity and an eye for goal. "His signing was crucial last year, and as much as the other players all do a job for the club, he was a standout, not just on our team, but in the league in general.".

Heading into the second D2B1 campaign, the Luxembourgers were wall stilla round, as were other stand outs like Aimar, Jon Errasti and Jon Otaduy. "These kids are quality...we're building around them all going forward".

Jarov drafted in a slew of young Africans to the youth ranks..."our youth system is, frankly, garbage, so we need to look outside out club for quality youngsters. " The African scouting missions had certainly paid dividends..."we picked up the #2 Senegalese keeper and, wow, he's a top quality starter. We've just made ourselves that much harder to score on in one fell swoop." Also in were Ivory Coast U21 player Marcel Aka..."He looks like the real deal...he's only 19 at the moment, but he can contribute right away, and the fact he doesn't impact the senior squad limit is just gravy".

And so the building continued...and a 9th place finish followed. "Steady progress" said Jarov, but the key was the addition of Fornasier - a stud young DC from Italy who had falled through the cracks. Turnover was high again, players coming and going, including the clubs first ever paid transfer out.

"We look good....We're only a couple of small pieces away from contending. Amazing considering we started almost as badly as last year. Without so much turnover going into next season I hope we can pick up points early that keep us in the promotion picture and fighting at the right end of the table for a change."

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The team welcomed a few new faces and they made quite the impression:

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And here's the OVERALL Best Eleven

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"I was disappointed Jeff decided to leave the club at the end of the season, but with three great looking young Italians vying for spots at the back, perhaps the time was right. I just hope the fans understand, I didn't want him to leave, but he wanted to keep playing - even at 39. Perhaps he'll be back here as a coach one day, he's certainly got the credentials. Oh, and one more thing - watch out for Rudy Carlier next year, he's got goals to spare....he's going to light up this league. I just hope we can hold onto him!"
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Aljarov
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I never mentioned, but I got Arenas promoted in my next season.

However, after about 15 games, I'm winless in the Segunda Division and destined for the trapdoor. :(

I'll do a proper round up when I get the chance but I'm feeling the draw of a University of Kentucky LLM game.....
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