Nevertheless, below is a recap of some of the ongoings at Athletic.

* Natxo Monreal from Osasuna is too expensive for Athletic. President Macua is not interested in paying highway robbery for any player. We need a left back, but we are not desperate. 12 M Euros, his buyout clause is too much. Tottenham’s Berchiche, Man City’s Garrido, or well there’s always Del Horno are our options. (I hope we don’t go there again.) Maybe one of the youngsters..

* The largest, most costly signing ever by Athletic – courtesy of the current court ruling vs the team.
La Real Sociedad sued Athletic over the transfer of Defender Zubiaurre. The court awarded La Real 5 Million big ones! Ouch! $3.5M to be paid by the club and 1.5M to be paid by the player. And no surprise, but Athletic is in the wrong. Well it’s good to no know that the constant battle and ill will between the two neighboring clubs, is still ever present. And Zubi, well frankly, he is on the outs with Athletic, as he is not performed. This settlement is really going to hurt Athletic financially. This is not the first time and it won’t be the last, as Athletic continues to scour La Real’s territory for players. Let’s just hope we can use some common sense and go by our business within the law.

*Some good news – Gorka Iraizoz (our number 1 or 2 goalie) is recuperating and progressing nicely. Also Real Betis has finally dropped their demand to replay the game where Armando (our number 1 or 2 goalie) got bottled. They finally accept the loss, 3 points to Athletic and will move on. Good idea!

*In the race for promotion in the 2nd division in Spain, La Real looks like they have a chance to come back up their first year. They need to win both remaining games vs Alaves and Cordoba. I kinda miss them, the rivalries, the hate, the derbies, the hate. Poor Alaves, looks like they are going down to Segunda B. This may kill them, that damn crazy Ukranian – American owner, Piterman left them win a ton of debt! And how ironic, La Real can seal the deal for Alaves’ demotion. Sigh.

Until next time…