Last 8 matches Athletic is undefeated. (This does not include Uefa where they have 4w and 2L in six matches.) They have 4 wins and 4 draws. Wins against Atletico Madrid, Zaragoza, Mallorca and Osasuna and draws against Valencia(road), Depor,(road), Numancia and Espanyol. In Uefa, in the last two months they have wins against Bucharest and Standard Leige where they won 7-1. Ezquerro has been on form, with Del Horno and Iraola playing well. Lets see if we can improve over the next 8 and possibly give winning the UEFA cup a shot. Plus we are in the quaterfinals in the Copa del rey.
That's the kind of run Osasuna will need to get into Europe. Bilbao's current run is giving them a good chance, but a lot of teams are playing well, and the front-runners are falling back a bit. Should be a good race to the finish. Llorente looks like a great youngster. (Wish he was in my new soccer game, WE8 ) Good luck to the Basque sides this week. Especially hoping Osasuna thrashes Madrid Q
What is terribly interesting about this year's team is that we have so many young players, many of whom are making appearances and contributing, from among nine players 22 years old or younger: Andoni Iraola Sagarna, Joseba Arriaga Dosantos, Endika Bordas Losada, Javier Casas Cuevas, Aritz Solabarrieta Aranzamendi, Ander Murillo García, Jon Andoni García Arambillet, Roberto Pampín López, and of course the 19-year-old Fernando Llorente Torres (well, he turns 20 in about another week). In the Valencia match we had Aranzubia Javi González Luis Prieto Gurpegi Casas Iraola 87' Orbaiz Tiko Del Horno Etxeberria, Jo 89' Ezquerro 82' Llorente 82' Solabarrieta 87' Guerrero 89' In the back-from-the-dead Osasuna match we had: Aranzubia Murillo Lacruz 46' Luis Prieto Javi González Gurpegi Orbaiz 81' Yeste 90' Etxeberria, Jo Ezquerro 81' Llorente Iraola 46' Tiko 81' Guerrero 81' and in the Espanyol draw we had Aranzubia Iraola Murillo Gurpegi Casas Orbaiz Tiko 57' Etxeberria, Jo 85' Yeste Ezquerro Llorente Lacruz 57' Guerrero 85' Meanwhile, Betis has a lot of injuries (Capi, Castellini, Dani & Tais) and at least two other players who have accumulated too many cards will be out. Hopefully the team is not looking too far forward to Austria Viena and Real Madrid. It would be nice to close the gap to Betis from 5 to 2 points (and better yet if Deportivo and Getafe win on the road this weekend).
