Week 3 - Benidormida 1 Valencia 1

Gibney only made one change to the side that beat Real Betis, Valeny comes in to replace Zebina, and it was Valeny who created the first chance, firing in a great cross from the right, Vederson was free in the area, but he could only head the ball wide a terrific chance to gain the lead was wasted by the talented Turk.

And Benidormida were made to rue that miss as Valencia took the lead after 25 minutes, Grimi had gone on the attack and left a huge space in the defence, Miguel Angulo exploited the space and chipped a lovely ball into David Silva, he took the ball on the volley and smashed it past Dida, the home fans silenced.

Ben Sahar had a great chance to level the game before half time, he took on the Valencia defence on his own, beat two men, his shot was deflected wide past the post.

Benidormida the better side over the 45 minutes but it's the scoreline that counts.

The home team came out all guns blazing, and got the equaliser after 5 minutes, Clark played the ball out to Reyes, he laid it off to Grimi, Reyes made the run inside, Grimi found him with a lovely chip, Reyes turned while chesting the ball down and finished in exquisite fashion a wonderful goal worthy of all 3 points.

One point was all either team could manage though, Benidormida had a chance to win the game at the end, Charlie Davies heading wide while unmarked, he couldn't turn Reyes cross on target.

Valencia will be alot happier with the point, Gibney will hope the 2 points lost are now crucial.

BENIDORMIDA 1
Reyes 50
VALENCIA 1
Silva 25

M.O.M - Jose Antonio Reyes - Benidormida

Cope del Rey - 1st Round, 1st Leg

CLUB BRUGGE 3 BENIDORMIDA 4

First cup game for the Division 2 Cup Winners, an away trip to Brugge, these teams haven't met since Brugge got promoted 2 seasons ago.

5 changes from the side that beat Betis, Tonel, Jose, Ntibazonkiz and Remy all come into the team.

3 minutes gone and Charlie Davies opens the scoring, Leao turns and gets past his man at the edge of the box, he then plays a lovely pass into Davies and he finished neatly into the corner.
It only took Brugge 2 minutes to answer back, a counter-attack down the right the cross is whipped in and Sonck beats Dida to make to 1-1, and Sonck repeated the move 30 mins later, Grimi went missing from left back, and a low ball was played in for Sonck to apply the easy finish.

The second half didn't get much better for Benidormida, the ball was played over the top for Sonck, his shot was parried by Dida and Akpala was the first man to react making it 3-1 to Brugge.

This seemed to wake the Spaniards up, Manuel Jose's cross was met by Davies and his header was well saved down low, away for a corner, Ntibazonkiza ran over to take it, beautifully swung in and Leao rose highest and powered the ball past Stijnen, 2nd away goal for Gibney's men.

Benidormida went on the attack again, Leao played a 1-2 with Davies, the defence got a foot in, the ball fell to Manuel Jose and he fired it past Stijnen, 6 goals, 3 each, and still 10 minutes to go.

4 minutes later Benidormida got a free kick, Zebina played the long ball, it fell to Leao, he finds Jose plays it to Remy, he took a touch, and played a lovely reverse ball, which found Manuel Jose all on his own to slot it past the Brugge keeper for the 4-3 lead.

Club Brugge had no way back into this and the referee blew his whistle, 7 goal thriller, 4 away goals for Benidormida, Manuel Jose didn't score all last season, 2 brilliant goals in this game.

The tie is far from over, only one goal behind, Brugge could answer back in Benidorm.

M.O.M - Manuel Jose - Benidormida

Week 2 - Benidormida 3 Real Betis 1

Benidormida's first home game came against Real Betis, and the home fans couldn't have asked for a better result.

Ben Sahar opened the scoring on the 49th minute when Charlie Davies ran down the wing, crossed in and Sahar met it with a diving header.
And he made it two 15 minutes later, Davies cross was blocked Sahar picked it up and from the edge of the box smashed the ball into the top corner.
Real Betis Challenge was over with 5 minutes to go a goal worthy all 3 points, Davies played the ball to Reyes he returned the ball to Davies with a chip over the top, Davies took it on his chest and volleyed the ball into the Betis net, wonderful moment for the American with his first goal.

Real got a consolation goal on the 88th minute, a cross from the left, hits the post and fell straight to Odonkor and he couldn't miss.

3-1 a great result for Gibney's men, the home fans went home very happy.

M.O.M - Ben Sahar - Benidormida

Week 1 - Barcelona 4 Benidormida 2

Gibney and his men couldn't have asked for a more difficult start to their first season in La Liga, a trip to the Nou Camp to face the current Champions of Spain and Europe.

He gave debuts to Dida, Rajkovic, Zebina, Matabuena, Ricardo Clark and Charlie Davies, going for a 4-3-3 formation, more attacking style than last seasons 4-4-2.


Barcelona starting with the dangerous trio of Messi, Eto'o and Henry, and it was Eto'o that welcomed Benidormida to the league, capitalising on defensive mistakes and putting Barca 2-0 up in 5 minutes, and it only took 4 more minutes for him to complete his hat-trick, Eto'o played the ball to Iniesta, he tried his luck with a shot, Dida could only parry the ball to the on rushing Eto'o and he made no mistake for his and Barca's 3rd.

The Away team finally settle down midway through the half, starting to knock the ball about the way they had in the 2nd Division, and just before half time it cam good Ben Sahar released Reyes into the box and he curled the ball past Valdes in the Barca net, great way to end the half.


That goal must have made Gibney's half time team talk alot easier and it was the Costal side that start the 2nd half brighter, Ricardo Clark advance toward the Barca box, laid the ball off to Vederson he took a shot, Valdes could only parry it, and Sahar pounced to reduce the deficit to one, the pressure back on the home side.

10 minutes later all their hard work was ruined, Thierry Henry found some space on the left, fired a shot, and Dida and van Eijden between them couldn't clear the ball and it spun off, into the net, off Dida's back, calamitous defending.

Benidormida couldn't find a way back into the game, and the referee draw a close to the entertaining match, Barcelona winning 4-2, good come back from Benidormida, just not good enough, Gibney should take alot of positives away from the match.


M.O.M - Samuel Eto'o - Barcelona

Season 2 - Video Review

Squad Announced

With the transfer window closed, Benidormida have announced the 25 players registered for the upcoming season.

Goalkeepers

1. Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa "DIDA"
12. Arne Lothar
24. Roman Ivarov

Defenders

2. Leandro Grimi
3. Jonathan Zebina
4. Rens van Eijden
5. Slobodan Rajkovic
13. Magnus Stremer
16.Antonio Leonel Vilar Nogueira Sousa "TONEL"
20. Billy Ruskin
27. Jean Valeny
33. Mirko Jaric

Midfielders

7. Sergio Matabuena
8.Gokcek Vederson
15. Manuel Jose
17. Ricardo Clark
18. Saidi Ntibazonkiza
21. Jose Manuel Dodo
26. Sergio Espimas

Forwards

9. Charlie Davies
10. Ben Sahar
14. Loic Remy
19. Juan Antonio Reyes
23. Ivan Castolo

Double swoop!

As announced today by Spanish Newspaper MARCA, Gibney has again delved into the transfer market and made 2 signings that will bring added strengthen to the squad.

From English giants Chelsea, Slobodan Rajkovic and Sportings Portuguese centre back Tonel.

Rajkovic is a 20yr old centre back, who had never actually played for Chelsea but had spent 2 years in Holland on loan with PSV and Twente, he has recently been capped twice for Serbia and is a very hot prospect in the European game, this is quite a coo for Gibney and his staff.

Tonel on the other hand brings a lot of experience to the squad, playing over 90 games for Sporting, and should settle in well with the Spanish Club.

Both players have been signed for undisclosed fees, reportedly to be about €7 million for both players.

Gibney Gets His Man!!!!

After the press conference we managed to get a quick chat with Charlie.

R: How does it feel Charlie to get the chance to play for this team in Division 1

CD: I can't wait, it's gonna be a tough season, but there are some awesome players here, and I think we can do really well.

R: How does your game suit this team

CD: Obviosuly I've played against these guys a few times in the last year, and they play an uptempo style which I like, but we'll have to see what the Coach does and where he plays me.

R:Thank You


How quickly can he settle at the new team, in a new country, new pressures, only time will tell.

Summer Loving

The transfer window had only been open for 1 week when the press had been called to the Coastal city of Benidorm for a press conference, rumours were that Gibney had made his first signing of the summer.

Rumours were flying about names like Miguel Veloso, Charlie Davies, Paulo Ferreira...about 20 players had been linked in the last 7 days.


What a surprise it was when 4 players were introduced to the waiting media.
First out was Spanish midfielder Sergio Matabuena.

Released from Sporting Gijon Matabuena is a defensive midfielder who is not afraid of a tackle earning him the nickname of Matabuena Gattuso, Gibney is hoping he will add needed bit to the Benidorm midfield.

Next out was American midfielder Ricardo Clark.

Ricardo has 23 caps for the US national side, it seems Gibney plans to toughen up his side, Clark was once suspended for 9 games over an incident in a game against Dallas, Clark violently kicked Dallas player Carlos Ruiz, and was recently sent off against Italy in the Confederations Cup after a kick at Gattuso.


The 3rd signing announced was ex Juventus defender Jonathan Zebina, recently released from the Turin club, he was happy to join Gibney's revolution.

Zebina who plays mostly as a Right Back, can also operate at Centre Back, he will add power and strength to the Benidormida back line, and must needed experience playing over 80 games for Roma and 50 games.

The 4th and final signing no one saw coming, rumours were Gibney was looking for an experienced keeper, no one could have guessed who would walk out.
Former Brazilian #1 Nelson de Jesus Silva, otherwise known as DIDA.

After playing 182 games for Milan and 91 games for Brazil, the legendary goalkeeper makes his move to Spain, hoping for one last chance of glory with Benidormida.

How long will Dida continue to play no one knows, but he will add some flair, character and experience to the Spanish side, something they need when embarking on their first season of top-flight football.


You could see the delight in Gibney's face when he was standing with his new recruits, the scary thought is the window is open for another 7 weeks, who else will make his way though the Benidormida doors.

Judgement Day

Benidormida went into today's game knowing that only a point would be enough to secure the Division 2 title.

Gibney's side travelled to Numancia, with the fellow Spaniards having only pride to play for.
It was a cautious start for the wannabe Champions struggling to find that free flowing football we have seen all season, that was until the 30th minute, Leao out of nowhere slip the ball through to Sahar, he was onside and he calmly rounded the goalie and gave his side the lead, the away fans party had begun.

The party was put into full swing at half time, you could hear the murmurs around the stadium and then it was official, River had lost, and Standard Liege had only drawn, BENIDORMIDA ARE THE CHAMPIONS.

Gibney's side came out in the second half with a swagger and calmly stroked the ball around, on 71 minutes Ntibazonkiza went on a mazy run down the right, swung in an excellent cross and it was Vederson who had made the run and he powered the header into the net. 2-0.
The referee blew his whistle right on 90 minutes, and the players joined the party, fantastic scenes.



For the 2nd time in a week Rens van Eijden gets to lift silverware above his head, but this was the one they really wanted the Division 2 Championship.
We tried to get an Interview with manager Gibney but he only gave a short quote

"This is where it begins, Division 1 here we come, we're not just gonna go there to make up the numbers"


Assistant coach Matt McKeith gave us some more,

"We're delighted, the lads have picked themselves up from the disappointed of last season and done the double, it's a great bunch of lads and they deserve all the credit, there is gonna be a massive party tonight when we get back to Benidorm, we'll have a few days off, and then planning for next season starts."

=====================

Benidormida, Standard Liege and River Plate go up to Division 1, Osasuna, Sporting Gijon and Recreativo go down to D2.

From Benidormida, Minanda and Huylens have retired.


Here are the final standings

1.Benidormida 45pts +15
2.Standard Liege 40pts +17
3.River Plate 39pts +15
---------------------------------
4.CF Cluj 38pts +12
5.Malaga 38pts +7
6.Hammarby 33pts +1
7.Racing 31pts +3
8.Numancia 25pts -9
9.IFK Goteborg 23pts -7
10.HJK Helsinki 22pts -13
11.Crvena Zvezda 20pts -16
12.AIK 10pts -15.
　

TEAM RESULTS

1.IVAROV
13.STREMER - 1 assist
4.VAN EIJDEN – 1 goal, 2 assist
3.VALENY
2.GRIMI - 1 assist
6.LEAO - 1 goal
15.MANUEL JOSE - 3 assists
8.VEDERSON – 9 goals, 2 assists
18.NTIBAZONKIZA – 6 goals, 4 assists
19.REYES – 7 goals, 10 assists
10.BEN SAHAR – 14 goals, 2 assist
14.REMY – 4 goals, 2 assists
11.ADRIAN – 6 goals, 3 assist
30.ORDAZ – 2 goals
22.IOUGA – 1 assist

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

Live Commentary from the Final of the D2 Cup

1440: The team are on their way out of the tunnel, at the magnificent San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, the teams walk past the trophy they all want to lift, some of these Benidormida players mut be thinking about the loss to River last year in Amsterdam, can they avenge that loss

1444: Here is the Benidormida team for this final: IVAROV, LIBERMANN, VAN EIJDEN, JARIC, GRIMI, LEAO, MANUEL JOSE, GOKCEK VEDERSON, NTIBAZONKIZA, BEN SAHAR, ADRIAN LOPEZ.

1445: Gibney must be thinking about the final game of the season, no Reyes, Valeny, Stremer, but top scorer Sahar must be the dangerman for Hammarby, and will Charlie Davies come back to haunt Gibney for not signing him in January.

1500: We're off here at the San Siro, Benidormida as usual come out at a blistering pace.

1503: Lopez jinks inside the defence, shoots, forces a save and their first corner of the match.

1503: GOAL: NTIBAZONKIZA 1-0 BENIDORMIDA - The corner was swung in, Vederson got a flick on the ball and it sat up nicely for Ntiba to power home the header, The Spaniards strike first.

1508: Ntibazonkiza is fired up and races down the right flank floats in a cross, Adrian rises and his header is saved.

1523: GOAL: NTIBAZONKIZA 2-0 BENIDORMIDA - Another corner swung in, the defence head it away, it falls to Ntiba and he smashes it into the top corner, what a goal, what a game he's having.

1530: It just gets worse for Hammarby, Adrian Lopez was through on goal and Chizhov brings him down, the card is out and the colour is Red, Hammarby down to 10 men, and 2 goals down. and the foul was in the box it's a penalty.

1531: Ntibazonkiza steps on for his hat-trick, SAVED....GOAL...Ntiba's pen was saved but Adrian was there for the rebound GOAL: ADRIAN LOPEZ 3-0 BENIDORMIDA

1547: The ref blows the whistle and brings the first half to an end.

1603:The second half is about to start, Gibney makes 2 changes, Gutierrez comes on for Ben Sahar with this game over there is no need to risk him, and Vederson comes off for Portuguese and Benidormida Legend Minanda who retires at the end of the season.

1618:The crowd are standing to applaude Ntibazonkiza, Remy is replacing him and the crowd are showing the Burundi international their love.

1624: GOAL: ADRIAN LOPEZ 4-0 BENIDORMIDA - This game is well and truly over Manuel Jose finds Adrian in the box, he steps past his marker and places the ball in the corner.

1627: GOAL: REMY 5-0 BENIDORMIDA - Remy picks the ball up deep, he played a 1-2 with Adrian, still1 defender to beat, he looked up and fired a 30 yard bullet into the top corner, what a goal to wrap up this final.

1650: FULL TIME: The referee has ended Hammarby's pain, looked at his watch, and blows his whistle, BENIDORMIDA have won the cup, what great scenes we are witnesing here.

1700: The players have all received their medals, and are just waiting for the crowning moment, Captain Rens van Eijden has his medal, and he lifts the Cup, the fireworks and streamers go off, the Spanish fans are still dancing and singing, what a rollercoaster ride this team has gone on, and I don't think Gibney is quite finished with them yet.

QUOTES:

What a great day the fans and the players deserve this, we were so heartbroken after the defeat last year, but to come back and win with style is fantastic, I’m gonna let the lads enjoy this and we’ll be back in training on Tuesday to hopefully go on and win the league aswell.
MANAGER/OWNER: ANDREW GIBNEY

This is the first trophy I’ve lifted, so it’s an emotional day for me, so proud to be the captain of the club and do this for the people of Benidorm
CAPTAIN: RENS VAN EIJDEN

I couldn’t believe my luck the first time I score 2 goals in 1 match, and it wins a trophy I am very pleased
2 GOAL HERO: SAIDI NTIBAZONKIZA

I’ve struggled to get a game in the league so I knew I had to prove myself in this competition and I think I’ve done that, maybe the manager will have more faith in me now
CUP TOP SCORER: ADRIAN LOPEZ

And the winner is.........

3 games to go in the race for the title, River Plate and Benidormida tied at the top on 36 points, Standard Liege a further point behind in 3rd, Cluj and Malaga are just outside the promotion places on 34 and 32 points respectivley.

Gibney's side faced a tough away trip to Finland to play HJK HELSINKI, they would be without Reyes who picked up an injury in the Cup match.

It was Reyes replacement Loic Remy that made the 1st goal, he played in Sahar through on goal, Sahar's shot was saved but the reboud fell straight at his feet, he made no mistakes this time.

Disaster again for Benidormida defensively, they had only had the lead for 5 minutes a break down the right, the cross was floated in and Roiha made no mistake and equalised, why can't this team hold a lead.

It was up to Sahar to save the team again, Remy tricked his way upfield cut inside played a pass towards Sahar and he did the rest, fantastic first touch beat the defender, and the first time shot was drilled by the keeper, 2-1 the game was over the 3 points travelling back to Spain.

River Plate had also picked a victory so it was all set up for 2 weeks time in the COSTA DEL SOL

BENIDORMIDA v RIVER PLATE a win for either team would surely hand them promotion to Division 1 and more importantly the Championship.

River had won the game 2-0 the last time they met and quite convincingly too, Could Benidormida deliver the best payback of all.

However to make things a little spicier, If the game ends in a draw and Cluj pick up 3 points, we will have a 3 way tie with 1 game to go.


The game started with a frantic pace, Benidormida forcing 2 corners very early, the 2nd corner, Reyes swung it, it was headed out but only as far as Vederson, he hit the shot first time, terrible luck for River it deflects of a defender and beats everyone and finishes in the back of the net 1-0.

River were pinned back in their own half, another corner, Reyes took it again, everyone missed it, and in the confusion the defenders lost Sahar, and he took full advantage and fired the loose ball into the net 2-0 what a dream start for the Spanish, could River recover 2-0 down after 5 minutes.

They had an answer 4 minutes later, River attacked down the right, a neat cross was played in, Flores first touch beat everyone and he finished calmly to make it 2-1, and it was soon level, another River attack this team down the right Ponzio picked up the ball 30 yards from goal, he beat 2 men cut inside and his shot was too hot for Ivarov and it screamed past him unbeleivably River were now level.

Bendiormida woke up 10 minutes before half time, the returning Reyes, started a run down the left, beat his man out wide, cut into the box, played a low ball across the box and who was there to pounce non other than Sahar and his finish was as good as the pass, the Spaniards again in the lead 5 goals in the first half surely the second half couldn't get any better.

Probably the biggest cheer came during the interval the stadium announcer read out the scores and the shock was CLUJ had lost, so the winner would be 3 points ahead of 2nd and 4 off 3rd, the Spanish fans were buzzing.

River came out all guns blazing, but those guns were halted on the 57th minute, Sahar played Reyes through, only the keeper to beat, Gerlo slide in from behind, took Reyes down and the referee had no choice, the red card was shown, River down to 10 men.

That killed the game, River didn't have one more shot on goal, and Gibney's side were happy to play out time.

On the whistle the stadium errupted, Benidormida had gained promotion to the 1st Division, and with a point from the last game they would be crowned champions.

Could Gibney's side settle down for 2 last games and lift both the League Cup and League Title

The Road to the Final

After going 3 games without a win Benidormida travelled to Numancia knowing they had to score an away goal and possibly win to secure a place in the final, and they couldn't have got off to a better start. Reyes back in the team looked in great shape as he jinked down the right beating 2 men, floated a cross in to the back post and Sahar made no mistake with the header, The Numancia players heads were down, and 5 minutes later the heads sunk lower, Reyes played a lovely 1-2 with Sahar and calm as you like finished the move to make it 2-0 on the night.

A flash of hope was quickly dashed as Berenguer missed a penalty and Carlos Bellvis was sent off not long afterwards, another red card followed Ntbiazonkiza's mazy run for the third, Dominga Cisma seeing red, Numancia down to 9 men, the game was all over.

Benidormida for the 2nd season running had made the final, this time the opponents would be Hammarby in the San Siro.


The next match was a disappointment a 1-1 draw with Goteborg, again after taking the lead, making the game against Racing Santander a must win match.

With this in mind Gibney made some changes to the formation Ntibazonkiza moved to the left, reyes out wide left and Gokcek advancing forward in the centre of midfield.

Santander got off to a flyer, Benidormida caught flat at the back and Tchite finished well 1on1 with Ivarov.

The second half couldn't surely get any worse, and it didn't, 3 minutes in and Jose found Reyes with a lovely pass he beat 2 men, and beat the outstretched keeper.

Benidormida pressed forward and got a FK just on the edge, Reyes whipped it in, Ntibazonkiza gets a flick and it's deflected in 2-1.

They had a scent for win now, Grimi played a 1-2 with Jose and floated in a cross, Sahar met the ball and powered it home for a 2 goal lead.

With 8 minutes to go the game was all over, a fine 1 touch passing move between Gokcek, Jose to Sahar saw the Israeli poke the ball into the net, for a fantastic 4-1 victory, is this the result they needed.


The next game against Crvena Zvezda was a massive match, with River Plate and Cluj playing the chance to go top or at least second was at hand, 2 quick goals was all the match offered, Sahar's glancing header put the Spaniards ahead after 6 minutes but Cleo struck back 4 minutes later after a slick passing move to equalise, and the game fizzled out till the last minute, sub Loic Remy jinked and weaved in the box and was brought down.
Vederson had the chance to step up and win the game in injury time....but he missed. a disappointing draw.

CLUJ and RIVER had drawn, so Benidormida had missed the chance to go top of the league.



The next match was just as important the trip to the island of Malaga could prove pivotal in the chase for Division 1, a victory for Malaga would see them leapfrog into 3rd and Benidormida out of the promotion places.

And what a start for Gibney's side within 11 minutes they were 2-0 up both goals for talisman Reyes, the first a header from Vederson's cross, the second after a neat pass from Sahar, Reyes made no mistake.

Sahar made the game safe after 29 minutes glancing a header in from Reyes corner, Malaga got one back but it was not enough and Benidormida move to 2nd place with a victory.

With 3 games to go Benidormida find themselves on the same points as River Plate, and in the 2nd last game River Plate come to Benidorm for what could be the league decider.

Winter of Discontent

The January Transfer window came and went, and no new players entered Benidormida's training ground on the outskirts of the city.

Captain Rens van Eijden was slightly critical of the coaching staff. quoted "We were hoping that some new players would join the team and help us moving forward, but the players that are here are good enough to get us promoted, we're all in this together."

The lack of signings was not from the lack of trying.


Gibney's main target was Hammarby striker Charlie Davies, the impressive young American striker, has apparently been in the managers plans since he saw Davies play in USA under 21 team, and not has burst onto the seen with a couple of impressive showing in the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Hammarby however weren't up for losing their star striker, after several bids and contacts between the two clubs, it seems the clubs eventually agreed on a fee, but couldn't agree personal terms with the player before the window shut for the season.

Once the window shut, Benidormida were back in business, 2-1 wins over Hammarby and AIK led up to the D2 Cup Semi-Final against Numancia, Numancia took the lead after Berenguer's shot deflected off van Eijden and Ivarov couldn't change direction in time as the ball spun inside the post.

Justice was done in the second half when Benidormida equalised in similar circumstances Reyes shot, was saved, Adrian followed it in, got a touch on the ball and it was deflected and spun into the net, with 2 deflected goals the match ended 1-1.


The Spanish clubs luck ended there, against Liege a Vederson penalty opened the scoring in 2 minutes, and it was all Benidormida until the 26th min when Mbokani finished off a superb breakaway move to equalise for the Belgians, then Liege took the lead on 51mins when Stremer was penalised for a bad tackle and Defour made no mistake with the penalty, The Spaniards had nothing in reply and lost the match 2-1, The next match looked to be going Benidormidas way Ben Sahar's 69th minute goal looked enough to defeat Cluj until a defensive mix up in Injury time fell to Dubarbier and he made no mistake for the 1-1 draw.

Benidormida's push for Division 1 looks in threat the goals have dried up and the gap between 4th place Standard Liege was down to 1 point and the Belgians looking the stronger side.

With 7 games to go Gibney has alot of work to do.

Half Way Report

The Fans of Benidormida couldn't have hoped for a better start to the season on a glorious sunny day, the season kicked off in Sweden and the Spanish side put on a show winning 3-0 Reyes and Vederson scoring on their debut.

Next up was the Cup 1st leg against holders River Plate, and what a turn around since the final, River were given a footballing lesson in a 3-0 defeat, Reyes again scoring.

Benidormida won the next 2 league games, and then travelled to Buenos Aires for the 2nd leg, and goals from Ntibazonkza and Adrian helped them to a 2-2 draw winning 5-2 on aggregate.

This led to a sticky patch, in the next 5 league games the Spanish side only picked up 6 points out of 15, a 2-1 defeat away to Crvena Zvezda saw Gibney's side drop to 3rd place.


The quarter final 1st leg saw a tough away game to Malaga, Rens van Eijden's header from a Reyes corner enough to give them a vital away goal, this great result was followed by Remy's solo goal enough to beat Helsinki at home.

Benidormida again travelled to Buenos Aires but this time it was a different game, the Argentines seemed to strong and cruised to a 2-0 victory, Benidorms worse performance so far.

Back on Spanish soil they went to Numancia and Sahar and Leao scored to lift them to a 2-0 win.
And just before the transfer window, Malaga came to Benidorm and left empty handed a bore 0-0 was enough for Gibney's team to seal a place in the Semi Finals.


The thoughts going into the 4 week break, Is this side good enough to win promotion, will Gibney strengthen and in what areas, can they reach the final of the Cup 2 years running.

New Home Kit

Today the press was called once again to the Estadio Municipal de Foiete, Home of Benidormida, for the unveiling of the 2009/10 Home Kit.

Gibney had agreed 5 year deal with Telecommunication giant Telefonica, the company behind UK Giant o2.

Telefonica will appear on the shirt for the next 5 years and also once the new 45,000 seater stadium is finished in 2 years time, it will be known as Stadium Telefonica.

Keeper Ivanov and Captain Rens van Eijden sport the new home kit.

Summer Signings

It was a very busy summer for Gibney and the rest of the Benidormida staff, after losing out on promotion, the emphasis was on improving the squad for an assault on the Secunda Division.
All the players arriving were on free transfers after being released by their clubs.
First in was Brazilian Central Midfielder Andre Leao, released by CFR Cluj He was very happy to join ex teammate Manual Jose in Spain.

He was quickly followed by Brazilian/Turkish Citizen Gorcek Vederson, the skillful player was released by Fenerbahce after his contract ended, he jumped at the chance to play for Gibney's side.

A few weeks went past and it was said that alot of players had said no to a contract in the Holiday resort, Chelsea's Paulo Ferreira one of the players reported to have said no.
Then a double signing was announced.

Malaga's Adrian Lopez and ex Milan defender Leandro Grimi signed on the dotted line, Adrian a striker and Grimi a Left back.

The last signing of the window was the shock of the summer, Ex Sevilla, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Atletico and Benfica forward Juan Antonion Reyes, was spotted in the Benidorm town, fans assumed he was just on holiday that was until Gibney called a press conference and revealed his newest signing, he will wear the #19 shirt, during a brief interview he was quoted as saying "I am delighted to be here, this is an exciting project and I want to be part of it, it is a great place to play and I can't wait to have the fans singing."

(from left to right; REYES, GRIMI, ADRIAN LOPEZ, VEDERSON, LEAO)

During the Media Reveal of the 5 players we had a quick word with manager Gibney

Reporter: So Mr Gibney are you happy with the players you have brought in?

Gibney: Of Course, I couldn't ask for any more 5 quality players and we have kept our transfer kitty, so there is room to strengthen again, I have no doubt these players will compliment what we have already and the team now has more depth to compete on both fronts.


Reporter: How did you convince Reyes to sign here in Benidorm

Gibney: Well I called Juan up and asked if he's be interested, he was without a club so looking for somewhere to play, I explain my vision to him, invited him down for a look and he was impressed with what we're doing, he was happy to sign, of course his wage wasn't bad either!


Reporter: Rumours have it that Ben Sahar and Remy has expressed their concern over the signing of 2 new strikers, what thoughts do you have on this?

Gibney: Every successful team has 4 quality strikers to help share the workload, and now we have 4 who can all play together in multiple roles and they will all get a chance to take this club forward.


Reporter: You used the 4-4-2 alot last season to mixed success, will the new signings change your style.

Gibney: Well I am not limited to one formation, and the new guys will help me and then team find a style that suits us, be it 4-4-2 4-3-3 1-1-8. You'll have to wait and see.


Reporter: Thank you for your time!
　

Season 1 Highlights

Fairytale of Espana

It was a fairytale first season for Benidormida, it’s been a meteoric rise for the small club from the seaside resort, 2 years ago they were part time side, and they now find themselves finishing only 3 points off of promotion to the Primera Division.

Scottish tycoon Andrew Gibney bought Benidorm FC 3 years ago after making millions selling square sausage and chicken pakora in England, after finding a hole in the market.

His dream is to take the team from the Holiday resort on the Costa Brava all the way to becoming one of the top clubs in Europe, his first success came when he made the club full time and the achieved promotion to the Regional Division, the next season they romped the league winning promotion to the 2nd Division.

This is where our story begins.

Gibney who also manages the club brought in 4 players for his assault on Division 2, Israeli striker Ben Sahar joined on loan from Chelsea, Portuguese midfielder Manuel Jose ended his miserable time at Romanian club CFR Cluj and he was join from Holland by Saidi Ntibazonkiza from NEC Nijmegen and Promising young centre back Rens van Eijden.

During the off season they had also managed to hold on to veterans Castolo, Minanda, Ruskin and Stremer.

The started the season as most pundits had predicted and struggled to find the net, and drawing 3 out of 5 games, losing one, but they did pick up a victory over league leaders River Plate.

It was in the cup where they shocked people, beating Hammarby, Goteborg and Cluj over 2 legs they made it to the cup final, were in the ultimate heartache they lost on Penalties to River Plate after dominating the 120 minutes of football.

In the January transfer window, Gibney made the surprise signing of young French striker Loic Remy from Nice, adding fire power to the Spanish front line.

In the end Benidormida’s 7 wins wasn’t enough to gain promotion, the defeats to Basel and Brugge in the last 3 weeks killed off their promotion chances, and finally finished 3 points behind Brugge and failed to gain promotion.

Ben Sahar finished with 13 goals, Remy and Castolo scored 4, Ntibazonkiza added 3 from midfield. Playmakers Minanda and Manuel Jose provided 4 assists.

Season 1 – Division 2

Final Standings

1.Besiktas 43 +17
2.FC Basel 38 +11
3.Club Brugge 34 +3
-------------------------
4.Crvena Zvezda 34 -6
5.Hammarby 33 +2
6.Benidormida 31 +6
7.River Plate 31 +5
8.CFR Cluj 31 1
9.AIK 30 +1
10.IFK Goteborg 25 -7
11.Standard Liege 22 -8
12.HJK Helsinki 12 -25

Backstory

Right as some of my friends might know, I love Pro Evo (after a brief break-up) and for years I've played the Master League mode, and apart from going Celtic or Lille, if creating my own team, I have always called them BENIDORMIDA.

I started back along time when I used to play Fifa we're talking pre 1998, I used to take a Spanish team usually Real Zaragoza, and I picked a place in Spain (Benidorm) that didn't have a big team, and bought loads of good players and made the strip etc.

Being an artist I always liked designing the strips and the font for the squad numbers, I might try and find some of my old stuff scan it and post it up.

So anyway back to now, I bought PES 2009 when it came out but never properly enjoyed it, then when I moved house 3 weeks ago, I've got a proper boys set up, 32inch TV on the wall, PS3 and Xbox360 all lined up.

I put PES in one day, and thought wait a minute this is different, it seems the drop in TV size from 42" to 32" made the game flow like I wanted it to, so with 70% of the players stats update, I decided to play a Master League, and why not resurrect my old team BENIDORMIDA.

Just to quickly explain the Master League, you start off in the 12 team Division 2, there are 4 Division 1 leagues of 20 teams, I have it set up so that when I gain promotion I will join the 20 Spanish teams in the game, thus joining La Liga.

Once in Division 1 you can qualify for the equivalent of the Champions League and Uefa Cup, and both Division 1 & 2 have separate League Cups as well.

In the middle of the season there is a 4 week transfer window and at the end there is a 8 week window, both to buy or sell players.

When you create your own team, you start with whats called Konami's default players, players made up and some have OK stats most are rubbish, so it's a building progress.

From now on I'll be posting in a kind of Newspaper, Team Report kinda way as if it was real.

I have already played the whole first season and I have started the 2nd, so the first couple of posts will be like a catch up.

Hope you enjoy reading it, cause being a geek I'll enjoy writing it.

HALA BENIDORMIDA