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.
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
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.
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.
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!
Monday, 29 June 2009
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
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
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
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