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."

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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
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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.