The first competitive match of the season was here and a tough away trip to start for Zaragoza. Ferguson said he's keen to get the more difficult away trips out of the way and feels confident he can start well. Fans were keen to get a look at the starting lineup and will have to wait to see new faces as Rittmuller, Grande, Jorge and Pablo were all on the bench. Former Everton striker Stuart Josey started for Valladolid on the left, a player long admired by Duncan Ferguson. Valladolid came forward with intent in the first half but it was a strong defensive display from Zaragoza keeping them at bay. 55 minutes on the clock and Clemens Rittmuller replaced Richard Donkor, the fans keen to see their new player in action. Rittmuller got his first shot on 72 minutes when Romero played him in and he shot just wide of the post. Jorge came on for Cobos and Alvarado replaced Alonso as Ferguson went 4-3-3 with the aim of stealing the victory. Victor tried to get on to the long ball in the last few seconds and he ran it out of play, the chance summed up the match as a boring 0-0 finishes at Valladolid.
PLAYER RATINGS
Real Zaragoza vs Elche
28th August 2036
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The first home game of the campaign and the fans were right behind the team as Ferguson gave starts to Luis Granda and Jorge. Fans got their first glimpse of Granda as he came down the right side and crossed in for Zubillaga who headed at goal and the goalkeeper spilled it, Alvarado attempted the tap in but the keeper got on top of the ball in time. Martinez claimed the ball from the Elche corner and distributed it left to Alvarez, he came forward down the left and sent it long for Granda who took it down on the chest and blasted into the back of the net, a debut goal! What a finish and a what a ball from Alvarez! The fans were delighted with Granda as he skipped down the right and found Zubillaga again in the box but his header was too high. Toni Galindo done well to execute the tackle on Belmonte but the ball ran to Calonge who's strike stung the hands of Martinez but went in to make it 1-1 before the break. Elche got an early corner in the second half and Francis' low cross found Perez who struck home at the near post made it 2-1 without a blink from Zaragoza. Alvarado was playing poorly and was replaced by Rittmuller on 55 minutes. Rittmuller gets involved straight away and played a great long ball for Zubillaga which got him one on one and he blazed it wide! That was the chance! A double change with 20 minutes to go saw Zubillaga and Juan make way for Abadias and Silva. Rittmuller was effective down the right and he found Abadias but his shot was kept out by Vicente who was having a stormer in goal. The last chance came as Granda got in from behind but was brought down just outside the area, Abadias tried a shot from the free-kick and Vicente made a great save to keep it out. The whistle was blown and it's a second win of the season for Elche and a disappointing start for Zaragoza.
DF: I demanded better at half-time, we were caught napping in the second half and paid the price. Their keeper was brilliant, most of those chances go in but he had a fantastic game.
PLAYER RATINGS
Alcorcon vs Real Zaragoza
30th August 2036
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Play-off rivals Alcorcon and Real Zaragoza met early on in the season and with Juan Carlos Perez frustrated about being denied a move in the window, he skipped training this week and was fined for his actions and dropped from the squad. Pablo came in alongside Javi to make his debut. Zaragoza defended well and got a chance on 41 minutes when Cobos was fouled inside the area and the referee gave the penalty! Zubillaga's record from the spot is a bit mixed but he made no mistake sending the keeper thr wrong way! The lead didn't last and lacklustre defending cost Zaragoza as Fernandez fed Garrido to tuck home making it 1-1. Galiondo won the ball and played it over the top for Alonso to chase and take down, he crossed and Cobos' shot was saved at the near post, he got a second chance with the rebound and put it across goal to make it 2-1! Alcorcon were winning headers too easily in the box but were not on target, Ferguson decided to take off Pablo with just over ten minutes to go and bring on Matthew Chapman whose height could be useful at the back. Martinez went up to claim the ball in stoppage to time to the disgruntled sound from the home supporters and Zaragoza get over the line and record a good away victory!
PLAYER RATINGS
LEAGUE TABLE
TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY
19 year old up and coming goalkeeper Chus made a transfer to La Liga's Tenerife on the final day of the window. Chus was competitive last season with Igor Martinez and reports from the training ground was that the goalkeeper will be wearing the club's No. 1 jersey in the forseeable future. Chus was keen to be playing at a higher level and with the club failing to get promoted, it could be a reason why some players could look to move on.
A few hours later, Marc Bollrath was brought to the club for £240,000. The 21 year old is a direct replacement for Chus and has impressed in German lower league football known for his quick distribution and long throws. He is vocal and is good at organising a defence. An exciting young prospect who the supporters will be keen to see.
Juan Carlos Perez came back into the team after being dropped against Alcorcon. The defender openly stated he will not be signing a new contract with the club and talks have been opened with Valladolid on a transfer when the window opens. Ferguson reminded his player to be professional and expects nothing but the best week in, week out whilst Zaragoza still pay his wages. Fans were frustrated with their best defender speaking out and banners around the stadium read "Why?" and "Judas". Perez was off his game and on 4 minutes was dispossessed by Ortiz on the halfway line and it was Igor Martinez who saved low at the post to deny him a goal. Four minutes later Romero took the free-kick near the corner flag and found Cobos at the front post who headed low to beat the keeper! Carlos Romero had a chance within shooting range from a free-kick on 29 minutes, his shot took a deflection off the top of the wall deceiving the keeper and making it 2-0! Luis Granda came on with just under 30 minutes to go replacing Jose Zubillaga. A calm approach to the final ten minutes enured Zaragoza picked all three points in a comfortable home victory.
PLAYER RATINGS
Real Zaragoza vs Sporting Gijon
Copa Del Rey Second Round
10th September 2036
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Cup football was back and after Zaragoza made it to the Fourth Round last season losing to Alaves, the six time winners will be hoping to go further this season. Ferguson made changes giving a debut to Bollrath in goal and Gomez, Chapman, Pablo and Manzella started in defence. Jorge came into a middle three with Juan and Romero whilst Zubillaga lined up with Alvarado and Granda in attack. Manzella's early cross found Zubillaga at the far post and his lobbing header almost found the corner of the net but the keeper done well to get over and claim it. Christian came down the right unchallenged and managed to get a ball into the box to Fall who dinked it past Bollrath on 7 minutes. Bollrath totally unaware of what happened. Zubillaga passed it to Jorge on the edge of the box, he helped it on to Juan and his shot struck the outside of the post. The half-time team talk must have worked as Juan found space outside the box once again and his shot took a deflection over the keeper who got a fingertip to it and bounce into the net to level on 47 minutes! No team could really win the game and it was into extra time. Israel Silva came on for Carlos Romero. Five minutes into extra time, Granda played it right to Manzella on the overlap, he got the ball wide to Gomez and he played it to Jorge on the edge of the box who curled it round the keeper to make it 2-1! There were a lot of tired legs out there running on empty but Zaragoza had to see this out. Matty Chapman was having a brilliant game at the back and was really staking his case for a place in the first team. The whole team was back defending with minutes to go, Abadias working hard to stop the cross coming in. Abadias got the ball away by running forward into space, he was tackled by Christian and Christian came forward with the ball and Abadias was up and took the ball back with a great tackle! The crowd showed their appreciation for Abadias' work rate. Abadias played it left to Gomez and he crossed low into the box, Zubillaga powered his way through and blasted into the back of the net! But it was ruled out! Zubillaga was fractionally offside! It was so close and looked like it was the arm of Zubillaga. The whistle was blown and Zaragoza battled from a goal down to progress to the Copa Del Rey Third Round!
DF: A lot of players impressed me today. Matty Chapman showed true grit and composure at the back. Jorge was outstanding and ran the midfield. It's good for players to get minutes and compete. We want a squad we can rotate when we need to and compete in all competitions. Hopefully there won't be too much fatigue when we play Atletico Pamplona. We owe them one for the play-off final two seasons ago!
PLAYER RATINGS
Real Zaragoza vs Atletico Pamplona
14th September 2036
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The fierce rivalry was to be ignited once again. We don't need to talk about the last game in the play-offs as we all know what happened but the two sides will lock horns once again in La Liga 2. La Romareda was electric as Ferguson made changes to the team that played on Wednesday night. Perez came back into the fold despite securing a January transfer to Valladolid and Israel Silva partnered Carlos Romero in midfield. Richard Donkor got his second start of the season behind Jose Zubillaga who had one goal from four appearances. Zaragoza were well organised and knew they were up against it. Pamplona struggled to break Zaragoza down but the frustration from supporters was clear as they wanted their team to be more attacking. The first goal came when Ramon took the ball down in the box from the corner and set up Wahbi to put it into the roof of the net on 36 minutes. Juan Carlos Perez missed the header and it cost Zaragoza. Perez was not in the game and he didn't come back out for the second half, Matty Chapman came out after impressing mid-week against Gijon. Garmendia took the corner from the left on 56 minutes and Texeira got up to head into the top corner to make it 2-0. Zaragoza now with a mountain to climb. Chapman passed the ball to Alonso looking to get an attack started down the right but he came back to Chapman, the big Centre Half brough the ball forward and played a hopeful long ball through the middle, this time for Zubillaga who brushed off his marker and put it to the keeper's left into the bottom corner! 2-1! Pamplona were devastating from eet-pieces, Garmendia swung the corner in on 65 minutes, Romero headed out but Cohen blasted the ball into the top corner to make it 3-1 to the away side. Carlos Romero took the ball from Alvarez's throw-in, Garmendia charged into the back of him and the referee had no choice but it issue his second yellow card of the match and send him off! 17 minutes left for Zaragoza to try to take advantage. Romero with the ball on the left flank, he crossed into the box and Chapman took it down and set up Rittmuller whose shot was tipped over the bar. Zubillaga took the corner, Chapman charged in but his header was straight at the keeper. It's all Zaragoza in the final minutes and Pamplona tried to slow the game down. Alvarez was finding space down the left and he played the ball into the box dangerously, Rittmuller took it and passed it to Silva, he hit a hopeful shot that rolled into the bottom corner beating the keeper! 3-2 with just 2 minutes to go! The board went up for an additional six minutes at La Romareda. Pamplona were doing everything they could to slow the game down and were wasting time. Romero took the throw, 96 minutes were on the clock and the whistle was about to be blown any second, Ritmuller held the ball up and passed to Silva, he tried to line up the shot but it wasn't an option and passed to Romero who drilled it low and it went in! 3-3! The stadium erupted! Duncan Ferguson has done it again! They don't call him the comeback King for nothing! It's all over and what a fightback from Zaragoza in this second half! It was an incredible performance from Zaragoza!
DF: That was a brilliant end to a great spectacle. At 3-1 we looked done but those last 20 minutes we showed character and once again fought hard to take a point. It feels like a win, it's a good result against strong opposition and certain players proved why they deserve to be at this football club. It's important we take as many points off our nearest rivals as we can. Getting a point against Pamplona will do us good and we are competing with the better teams. We face a tough away trip to Sevilla next week but I'm confident we can go there and worry them.
PLAYER RATINGS
Sevilla vs Real Zaragoza
21st September 2036
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It could be a good time to play Sevilla as they have struggled in the opening 5 matches with just one win. Zaragoza were sitting just outside the play-off places and a win would put them amongst it. Matty Chapman was given a start after impressing recently alongside Javi. Juan Carlos Perez was told to stay away from the training ground by manager Duncan Ferguson after agreeing a January transfer to Valladolid. Rittmuller played it to Alvarez and he went long to Alonso, Alonso showed some skill on the touchline and switched it back nicely to Alvarez who came down the left, crossed into the box and Alonso struck it home to pile on the misery for Sevilla! Galindo put in a good tackle and found Alonso, he had space to move into in the centre of the pitch and played it left to Cobos, he went with an early cross for Zubillaga and the keeper done well to save his close range shot, Zubillaga got to the rebound and made no mistake making it 2-0! Zaragoza looked so comfortable on the ball, Rittmuller and Chapman had settled in quite quick despite the language barrier. Carlos Romero went off to a rousing applause as Eugenio Alvarez came on to see the game out. Zaragoza recorded a fantastic away result against a top side in Sevilla who look bereft of confidence this season. This result sinking them into the bottom three.
DF: It's a shame their manager lost his job after today's performance. He hasn't been there long but it did look like the players were not performing for him. I'm delighted to beat them at their ground today, as long as Sevilla stay down there it gives us a chance at the top!
Juan Carlos Perez came back into the team after being dropped against Alcorcon. The defender openly stated he will not be signing a new contract with the club and talks have been opened with Valladolid on a transfer when the window opens. Ferguson reminded his player to be professional and expects nothing but the best week in, week out whilst Zaragoza still pay his wages. Fans were frustrated with their best defender speaking out and banners around the stadium read "Why?" and "Judas". Perez was off his game and on 4 minutes was dispossessed by Ortiz on the halfway line and it was Igor Martinez who saved low at the post to deny him a goal. Four minutes later Romero took the free-kick near the corner flag and found Cobos at the front post who headed low to beat the keeper! Carlos Romero had a chance within shooting range from a free-kick on 29 minutes, his shot took a deflection off the top of the wall deceiving the keeper and making it 2-0! Luis Granda came on with just under 30 minutes to go replacing Jose Zubillaga. A calm approach to the final ten minutes enured Zaragoza picked all three points in a comfortable home victory.
Cup football was back and after Zaragoza made it to the Fourth Round last season losing to Alaves, the six time winners will be hoping to go further this season. Ferguson made changes giving a debut to Bollrath in goal and Gomez, Chapman, Pablo and Manzella started in defence. Jorge came into a middle three with Juan and Romero whilst Zubillaga lined up with Alvarado and Granda in attack. Manzella's early cross found Zubillaga at the far post and his lobbing header almost found the corner of the net but the keeper done well to get over and claim it. Christian came down the right unchallenged and managed to get a ball into the box to Fall who dinked it past Bollrath on 7 minutes. Bollrath totally unaware of what happened. Zubillaga passed it to Jorge on the edge of the box, he helped it on to Juan and his shot struck the outside of the post. The half-time team talk must have worked as Juan found space outside the box once again and his shot took a deflection over the keeper who got a fingertip to it and bounce into the net to level on 47 minutes! No team could really win the game and it was into extra time. Israel Silva came on for Carlos Romero. Five minutes into extra time, Granda played it right to Manzella on the overlap, he got the ball wide to Gomez and he played it to Jorge on the edge of the box who curled it round the keeper to make it 2-1! There were a lot of tired legs out there running on empty but Zaragoza had to see this out. Matty Chapman was having a brilliant game at the back and was really staking his case for a place in the first team. The whole team was back defending with minutes to go, Abadias working hard to stop the cross coming in. Abadias got the ball away by running forward into space, he was tackled by Christian and Christian came forward with the ball and Abadias was up and took the ball back with a great tackle! The crowd showed their appreciation for Abadias' work rate. Abadias played it left to Gomez and he crossed low into the box, Zubillaga powered his way through and blasted into the back of the net! But it was ruled out! Zubillaga was fractionally offside! It was so close and looked like it was the arm of Zubillaga. The whistle was blown and Zaragoza battled from a goal down to progress to the Copa Del Rey Third Round!
DF: A lot of players impressed me today. Matty Chapman showed true grit and composure at the back. Jorge was outstanding and ran the midfield. It's good for players to get minutes and compete. We want a squad we can rotate when we need to and compete in all competitions. Hopefully there won't be too much fatigue when we play Atletico Pamplona. We owe them one for the play-off final two seasons ago!
The fierce rivalry was to be ignited once again. We don't need to talk about the last game in the play-offs as we all know what happened but the two sides will lock horns once again in La Liga 2. La Romareda was electric as Ferguson made changes to the team that played on Wednesday night. Perez came back into the fold despite securing a January transfer to Valladolid and Israel Silva partnered Carlos Romero in midfield. Richard Donkor got his second start of the season behind Jose Zubillaga who had one goal from four appearances. Zaragoza were well organised and knew they were up against it. Pamplona struggled to break Zaragoza down but the frustration from supporters was clear as they wanted their team to be more attacking. The first goal came when Ramon took the ball down in the box from the corner and set up Wahbi to put it into the roof of the net on 36 minutes. Juan Carlos Perez missed the header and it cost Zaragoza. Perez was not in the game and he didn't come back out for the second half, Matty Chapman came out after impressing mid-week against Gijon. Garmendia took the corner from the left on 56 minutes and Texeira got up to head into the top corner to make it 2-0. Zaragoza now with a mountain to climb. Chapman passed the ball to Alonso looking to get an attack started down the right but he came back to Chapman, the big Centre Half brough the ball forward and played a hopeful long ball through the middle, this time for Zubillaga who brushed off his marker and put it to the keeper's left into the bottom corner! 2-1! Pamplona were devastating from eet-pieces, Garmendia swung the corner in on 65 minutes, Romero headed out but Cohen blasted the ball into the top corner to make it 3-1 to the away side. Carlos Romero took the ball from Alvarez's throw-in, Garmendia charged into the back of him and the referee had no choice but it issue his second yellow card of the match and send him off! 17 minutes left for Zaragoza to try to take advantage. Romero with the ball on the left flank, he crossed into the box and Chapman took it down and set up Rittmuller whose shot was tipped over the bar. Zubillaga took the corner, Chapman charged in but his header was straight at the keeper. It's all Zaragoza in the final minutes and Pamplona tried to slow the game down. Alvarez was finding space down the left and he played the ball into the box dangerously, Rittmuller took it and passed it to Silva, he hit a hopeful shot that rolled into the bottom corner beating the keeper! 3-2 with just 2 minutes to go! The board went up for an additional six minutes at La Romareda. Pamplona were doing everything they could to slow the game down and were wasting time. Romero took the throw, 96 minutes were on the clock and the whistle was about to be blown any second, Ritmuller held the ball up and passed to Silva, he tried to line up the shot but it wasn't an option and passed to Romero who drilled it low and it went in! 3-3! The stadium erupted! Duncan Ferguson has done it again! They don't call him the comeback King for nothing! It's all over and what a fightback from Zaragoza in this second half! It was an incredible performance from Zaragoza!
DF: That was a brilliant end to a great spectacle. At 3-1 we looked done but those last 20 minutes we showed character and once again fought hard to take a point. It feels like a win, it's a good result against strong opposition and certain players proved why they deserve to be at this football club. It's important we take as many points off our nearest rivals as we can. Getting a point against Pamplona will do us good and we are competing with the better teams. We face a tough away trip to Sevilla next week but I'm confident we can go there and worry them.
It could be a good time to play Sevilla as they have struggled in the opening 5 matches with just one win. Zaragoza were sitting just outside the play-off places and a win would put them amongst it. Matty Chapman was given a start after impressing recently alongside Javi. Juan Carlos Perez was told to stay away from the training ground by manager Duncan Ferguson after agreeing a January transfer to Valladolid. Rittmuller played it to Alvarez and he went long to Alonso, Alonso showed some skill on the touchline and switched it back nicely to Alvarez who came down the left, crossed into the box and Alonso struck it home to pile on the misery for Sevilla! Galindo put in a good tackle and found Alonso, he had space to move into in the centre of the pitch and played it left to Cobos, he went with an early cross for Zubillaga and the keeper done well to save his close range shot, Zubillaga got to the rebound and made no mistake making it 2-0! Zaragoza looked so comfortable on the ball, Rittmuller and Chapman had settled in quite quick despite the language barrier. Carlos Romero went off to a rousing applause as Eugenio Alvarez came on to see the game out. Zaragoza recorded a fantastic away result against a top side in Sevilla who look bereft of confidence this season. This result sinking them into the bottom three.
DF: It's a shame their manager lost his job after today's performance. He hasn't been there long but it did look like the players were not performing for him. I'm delighted to beat them at their ground today, as long as Sevilla stay down there it gives us a chance at the top!
That's the last time I let the knobhead wear my Miami Vice white jacket on a night out as well, Dyche done some kind of Exorcist projectile vomit on it and me mum can't get it out.
I dont know what is going on but if there is a domestic terrorist attack in Liverpool im just going to send the link of this thread to the Merseyside police.
I dont know what is going on but if there is a domestic terrorist attack in Liverpool im just going to send the link of this thread to the Merseyside police.