Atletic Bilbao narrowly missed out on European football this season in La Liga as they finished the season in seventh place. They played some great football though over the course of the season, and with a lighter schedule next season, they should be in and around the top six yet again.
Their midfield players Oscar de Marcos and Benat Etxebarria performed admirably, however it was Raul Garcia that really caught the eye. The ex-Atletico Madrid player is at the very top of his game and maturing into a fine player that would be worthy of a place in almost any La Liga side.
Oscar de Marcos played his eighth season with Atletic Bilbao and with 24 starts, he proved that he still has a huge appetite for the game. He weighed in with just one goal, exactly like his last three seasons, but with four assists and seven clean sheets, a defensive minded midfielder is never going to earn a huge amount of fantasy football points. He racked up a total of 24 points and his price/performance ratio ended at 6.3.
Midfielder Benat Etxebarria fantasy football statistics are slightly better than that of his partner Oscar de Marcos. He chipped in with one goal, 5 assists and eight clean sheets. He finished the season with a points total of 28 and with a value of 6.5M, his price/performance ratio was 3.1.
Raul Garica, who signed for Atletico Madrid for a rumoured 13M in 2007 brings a wealth of experience to this Bilbao side. He has won the Spanish title, Europa League and Spanish Cup and since signing for Bilbao, his contribution has been immense. He scored ten goals this season, three of which were the decisive goals in narrow 1-0 wins and has become virtually undroppable. With four assists and ten clean sheets, he finished the season as Atletico’s top performing midfielder with 57 points. He will turn 31 in July this year and should still be good for a few years at the top. His fantasy football value is 8M, but with 34 starts this season and a price/performance ratio of 7.4, he may be one player who should come under consideration if your team needs a cheaper alternative.
With next season looming large, Atletic Bilbao will be looking for an improvement on this season’s league finishing place of seventh. However, one player whose future looks assured in the team is star man Raul Garcia.
You can challenge the best fantasy football managers at EuroFantasyLeague
To leave a comment, you must be logged into www.eurofantasyleague.com