‘Every minor detail – execute them’: Guruzeta’s road from gurney to success with Athletic Bilbao
Whenhe initial occasion the Athletic striker featured in England, an teenage representing Athletic Bilbao B against German opponents at Wycombe’s stadium in the 2015 season, he scored. On his next visit he played in British turf, against Sunderland following that, he netted. His third outing, against Pep Guardiola’s team not long later, indeed, he repeated the feat. As he revisited to the city to take on Manchester United at Leigh Sports Village in 2017, he did it once more. It was a superb volley, too. “Truly,” he remarks, “it’s one of the best goals I’ve netted.” Therefore the team did their duty: he was replaced.
“I got well angry,” the forward says, and then he starts laughing. “I’m sure there’s footage. We went to play United and I was in fine form. They didn’t let me play the latter period: my contract wasn’t finalized my contract, I kept finding the net, speculation was rife, as you’d expect. I’m unsure regarding interest from Newcastle, but I recall seeing about Manchester United, the usual talk. I’m not certain the validity, but supposing an offer came, my desire was to remain at Bilbao. I feel lucky to be here.”
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At the training ground, the Basque Country, the early training is about to start; after it, the quick travel to Loiu and another trip to Britain, now to play Newcastle in the European elite competition on midweek. Just saying those two words lights him up. This is proving a difficult season for Athletic, due in part to the demands of being here. Defeated late on in the weekend clash, they have won only one of their recent league fixtures and fallen to the Gunners and Borussia Dortmund in the continental stage. Yet, look at the overall situation, the memorable evenings and future challenges, and a sense of thankful reflection from him.
In the the period since he had returned to the club, Gorka has been a semi-final participant, denied at the last hurdle a domestic final by United, and has boarded a decades-old barge up the Nervión estuary flanked by a huge crowd after winning the Copa del Rey, the first title in four decades. Now he is Athletic’s top scorer in the Champions League, where they are unique and returning after absence in a long period. “I never imagined this,” he admits.
He considered it hard enough just to make the first team and he was right. As the child of the former Real Sociedad player the former professional and a season ticket holder at the club that are now his rivals, Gorka is a graduate of Antiguoko, the San Sebastián club that developed Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso and the Bournemouth manager. He signed for Athletic at his teens but after his first-team bow in the 2018 season, he experienced a ACL injury, dropped, a drop in category and a return before he could truly get a chance, coming back aged 26 to live the best days of the club’s history.
“Entering the youth system doubting you’ll make the first team but each step you advance through you’re persisting and you can see it getting closer. You arrive and then … you have to leave.” He played six, nine, five, one, four and 20 minutes in six games between his debut and February 2019. “And then I go back down to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. Five, six games there and I tear my cruciate.
“It was a huge blow but In retrospect as something positive because it made me change the way I saw things. Healing from a serious ailment is difficult, but it’s beneficial. You adopt practices previously lacking. It’s not that you don’t look after yourself, but I did the sessions and then head home, typical youth behavior. At the complex, facilities are comprehensive, so do everything. Training, prehab. Get in the gym. Should your hips be uneven, correct it. If your ankles are a 10, make it a 12 or a 14. All those ‘silly things’: execute them.
“At the top level you’re going to collide with opponents who have experienced contact 200,000 times. Highly robust. Reviewing old images: my physique was slight. So what happens, happens. Present-day images and the change is dramatic. Injury made me see that. Practice concludes, but additional work remains. Peers are prepared, really ready; no exceptions.”
Game time is essential. The striker moved emotionally in that year, in his early twenties, joining the second tier. With Sabadell in 2020-21, he netted three goals in forty appearances. At Amorebieta in the following period, the goals started to flow. “It’s a common path: transfers, releases. With a turnaround, work, believe, and when eventually they need someone for your role, recall is possible. Preparation is key. When they decided to call again, an aspiration fulfilled. The trophy success, European football, and qualify for Europe’s top tier … pfff.”
Little surprise he states savor the moment. All the more so after the prior campaign which, at times, was focused on persistence. Previously the main threat with 16 in 2023-24, he managed seven in {15 games more|additional matches|
