‘All those little things – make sure you do them’: Guruzeta’s road from injury table to success with Athletic Bilbao
The initial occasion the Spanish forward competed in the UK, an young representing Athletic Bilbao B against Bundesliga youth at Wycombe’s stadium in September 2015, he found the net. During his subsequent match he appeared in the country, against the English side two months later, he netted. His third outing, against Pep Guardiola’s team six weeks after that, well, he did it once more. Upon his comeback to Manchester to play against the Red Devils at Leigh’s ground in that year, he scored again. It was a superb volley, too. “Actually,” he remarks, “it’s a top-class goal in my career.” Thus the club did their duty: they substituted him.
“I was furious,” the attacker admits, and then he starts laughing. “Probably there’s a recording. Our match against United and I performed well. They didn’t let me play the latter period: I hadn’t yet signed deal, I was scoring goals, there were lots of rumours, as you’d expect. I don’t know about Newcastle being interested, but I came across reports about Man United, the usual talk. It’s unclear how true it was, but even if they had called, I’d have chosen to stay at the club. I’m fortunate to be here.”
Real Sociedad release pressure with surreal victory in Basque derby like no other
At the facility, the city, the early training is ready to commence; following that, the short journey to Loiu airport and another trip to Britain, on this occasion to take on the Magpies in the Champions League on the upcoming match. Mentioning that phrase brings a smile to his face. This is proving a challenging campaign for the team, partially owing to the pressures of competing at this level. Losing in stoppage time in the derby on Saturday, they have secured just a single victory of their recent league fixtures and fallen to the Gunners and Borussia Dortmund in Europe. But, look at the overall situation, the big nights he has lived and future challenges, and he feels a calm gratitude from him.
In the three years since he had returned to the club, Gorka has been a Europa League semi-finalist, prevented from reaching a domestic final by Manchester United, and has traveled on a traditional boat through the waterway surrounded by countless supporters after lifting the trophy, the first title in four decades. Now he is the club’s leading marksman in the European competition, where they are countercultural and returning after absence in ten years. “This was beyond my dreams,” he admits.
The player believed it hard enough just to break into the senior squad and that proved true. Born to the former Real Sociedad player Xabi Guruzeta and a dedicated fan at the club that are now his rivals, Guruzeta is a graduate of Antiguoko, the San Sebastián club that developed the coach, Xabi Alonso and the tactician. He joined Athletic at seventeen but after his top-level debut in the 2018 season, he went through a serious knee problem, being released, a drop in category and a call back before he could truly get a chance, coming back aged 26 to live the best days of his career.
“You go into the academy not expecting to reach the senior squad but every phase you go through you’re persisting and you can see it getting closer. You get there but … you’re sent away.” He featured briefly in six matches in six games between his debut and that period. “Then I was sent to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. Several appearances with them and I suffered the ACL injury.
“It was a huge blow but In retrospect as a turning point because it made me change the perspective. Healing from a serious ailment is difficult, but it aids growth. You develop habits new to you. It’s not about neglect, but I did the sessions and then return home, typical youth behavior. At Lezama, all resources are available, so take full advantage. Practice, prevention. Get in the gym. With hip imbalance, work on that. With decent ankle function, enhance it further. All those ‘silly things’: perform them.
“In the first team you’re going to crash into players who have crashed into players 200,000 times. Extremely powerful. I look at photos of me before: my physique was slight. So what happens, happens. Present-day images and it’s totally different. Recovery revealed that. Practice concludes, but there’s more to do. Everyone else is ready, really ready; no exceptions.”
You also have to play. He left emotionally in that year, aged 23, dropping into the second division. During his Sabadell spell in 2020-21, he scored three times in numerous matches. With Amorebieta in the latter part of the season, the he found his form. “Players go through it: loans, terminated contracts. With a turnaround, effort, faith, and when eventually the requirement appears for your role, they might come back for you. Readiness is vital. When the opportunity came, it was a dream come true. Lifting the cup, European football, and reach the Champions League … pfff.”
Understandably he remarks this is to be enjoyed. Especially after last year which, on occasions, was about endurance. From top scorer with a high tally, last season he got seven in {15 games more|additional matches|
