‘All those silly things – do them’: Guruzeta’s journey from gurney to success with Athletic Bilbao

Thehe initial occasion the Athletic striker featured in the UK, an young playing for the youth squad against Borussia Mönchengladbach Under-23s at Adams Park in the 2015 season, he found the net. The second time he appeared in England, against Sunderland two months later, he scored. The third time, against Pep Guardiola’s team not long later, well, he scored again. Upon his comeback to the northwest to face United at Leigh’s ground in 2017, he did it once more. A spectacular strike, as well. “In fact,” he remarks, “it’s one of the best goals I’ve ever scored.” So Athletic did what they had to do: they took him off.

“I got well angry,” the Athletic striker reveals, before breaking into laughter. “I’m sure there’s footage. We traveled to face United and I was pretty good. They didn’t let me play the second half: I was without a signed my contract, I was scoring goals, many stories circulated, you know how it is. I don’t know about Newcastle being interested, but I remember reading about Man United, the typical thing. It’s unclear how true it was, but even if they had called, I would have wanted to stay at Bilbao. It’s a privilege.”

Real Sociedad ease tension with bizarre win in unique Basque clash

At the facility, the city, the morning session is about to start; after it, the quick travel to Loiu airport and another trip to Britain, this time to face Newcastle in the UCL on Wednesday. Uttering the name brings a smile to his face. It’s turning out to be a tough year for Athletic, partially owing to the requirements of their participation. Beaten in added time in the local rivalry, they have managed just one win of their recent league fixtures and been defeated by Arsenal and the German side in European competition. But, look at the overall situation, the major occasions he’s experienced and upcoming events, and there’s a kind of quiet appreciation from him.

In the three years since he had rejoined the team, Guruzeta has been a semi-final participant, denied at the last hurdle a final at home by the English giants, and has boarded a decades-old barge through the waterway surrounded by a huge crowd after lifting the trophy, the club’s first trophy in four decades. He’s now Athletic’s top scorer in the UCL, where they are countercultural and debuting in a decade. “I never imagined this,” he says.

He considered it difficult enough just to break into the senior squad and his assessment was correct. Born to the one-time rival player the former professional and a regular attendee at the opposition side, Guruzeta is from the Antiguoko academy, the San Sebastián club that developed the coach, the former star and Andoni Iraola. He joined Athletic at 17 but after his top-level debut in the 2018 season, he went through a torn cruciate, dropped, a drop in category and a call back before he could truly get a chance, making his comeback to experience the peak of his career.

“Joining the setup doubting you’ll make the senior squad but each step you progress through you’re remaining and you can see it getting closer. You get there but … you have to leave.” He played six, nine, five, one, four and 20 minutes in six games between his debut and February 2019. “Then I was sent to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. A few matches at that level and I suffered the ACL injury.

“A severe disappointment but In retrospect as something positive because it forced me to alter the way I saw things. Healing from a serious ailment is hard, but it’s beneficial. You adopt practices new to you. It’s not that you don’t look after yourself, but I would go to training and then go home, like when you’re a kid. At Lezama, you have everything, so utilize it all. Work, precaution. Strength training. If your hips aren’t balanced, correct it. With decent ankle function, make it a 12 or a 14. All those ‘silly things’: execute them.

“In the first team you’re going to collide with opponents who have crashed into players 200,000 times. They’re so strong. I look at photos of me before: my legs are chicken legs. Thus incidents occur. Current photos and the change is dramatic. Recovery revealed that. Sessions end, but additional work remains. Everyone else is ready, really ready; you have to be too.”

Minutes are crucial. The striker moved upset in 2020, in his early twenties, joining the second tier. During his Sabadell spell in 2020-21, he netted three goals in 40 games. With Amorebieta in the second half of 2021-22, the he found his form. “Players go through it: loans, terminated contracts. With a turnaround, effort, faith, and should the time come a vacancy arises in your position, they might come back for you. You have to be ready. Upon the recall, a fantasy realized. Lifting the cup, play in Europe, and make the UCL … pfff.”

Understandably he remarks savor the moment. Especially after the previous season which, sometimes, was involved suffering. From top scorer with 16 in 2023-24, his output dropped to seven in {15 games more|additional matches|