🔗 Share this article ‘All those silly things – do them’: Guruzeta’s journey from injury table to scoring with the Basque club The first time the Spanish forward competed in England, an 18-year-old appearing for Athletic Bilbao B against German opponents at Adams Park in September 2015, he hit the target. During his subsequent match he appeared in the country, against the English side following that, he netted. His third outing, against the Citizens soon after, sure enough, he scored again. Upon his comeback to the city to play against the Red Devils at the sports complex in 2017, he found the back of the net. A spectacular strike, as well. “Truly,” he states, “it’s a top-class goal I’ve netted.” Therefore the team did their duty: they took him off. “I was furious,” the forward says, and then he starts laughing. “I’m sure there’s footage. Our match against United and I performed well. I wasn’t allowed to feature the final 45 minutes: I hadn’t yet signed my contract, I kept finding the net, many stories circulated, you know how it is. No confirmation on the Magpies’ pursuit, but I recall seeing about Man United, the typical thing. I have no idea the validity, but even if they had called, I would have wanted to stay at Athletic. It’s a privilege.” La Real relieve strain with extraordinary derby triumph At the training ground, the Basque Country, the early training is set to begin; after it, the brief trip to Loiu airport and a further journey to Britain, on this occasion to take on the Magpies in the UCL on the upcoming match. Just saying those two words lights him up. It has become a tough year for the team, due in part to the demands of their participation. Beaten in added time in the local rivalry, they have secured just a single victory of their past eight league games and lost against Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund in the continental stage. Yet, consider the broader view, the major occasions he’s experienced and future challenges, and a sense of thankful reflection about him. In the 36 months since he had returned to the club, the striker has been a Europa League semi-finalist, stopped at the gates the showpiece event by Manchester United, and has ridden an historic vessel up the Nervión estuary accompanied by a huge crowd after securing the Spanish cup, the club’s first trophy in four decades. Currently he stands as Athletic’s top scorer in the European competition, where they are distinctive and debuting in a decade. “I couldn’t have pictured this,” he says. The player believed it challenging enough just to earn a spot and he was right. The son of the former Real Sociedad player the former professional and a season ticket holder at the club that are now his rivals, Gorka is from the Antiguoko academy, the Donostiarra team that developed the coach, Xabi Alonso and the Bournemouth manager. His move to Athletic came at seventeen but after his first-team bow in that summer, he suffered a torn cruciate, dropped, a relegation and a return before he could finally secure an opportunity, coming back aged 26 to enjoy the highlights of their lives. Gorka Guruzeta aims to take on Newcastle in the UCL. “Joining the setup doubting you’ll make the first team but with every stage you go through you’re still there and you can see it getting closer. You get there but … departure is necessary.” He featured briefly in six matches in a handful of matches between his first game and early 2019. “Subsequently I returned to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. Several appearances there and I suffered the ACL injury. “It was a huge blow but I look back on it as a beneficial experience because it shifted the way I saw things. Recovering from a long-term injury is hard, but it helps. You cultivate routines you didn’t have. It’s not about neglect, but I would go to training and then go home, as a youngster does. At Lezama, you have everything, so do everything. Training, prehab. Strength training. With hip imbalance, correct it. Assuming ankle mobility is good, improve it more. Every small aspect: perform them. “In the first team you’re going to collide with opponents who have experienced contact countless occasions. Highly robust. Reviewing old images: my legs are chicken legs. Injuries are inevitable. Look at pictures of me now and the improvement is clear. Injury made me see that. Sessions end, but there’s more to do. Teammates are set, really ready; the same applies.” Game time is essential. He left emotionally in 2020, aged 23, dropping into the second division. At Sabadell in that season, he scored three times in 40 games. With Amorebieta in the latter part of the season, the he found his form. “Many experience this: transfers, releases. With a turnaround, effort, faith, and when eventually a vacancy arises for your role, a return could happen. Readiness is vital. When the opportunity came, a fantasy realized. The trophy success, compete continentally, and qualify for Europe’s top tier … pfff.” No wonder he says this is to be enjoyed. All the more so after the prior campaign which, sometimes, was involved suffering. After being leading scorer with 16 in 2023-24, his output dropped to seven in {15 games more|additional matches|
The first time the Spanish forward competed in England, an 18-year-old appearing for Athletic Bilbao B against German opponents at Adams Park in September 2015, he hit the target. During his subsequent match he appeared in the country, against the English side following that, he netted. His third outing, against the Citizens soon after, sure enough, he scored again. Upon his comeback to the city to play against the Red Devils at the sports complex in 2017, he found the back of the net. A spectacular strike, as well. “Truly,” he states, “it’s a top-class goal I’ve netted.” Therefore the team did their duty: they took him off. “I was furious,” the forward says, and then he starts laughing. “I’m sure there’s footage. Our match against United and I performed well. I wasn’t allowed to feature the final 45 minutes: I hadn’t yet signed my contract, I kept finding the net, many stories circulated, you know how it is. No confirmation on the Magpies’ pursuit, but I recall seeing about Man United, the typical thing. I have no idea the validity, but even if they had called, I would have wanted to stay at Athletic. It’s a privilege.” La Real relieve strain with extraordinary derby triumph At the training ground, the Basque Country, the early training is set to begin; after it, the brief trip to Loiu airport and a further journey to Britain, on this occasion to take on the Magpies in the UCL on the upcoming match. Just saying those two words lights him up. It has become a tough year for the team, due in part to the demands of their participation. Beaten in added time in the local rivalry, they have secured just a single victory of their past eight league games and lost against Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund in the continental stage. Yet, consider the broader view, the major occasions he’s experienced and future challenges, and a sense of thankful reflection about him. In the 36 months since he had returned to the club, the striker has been a Europa League semi-finalist, stopped at the gates the showpiece event by Manchester United, and has ridden an historic vessel up the Nervión estuary accompanied by a huge crowd after securing the Spanish cup, the club’s first trophy in four decades. Currently he stands as Athletic’s top scorer in the European competition, where they are distinctive and debuting in a decade. “I couldn’t have pictured this,” he says. The player believed it challenging enough just to earn a spot and he was right. The son of the former Real Sociedad player the former professional and a season ticket holder at the club that are now his rivals, Gorka is from the Antiguoko academy, the Donostiarra team that developed the coach, Xabi Alonso and the Bournemouth manager. His move to Athletic came at seventeen but after his first-team bow in that summer, he suffered a torn cruciate, dropped, a relegation and a return before he could finally secure an opportunity, coming back aged 26 to enjoy the highlights of their lives. Gorka Guruzeta aims to take on Newcastle in the UCL. “Joining the setup doubting you’ll make the first team but with every stage you go through you’re still there and you can see it getting closer. You get there but … departure is necessary.” He featured briefly in six matches in a handful of matches between his first game and early 2019. “Subsequently I returned to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. Several appearances there and I suffered the ACL injury. “It was a huge blow but I look back on it as a beneficial experience because it shifted the way I saw things. Recovering from a long-term injury is hard, but it helps. You cultivate routines you didn’t have. It’s not about neglect, but I would go to training and then go home, as a youngster does. At Lezama, you have everything, so do everything. Training, prehab. Strength training. With hip imbalance, correct it. Assuming ankle mobility is good, improve it more. Every small aspect: perform them. “In the first team you’re going to collide with opponents who have experienced contact countless occasions. Highly robust. Reviewing old images: my legs are chicken legs. Injuries are inevitable. Look at pictures of me now and the improvement is clear. Injury made me see that. Sessions end, but there’s more to do. Teammates are set, really ready; the same applies.” Game time is essential. He left emotionally in 2020, aged 23, dropping into the second division. At Sabadell in that season, he scored three times in 40 games. With Amorebieta in the latter part of the season, the he found his form. “Many experience this: transfers, releases. With a turnaround, effort, faith, and when eventually a vacancy arises for your role, a return could happen. Readiness is vital. When the opportunity came, a fantasy realized. The trophy success, compete continentally, and qualify for Europe’s top tier … pfff.” No wonder he says this is to be enjoyed. All the more so after the prior campaign which, sometimes, was involved suffering. After being leading scorer with 16 in 2023-24, his output dropped to seven in {15 games more|additional matches|