‘All those little things – make sure you do them’: The striker’s road from rehabilitation to success with Athletic

Thehe initial occasion Gorka Guruzeta featured in English soil, an 18-year-old playing for the youth squad against Bundesliga youth at the English ground in fall 2015, he hit the target. On his next visit he played in the country, against the English side weeks after, he scored. His third outing, against Manchester City not long later, sure enough, he repeated the feat. As he revisited to the northwest to face United at Leigh’s ground in the 2017 season, he scored again. A spectacular strike, too. “Truly,” he says, “it’s one of the best goals I’ve ever scored.” So Athletic did what was necessary: they substituted him.

“I was furious,” the forward admits, before breaking into laughter. “There must be a video somewhere. Our match against United and I performed well. I wasn’t allowed to feature the latter period: I hadn’t yet signed deal, I was scoring goals, there were lots of rumours, you know how it is. I don’t know about Newcastle being interested, but I came across reports about Manchester United, the typical thing. It’s unclear how true it was, but supposing an offer came, my desire was to remain at Athletic. It’s a privilege.”

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At Lezama, Bilbao, the early training is set to begin; following that, the brief trip to Loiu and a further journey to the UK, now to face Newcastle in the European elite competition on midweek. Just saying those two words makes Guruzeta smile. It’s turning out to be a difficult season for the team, due in part to the pressures of being here. Beaten in added time in the local rivalry, they have secured just a single victory of their recent league fixtures and been defeated by Arsenal and the German side in the continental stage. However, look at the overall situation, the major occasions he’s experienced and future challenges, and he feels a calm gratitude about him.

In the 36 months since he had rejoined the team, Gorka has been a Europa League semi-finalist, prevented from reaching the showpiece event by United, and has boarded a decades-old barge along the Nervión river flanked by a huge crowd after securing the Spanish cup, the first title in four decades. Now he is the club’s leading marksman in the UCL, where they are distinctive and making their first appearance in a decade. “I never imagined this,” he says.

The player believed it difficult enough just to earn a spot and he was right. As the child of the one-time rival player Xabi Guruzeta and a dedicated fan at the team he now opposes, Gorka is a product of Antiguoko, the local academy that nurtured the coach, Xabi Alonso and the tactician. He signed for Athletic at seventeen but after his first-team bow in that summer, he went through a torn cruciate, being released, a relegation and a recall before he could finally secure an opportunity, returning at 26 to experience the peak of his career.

“Entering the youth system not expecting to reach the senior squad but each step you advance through you’re remaining and you can observe the approach. You make it and … you’re sent away.” He had limited game time in a handful of matches between his debut and that period. “Subsequently I returned to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. A few matches there and my knee gave way.

“It was a huge blow but I look back on it as a beneficial experience because it made me change the perspective. Recovering from a long-term injury is challenging, but it helps. You cultivate routines you didn’t have. Previously I was casual, but I did the sessions and then return home, typical youth behavior. At the complex, all resources are available, so utilize it all. Work, precaution. Hit the weights. With hip imbalance, work on that. With decent ankle function, enhance it further. Every small aspect: do them.

“In the first team you’re going to crash into players who have crashed into players countless occasions. They’re so strong. I look at photos of me before: I had slender legs. Thus incidents occur. Look at pictures of me now and it’s totally different. Recovery revealed that. Training finishes, but additional work remains. Everyone else is ready, really ready; no exceptions.”

Minutes are crucial. The striker moved in tears in the pandemic season, aged 23, moving to a lower level. During his Sabadell spell in 2020-21, he got three strikes in forty appearances. At Amorebieta in the latter part of the season, the scoring picked up. “Players go through it: transfers, releases. If you turn it round, effort, faith, and should the time come the requirement appears for your role, they might come back for you. You have to be ready. When the opportunity came, a fantasy realized. Lifting the cup, European football, and make the UCL … pfff.”

Little surprise he states savor the moment. All the more so after the previous season which, on occasions, was involved suffering. From top scorer with a high tally, he managed seven in {15 games more|additional matches|