‘Every minor detail – execute them’: Guruzeta’s path from injury table to goals with Athletic Bilbao
Whenhe initial occasion the Athletic striker competed in England, an teenage playing for the reserve team against German opponents at the English ground in September 2015, he scored. On his next visit he took the field in the country, against the Black Cats weeks after, he converted. The third time, against Pep Guardiola’s team six weeks after that, sure enough, he did it once more. Upon his comeback to the city to take on Manchester United at the sports complex in 2017, he found the back of the net. It was a superb volley, as well. “Actually,” he says, “it’s one of the best goals I’ve netted.” So Athletic did what was necessary: they substituted him.
“I was furious,” the Athletic striker admits, then chuckling. “I’m sure there’s footage. We went to play United and I was pretty good. They kept me out of the final 45 minutes: I hadn’t yet signed deal, I kept finding the net, speculation was rife, you know how it is. I don’t know about interest from Newcastle, but I remember reading about Man United, the usual talk. I have no idea the validity, but supposing an offer came, I’d have chosen to stay at Bilbao. I’m fortunate to be here.”
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At Lezama, Bilbao, the morning session is about to start; post-session, the quick travel to Loiu airport and another trip to Britain, now to play Newcastle in the European elite competition on Wednesday. Uttering the name lights him up. It has become a tough year for the team, partially owing to the pressures of their participation. Defeated late on in the derby on Saturday, they have managed just one win of their last eight matches and lost against Arsenal and Dortmund in European competition. However, look at the overall situation, the big nights he has lived and future challenges, and there’s a kind of quiet appreciation within him.
In the 36 months since he had come back to Athletic, the striker has been a final four contender in Europe, prevented from reaching a final at home by Manchester United, and has boarded a decades-old barge up the Nervión estuary surrounded by a million fans after winning the Copa del Rey, the club’s first trophy in a long wait. He’s now Athletic’s top scorer in the UCL, where they are distinctive and making their first appearance in a decade. “This was beyond my dreams,” he admits.
Guruzeta thought it difficult enough just to make the first team and he was right. As the child of the one-time rival player his father and a regular attendee at the opposition side, the forward is from the Antiguoko academy, the local academy that nurtured Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso and the Bournemouth manager. He signed for Athletic at his teens but after his top-level debut in the 2018 season, he experienced a serious knee problem, the cut, a drop in category and a recall before he could finally secure an opportunity, coming back aged 26 to enjoy the highlights of their lives.
“Joining the setup not expecting to reach the first team but every phase you go through you’re remaining and you can observe the approach. You arrive and then … departure is necessary.” 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]. Five, six games with them and I tear my cruciate.
“It was a huge blow but I reflect on it as something positive because it made me change the way I saw things. The rehabilitation process is hard, but it helps. You adopt practices previously lacking. Previously I was casual, but I would go to training and then return home, like when you’re a kid. At Lezama, all resources are available, so take full advantage. Training, prehab. Strength training. With hip imbalance, address that. With decent ankle function, make it a 12 or a 14. All those ‘silly things’: perform them.
“In the first team you’re going to face physical challenges who have experienced contact 200,000 times. Highly robust. Seeing previous pictures: my physique was slight. Injuries are inevitable. Present-day images and it’s totally different. Recovery revealed that. Practice concludes, but additional work remains. Peers are prepared, really ready; no exceptions.”
You also have to play. Guruzeta departed emotionally in that year, aged 23, moving to a lower level. With Sabadell in 2020-21, he scored three times in forty appearances. With Amorebieta in the second half of 2021-22, the he found his form. “Players go through it: loans, terminated contracts. Should you reverse it, effort, faith, and if one day the requirement appears where you play, recall is possible. You have to be ready. When the opportunity came, it was a dream come true. To then win the Copa del Rey, European football, and reach the Champions League … pfff.”
Little surprise he states savor the moment. Especially after last year which, at times, was about endurance. After being leading scorer with 16 in 2023-24, last season he got seven in {15 games more|additional matches|
