‘Every minor detail – execute them’: The striker’s journey from gurney to goals with Athletic Bilbao
Whenhe initial occasion Gorka Guruzeta featured in the UK, an 18-year-old representing the reserve team against Bundesliga youth at the English ground in September 2015, he found the net. On his next visit he appeared in the country, against the Black Cats following that, he scored. The third time, against Pep Guardiola’s team not long later, indeed, he did it once more. Upon his comeback to Manchester to play against the Red Devils at Leigh Sports Village in the 2017 season, he did it once more. A spectacular strike, too. “Actually,” he says, “it’s a top-class goal I’ve netted.” Thus the club did what they had to do: they took him off.
“I got well angry,” the Athletic striker admits, before breaking into laughter. “There must be a video somewhere. Our match against United and I was pretty good. They didn’t let me play the latter period: I was without a signed agreement, I was scoring goals, many stories circulated, you know how it is. I’m unsure regarding the Magpies’ pursuit, but I remember reading about Manchester United, the typical thing. It’s unclear how true it was, but had they contacted me, I would have wanted to stay at the club. I feel lucky to be here.”
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At the training ground, the city, the morning session is ready to commence; following that, the brief trip to Loiu and a further journey to England, now to face Newcastle in the European elite competition on midweek. Just saying those two words makes Guruzeta smile. This is proving a tough year for Athletic, partially owing to the requirements of being here. Losing in stoppage time in the local rivalry, they have won only one of their past eight league games and fallen to the Gunners and Dortmund in European competition. Yet, take in the big picture, the big nights he has lived and future challenges, and a sense of thankful reflection about him.
In the 36 months since he had rejoined the team, Guruzeta has been a Europa League semi-finalist, prevented from reaching a final at home by United, and has traveled on a traditional boat up the Nervión estuary surrounded by a million fans after winning the Copa del Rey, the first title in a long wait. Now he is Athletic’s top scorer in the Champions League, where they are unique and returning after absence in ten years. “This was beyond my dreams,” he states.
The player believed it challenging enough just to earn a spot and he was right. As the child of the one-time rival player his father and a dedicated fan at the team he now opposes, Guruzeta is a graduate of Antiguoko, the San Sebastián club that developed the coach, Xabi Alonso and the Bournemouth manager. His move to Athletic came at seventeen but after his first-team bow in the 2018 season, he went through a torn cruciate, the cut, a relegation and a return before he could truly get a chance, making his comeback to experience the peak of their lives.
“You go into the academy thinking you won’t reach the top level but with every stage you progress through you’re persisting and you can observe the approach. You make it and … departure is necessary.” He had limited game time in six games between his first game and early 2019. “Subsequently I returned to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. A few matches there and I suffered the ACL injury.
“A severe disappointment but I reflect on it as a beneficial experience because it forced me to alter the outlook. Healing from a serious ailment is difficult, but it aids growth. You cultivate routines previously lacking. It’s not about neglect, but I would go to training and then head home, typical youth behavior. At Lezama, all resources are available, so do everything. Work, precaution. Strength training. With hip imbalance, correct it. If your ankles are a 10, enhance it further. All the minor details: execute them.
“At the top level you’re going to collide with opponents who have crashed into players countless occasions. Highly robust. Seeing previous pictures: I had slender legs. Injuries are inevitable. Current photos and the improvement is clear. The setback taught me. Practice concludes, but further effort is needed. Teammates are set, really ready; you have to be too.”
You also have to play. Guruzeta departed upset in that year, in his early twenties, dropping into the second division. At Sabadell in the 20-21 campaign, he scored three times in forty appearances. During his Amorebieta stint in the latter part of the season, the he found his form. “Players go through it: loans, terminated contracts. With a turnaround, dedication, confidence, and if one day a vacancy arises where you play, recall is possible. You have to be ready. When they decided to call again, a fantasy realized. To then win the Copa del Rey, play in Europe, and make the UCL … pfff.”
Understandably he remarks savor the moment. Especially after the previous season which, on occasions, was focused on persistence. From top scorer with sixteen goals, last season he got seven in {15 games more|additional matches|
