‘All those silly things – do them’: The striker’s journey from rehabilitation to scoring with Athletic Bilbao
Thehe initial occasion Gorka Guruzeta played in English soil, an young playing for the reserve team against Borussia Mönchengladbach Under-23s at Wycombe’s stadium in September 2015, he hit the target. The second time he took the field in British turf, against Sunderland weeks after, he netted. The third time, against the Citizens six weeks after that, well, he repeated the feat. Upon his comeback to Manchester to take on Manchester United at the sports complex in the 2017 season, he found the back of the net. A spectacular strike, as well. “Actually,” he says, “it’s a top-class goal I’ve ever scored.” Thus the club did their duty: they substituted him.
“I became very upset,” the attacker says, before breaking into laughter. “There must be a video somewhere. Our match against United and I was pretty good. They kept me out of the latter period: I was without a signed agreement, I kept finding the net, many stories circulated, as you’d expect. I’m unsure regarding Newcastle being interested, but I recall seeing about Man United, the usual talk. It’s unclear if it was accurate, but had they contacted me, my desire was to remain at Athletic. I’m fortunate to be here.”
Real Sociedad release pressure with surreal victory in Basque derby like no other
At Lezama, the city, the early training is about to start; following that, the short journey to the airport and another trip to England, this time to take on the Magpies in the Champions League on the upcoming match. Uttering the name lights him up. This is proving a challenging campaign for the team, due in part to the pressures of being here. Defeated late on 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 memorable evenings and future challenges, and a sense of thankful reflection from him.
In the the period since he had rejoined the team, Gorka has been a semi-final participant, prevented from reaching the showpiece event by the English giants, and has traveled on a traditional boat along the Nervión river flanked by a million fans after securing the Spanish cup, the team’s initial silverware in a long wait. Currently he stands as the top goal-getter in the UCL, where they are distinctive and debuting in a long period. “I couldn’t have pictured this,” he admits.
He considered it challenging enough just to make the first team and he was right. As the child of the former Real Sociedad player Xabi Guruzeta and a season ticket holder at the opposition side, Guruzeta is a graduate of Antiguoko, the local academy that developed the Arsenal manager, the legendary midfielder and the tactician. He signed for Athletic at 17 but after his top-level debut in August 2018, he went through a serious knee problem, being released, a demotion and a call back before he could earn his place, coming back aged 26 to live the best days of the club’s history.
“Joining the setup doubting you’ll make the senior squad but every phase you advance through you’re remaining and you can observe the approach. You arrive and then … departure is necessary.” He played six, nine, five, one, four and 20 minutes in a handful of matches between his first game and that period. “Subsequently I returned to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. A few matches there and I suffered the ACL injury.
“A massive setback but I look back on it as something positive because it forced me to alter the perspective. Healing from a serious ailment is hard, but it aids growth. You develop habits new to you. It’s not that you don’t look after yourself, but I attended practice and then go home, like when you’re a kid. In the facility, facilities are comprehensive, so do everything. Practice, prevention. Get in the gym. Should your hips be uneven, address that. Assuming ankle mobility is good, 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 countless occasions. Highly robust. Seeing previous pictures: I had slender legs. Thus incidents occur. Present-day images and the improvement is clear. Recovery revealed that. Practice concludes, but there’s more to do. Everyone else is ready, really ready; no exceptions.”
You also have to play. The striker moved in tears in the pandemic season, in his early twenties, moving to a lower level. At Sabadell in 2020-21, he netted three goals in numerous matches. At Amorebieta in the second half of 2021-22, the scoring picked up. “Players go through it: loans, terminated contracts. Should you reverse it, effort, faith, and when eventually they need someone in your position, a return could happen. Preparation is key. When they decided to call again, a fantasy realized. Lifting the cup, European football, and make the UCL … pfff.”
Understandably he remarks this is to be enjoyed. Particularly after the prior campaign which, at times, was focused on persistence. After being leading scorer with 16 in 2023-24, his output dropped to seven in {15 games more|additional matches|
