‘All those silly things – do them’: Guruzeta’s road from rehabilitation to scoring with Athletic Bilbao

The initial occasion Gorka Guruzeta played in England, an teenage representing Athletic Bilbao B against German opponents at Adams Park in the 2015 season, he found the net. The second time he took the field in British turf, against Sunderland weeks after, he netted. His third outing, against Pep Guardiola’s team six weeks after that, well, he repeated the feat. As he revisited to the northwest to play against the Red Devils at Leigh’s ground in 2017, he found the back of the net. An excellent finish, as well. “Truly,” he says, “it’s one of the best goals in my career.” So Athletic did their duty: they took him off.

“I became very upset,” the forward says, and then he starts laughing. “There must be a video somewhere. We went to play United and I was in fine form. They didn’t let me play the final 45 minutes: I hadn’t yet signed my contract, I kept finding the net, many stories circulated, it’s typical. No confirmation on the Magpies’ pursuit, but I remember reading about Manchester United, standard transfer gossip. 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 the training ground, Bilbao, the morning session is set to begin; after it, the short journey to the airport and another trip 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 difficult season for the club, partially owing to the requirements of competing at this level. Defeated late on in the weekend clash, they have won only one of their recent league fixtures and been defeated by Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund in European competition. But, take in the big picture, the memorable evenings and those that lie ahead, and there’s a kind of quiet appreciation within him.

In the three years since he had returned to the club, the striker has been a Europa League semi-finalist, stopped at the gates the showpiece event by United, and has ridden an historic vessel up the Nervión estuary accompanied by countless supporters after winning the Copa del Rey, the team’s initial silverware in four decades. He’s now Athletic’s top scorer in the European competition, where they are distinctive and returning after absence in ten years. “I never imagined this,” he admits.

He considered it challenging enough just to earn a spot and his assessment was correct. As the child of the one-time rival player Xabi Guruzeta and a regular attendee at the club that are now his rivals, the forward is from the Antiguoko academy, the local academy that nurtured the coach, Xabi Alonso and the Bournemouth manager. He joined Athletic at seventeen but after his first-team bow in that summer, he went through a torn cruciate, being released, a drop in category and a call back before he could earn his place, returning at 26 to live the best days of their lives.

“Entering the youth system not expecting to reach the first team but each step you advance through you’re still there and you can see it getting closer. You arrive and then … you have to leave.” He had limited game time in a handful of matches between his debut and February 2019. “And then I go back down to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. Five, six games at that level and I suffered the ACL injury.

“A severe disappointment but I reflect on it as a beneficial experience because it shifted the perspective. The rehabilitation process is difficult, but it aids growth. You develop habits new to you. Previously I was casual, but I did the sessions and then return home, typical youth behavior. At the complex, you have everything, so utilize it all. Work, precaution. Get in the gym. With hip imbalance, address that. If your ankles are a 10, improve it more. Every small aspect: do them.

“At the top level you’re going to crash into players who have experienced contact 200,000 times. They’re so strong. I look at photos of me before: my legs are chicken legs. Injuries are inevitable. Present-day images and the change is dramatic. Injury made me see that. Training finishes, but there’s more to do. Teammates are set, really ready; the same applies.”

You also have to play. He left upset in that year, at 23 years old, dropping into the second division. With Sabadell in that season, he scored three times in 40 games. With Amorebieta in the following period, the goals started to flow. “Many experience this: loans, terminated contracts. Should you reverse it, effort, faith, and if one day they need someone where you play, a return could happen. Preparation is key. Upon the recall, an aspiration fulfilled. The trophy success, European football, and make the UCL … pfff.”

Understandably he remarks savor the moment. All the more so after last year which, sometimes, was about endurance. From top scorer with 16 in 2023-24, last season he got seven in {15 games more|additional matches|