‘Every minor detail – execute them’: The striker’s path from rehabilitation to success with Athletic Bilbao

Thehe initial occasion Gorka Guruzeta competed in English soil, an 18-year-old playing for the youth squad against German opponents at Wycombe’s stadium in fall 2015, he found the net. The second time he took the field in England, against the Black Cats weeks after, he netted. The third time, against Pep Guardiola’s team soon after, well, he repeated the feat. Upon his comeback to the northwest to take on Manchester United at Leigh’s ground in that year, he scored again. It was a superb volley, as well. “Actually,” he remarks, “it’s a top-class goal I’ve netted.” Therefore the team did their duty: he was replaced.

“I got well angry,” the Athletic striker says, and then he starts laughing. “I’m sure there’s footage. We traveled to face United and I was in fine form. They didn’t let me play the latter period: my contract wasn’t finalized agreement, goals were flowing, there were lots of rumours, it’s typical. I don’t know about Newcastle being interested, but I remember reading about Manchester United, standard transfer gossip. I have no idea the validity, but even if they had called, my desire was to remain at the club. I feel lucky to be here.”

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At Lezama, the Basque Country, the day’s first practice is ready to commence; following that, the brief trip to Loiu airport and a further journey to Britain, this time to play Newcastle in the UCL on Wednesday. Just saying those two words brings a smile to his face. It’s turning out to be a difficult season for the club, partly because of the requirements of being here. Losing in stoppage time in the local rivalry, they have managed just one win of their past eight league games and lost against Arsenal and the German side in Europe. Yet, take in the big picture, the major occasions he’s experienced and those that lie ahead, and he feels a calm gratitude about him.

In the the period since he had come back to Athletic, Guruzeta has been a Europa League semi-finalist, stopped at the gates the showpiece event by Manchester United, and has traveled on a traditional boat up the Nervión estuary surrounded by countless supporters after winning the Copa del Rey, the club’s first trophy in four decades. Now he is Athletic’s top scorer in the Champions League, where they are distinctive and returning after absence in a long period. “I never imagined this,” he admits.

He considered it challenging enough just to break into the senior squad and he was right. As the child of the ex-La Real star Xabi Guruzeta and a regular attendee at the team he now opposes, the forward is a product of Antiguoko, the local academy that nurtured Mikel Arteta, the legendary midfielder and the tactician. He joined Athletic at his teens but after making his senior debut in that summer, he went through a torn cruciate, the cut, a relegation and a call back before he could finally secure an opportunity, coming back aged 26 to live the best days of the club’s history.

“Joining the setup doubting you’ll make the first team but every phase you go through you’re persisting and you can see it getting closer. You get there but … you’re sent away.” He played six, nine, five, one, four and 20 minutes in six games between his bow and that period. “And then I go back down to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. A few matches there and my knee gave way.

“A severe disappointment but I reflect on it as a turning point because it forced me to alter the outlook. Healing from a serious ailment is difficult, but it helps. You cultivate routines you didn’t have. It’s not that you don’t look after yourself, but I would go to training and then go home, as a youngster does. At Lezama, facilities are comprehensive, so utilize it all. Work, precaution. Get in the gym. If your hips aren’t balanced, address that. Assuming ankle mobility is good, improve it more. Every small aspect: execute them.

“In the first team you’re going to crash into players who have experienced contact 200,000 times. Highly robust. Seeing previous pictures: my physique was slight. Thus incidents occur. Present-day images and the improvement is clear. The setback taught me. Practice concludes, but there’s more to do. Teammates are set, really ready; no exceptions.”

You also have to play. The striker moved in tears in that year, aged 23, moving to a lower level. At Sabadell in 2020-21, he netted three goals in forty appearances. With Amorebieta in the second half of 2021-22, the goals started to flow. “Players go through it: temporary moves, ended deals. With a turnaround, work, believe, and if one day they need someone where you play, they might come back for you. Readiness is vital. When the opportunity came, an aspiration fulfilled. The trophy success, European football, and reach the Champions League … pfff.”

Understandably he remarks this is to be enjoyed. All the more so after the prior campaign which, sometimes, was involved suffering. After being leading scorer with a high tally, last season he got seven in {15 games more|additional matches|