‘All those silly things – do them’: The striker’s journey from injury table to scoring with Athletic Bilbao
Thehe debut appearance the Spanish forward featured in the UK, an young playing for the reserve team against German opponents at the English ground in the 2015 season, he hit the target. The second time he took the field in the country, against Sunderland following that, he netted. His third outing, against Manchester City soon after, sure enough, he scored again. Upon his comeback to the northwest to take on Manchester United at Leigh’s ground in 2017, he found the back of the net. It was a superb volley, too. “Truly,” he remarks, “it ranks among my finest I’ve ever scored.” So Athletic did what was necessary: he was replaced.
“I became very upset,” the forward says, and then he starts laughing. “There must be a video somewhere. Our match against United and I performed well. They didn’t let me play the final 45 minutes: my contract wasn’t finalized deal, goals were flowing, many stories circulated, it’s typical. No confirmation on the Magpies’ pursuit, but I recall seeing about the Red Devils, the usual talk. I’m not certain the validity, but even if they had called, I’d have chosen to stay at Athletic. I feel lucky to be here.”
La Real relieve strain with extraordinary derby triumph
At the facility, Bilbao, the early training is set to begin; post-session, the brief trip to the airport and another trip to Britain, this time to face Newcastle in the UCL on Wednesday. Mentioning that phrase lights him up. It’s turning out to be a challenging campaign for Athletic, partly because of the pressures of competing at this level. Beaten in added time in the derby on Saturday, they have secured just a single victory of their past eight league games and lost against Arsenal and the German side in Europe. Yet, consider the broader view, the memorable evenings and upcoming events, and a sense of thankful reflection within him.
In the 36 months since he had returned to the club, the striker has been a final four contender in Europe, prevented from reaching the showpiece event by Manchester United, and has ridden an historic vessel up the Nervión estuary accompanied by countless supporters after lifting the trophy, the first title in 40 years. He’s now Athletic’s top scorer in the European competition, where they are distinctive and returning after absence in a decade. “I couldn’t have pictured this,” he states.
Guruzeta thought it hard enough just to break into the senior squad and he was right. Born to the one-time rival player the former professional and a season ticket holder at the team he now opposes, the forward is a product of Antiguoko, the Donostiarra team that nurtured the coach, Xabi Alonso and Andoni Iraola. He signed for Athletic at seventeen but after his first-team bow in August 2018, he went through a ACL injury, being released, a demotion and a call back before he could earn his place, making his comeback to enjoy the highlights of their lives.
“Joining the setup not expecting to reach the senior squad but with every stage you advance through you’re remaining and you can see it getting closer. You arrive and then … departure is necessary.” He had limited game time in six games between his bow and early 2019. “Then I was sent to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. Five, six games at that level and I suffered the ACL injury.
“It was a huge blow but I reflect on it as a turning point because it made me change the way I saw things. The rehabilitation process is difficult, but it’s beneficial. You adopt practices new to you. 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, you have everything, so do everything. Work, precaution. Hit the weights. If your hips aren’t balanced, work on that. If your ankles are a 10, enhance it further. All those ‘silly things’: perform them.
“At the top level you’re going to collide with opponents who have crashed into players 200,000 times. They’re so strong. Reviewing old images: I had slender legs. So what happens, happens. Present-day images and it’s totally different. Recovery revealed that. Training finishes, but additional work remains. Teammates are set, really ready; you have to be too.”
Minutes are crucial. The striker moved upset in that year, in his early twenties, joining the second tier. At Sabadell in the 20-21 campaign, he scored three times in 40 games. During his Amorebieta stint in the second half of 2021-22, the goals started to flow. “Players go through it: temporary moves, ended deals. If you turn it round, effort, faith, and if one day a vacancy arises where you play, they might come back for you. You have to be ready. Upon the recall, it was a dream come true. Lifting the cup, play in Europe, and reach the Champions League … pfff.”
Little surprise he states this is to be enjoyed. All the more so after last year which, on occasions, was involved suffering. After being leading scorer with a high tally, last season he got seven in {15 games more|additional matches|
