‘All those silly things – do them’: The striker’s journey from gurney to scoring with Athletic Bilbao
The initial occasion the Spanish forward featured in English soil, an 18-year-old representing the reserve team against Borussia Mönchengladbach Under-23s at Adams Park in fall 2015, he found the net. On his next visit he played in England, against Sunderland following that, he scored. Another occasion, against Manchester City six weeks after that, sure enough, he scored again. When he returned to the city to play against the Red Devils at the sports complex in that year, he found the back of the net. It was a superb volley, as well. “Actually,” he remarks, “it’s one of the best goals in my career.” So Athletic did their duty: they took him off.
“I got well angry,” the forward reveals, and then he starts laughing. “Probably there’s a recording. We traveled to face United and I was in fine form. They kept me out of the second half: my contract wasn’t finalized agreement, I kept finding the net, there were lots of rumours, you know how it is. I don’t know about Newcastle being interested, but I came across reports about the Red Devils, standard transfer gossip. I’m not certain if it was accurate, but had they contacted me, I’d have chosen to stay at Bilbao. I’m fortunate to be here.”
Real Sociedad ease tension with bizarre win in unique Basque clash
At the training ground, the Basque Country, the early training is ready to commence; post-session, the quick travel to Loiu airport and another trip to the UK, this time to play Newcastle in the European elite competition on Wednesday. Just saying those two words lights him up. This is proving a tough year for Athletic, partly because of the demands of competing at this level. Beaten in added time in the local rivalry, they have won only one of their past eight league games and been defeated by Arsenal and the German side in Europe. But, take in the big picture, the big nights he has lived and future challenges, and a sense of thankful reflection from him.
In the 36 months since he had rejoined the team, Gorka has been a Europa League semi-finalist, stopped at the gates a final at home by United, and has ridden an historic vessel through the waterway flanked by a huge crowd after winning the Copa del Rey, the team’s initial silverware in four decades. Currently he stands as the top goal-getter in the Champions League, where they are countercultural and returning after absence in a decade. “I couldn’t have pictured this,” he says.
Guruzeta thought it hard enough just to make the first team and that proved true. As the child of the one-time rival player his father and a dedicated fan at the club that are now his rivals, Gorka is a product of Antiguoko, the local academy that developed the Arsenal manager, the legendary midfielder and the Bournemouth manager. He joined Athletic at seventeen but after his top-level debut in that summer, he suffered a torn cruciate, the cut, a relegation and a recall before he could truly get a chance, making his comeback to live the best days of the club’s history.
“You go into the academy thinking you won’t reach the first team but each step you go through you’re remaining and you can observe the approach. You arrive and then … departure is necessary.” He featured briefly in six matches in six games between his first game and February 2019. “Subsequently I returned to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. Five, six games with them and I tear my cruciate.
“A massive setback but In retrospect as a turning point because it shifted the way I saw things. Healing from a serious ailment is hard, but it aids growth. You develop habits previously lacking. Previously I was casual, but I would go to training and then head home, typical youth behavior. In the facility, facilities are comprehensive, so take full advantage. Practice, prevention. Get in the gym. If your hips aren’t balanced, correct it. Assuming ankle mobility is good, improve it more. All the minor details: execute them.
“Among professionals you’re going to collide with opponents who have experienced contact countless occasions. Highly robust. Reviewing old images: my legs are chicken legs. Thus incidents occur. Look at pictures of me now and the improvement is clear. Injury made me see that. Practice concludes, but additional work remains. Everyone else is ready, really ready; you have to be too.”
Game time is essential. The striker moved in tears in the pandemic season, aged 23, joining the second tier. At Sabadell in that season, he scored three times in forty appearances. At Amorebieta in the following period, the scoring picked up. “It’s a common path: temporary moves, ended deals. Should you reverse it, effort, faith, and when eventually they need someone where you play, a return could happen. Readiness is vital. When the opportunity came, an aspiration fulfilled. Lifting the cup, play in Europe, and make the UCL … pfff.”
No wonder he says this is to be enjoyed. All the more so after the prior campaign which, on occasions, was involved suffering. From top scorer with 16 in 2023-24, he managed seven in {15 games more|additional matches|
