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

Whenhe debut appearance Gorka Guruzeta competed in English soil, an teenage playing for the reserve team against German opponents at the English ground in the 2015 season, he hit the target. On his next visit he appeared in the country, against the English side weeks after, he netted. His third outing, against Pep Guardiola’s team not long later, indeed, he scored again. As he revisited to the city to face United at Leigh Sports Village in 2017, he did it once more. An excellent finish, as well. “In fact,” he states, “it ranks among my finest I’ve netted.” So Athletic did what they had to do: they took him off.

“I got well angry,” the forward says, then chuckling. “I’m sure there’s footage. Our match against United and I was in fine form. They kept me out of the latter period: my contract wasn’t finalized deal, I was scoring goals, there were lots of rumours, you know how it is. I don’t know about Newcastle being interested, but I remember reading about Man United, the typical thing. I have no idea if it was accurate, but supposing an offer came, I would have wanted to stay at Bilbao. I feel lucky to be here.”

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At Lezama, Bilbao, the morning session is about to start; post-session, the short journey to Loiu and another trip to England, now to face Newcastle in the UCL on midweek. Just saying those two words brings a smile to his face. It’s turning out to be a challenging campaign for Athletic, partly because of the requirements of being here. Beaten in added time in the weekend clash, they have secured just a single victory of their recent league fixtures and lost against Arsenal and Dortmund in European competition. Yet, take in the big picture, the big nights he has lived and those that lie ahead, and a sense of thankful reflection about him.

In the 36 months since he had come back to Athletic, Guruzeta has been a Europa League semi-finalist, denied at the last hurdle the showpiece event by United, and has ridden an historic vessel along the Nervión river accompanied by a million fans after lifting the trophy, the team’s initial silverware in four decades. Currently he stands as the club’s leading marksman in the European competition, where they are unique and making their first appearance in ten years. “I couldn’t have pictured this,” he says.

He considered it difficult enough just to earn a spot and he was right. As the child of the one-time rival player the former professional and a regular attendee at the opposition side, Guruzeta is from the Antiguoko academy, the local academy that nurtured Mikel Arteta, the former star and the tactician. He signed for Athletic at 17 but after his first-team bow in the 2018 season, he experienced a ACL injury, being released, a relegation and a return before he could truly get a chance, coming back aged 26 to live the best days of the club’s history.

“Joining the setup thinking you won’t reach the top level but with every stage you go through you’re still there and you can observe the approach. You get there but … you have to leave.” He played six, nine, five, one, four and 20 minutes in a handful of matches between his debut and that period. “Then I was sent to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. A few matches with them and I suffered the ACL injury.

“A severe disappointment but I look back on it as something positive because it forced me to alter the way I saw things. The rehabilitation process is challenging, but it’s beneficial. You cultivate routines new to you. Previously I was casual, but I attended practice and then head home, typical youth behavior. In the facility, facilities are comprehensive, so utilize it all. Training, prehab. Get in the gym. With hip imbalance, address that. If your ankles are a 10, improve it more. Every small aspect: do them.

“Among professionals you’re going to collide with opponents who have been in battles repeatedly. Highly robust. Seeing previous pictures: I had slender legs. Thus incidents occur. Current photos and it’s totally different. Recovery revealed that. Training finishes, but there’s more to do. Everyone else is ready, really ready; no exceptions.”

Game time is essential. He left emotionally in the pandemic season, in his early twenties, dropping into the second division. During his Sabadell spell in the 20-21 campaign, he scored three times in 40 games. With Amorebieta in the following period, the goals started to flow. “Many experience this: loans, terminated contracts. If you turn it round, work, believe, and when eventually the requirement appears for your role, they might come back for you. Preparation is key. Upon the recall, a fantasy realized. To then win the Copa del Rey, play in Europe, and make the UCL … pfff.”

Little surprise he states this is to be enjoyed. All the more so after last year which, at times, was about endurance. After being leading scorer with 16 in 2023-24, his output dropped to seven in {15 games more|additional matches|