‘Every minor detail – execute them’: The striker’s journey from injury table to scoring with Athletic
The debut appearance the Spanish forward competed in English soil, an 18-year-old representing Athletic Bilbao B against Bundesliga youth at Wycombe’s stadium in fall 2015, he found the net. The second time he played in British turf, against Sunderland two months later, he converted. The third time, against Manchester City six weeks after that, well, he did it once more. When he returned to Manchester to face United at Leigh’s ground in 2017, he did it once more. A spectacular strike, too. “Truly,” he remarks, “it ranks among my finest in my career.” Thus the club did what was necessary: they substituted him.
“I was furious,” the attacker admits, then chuckling. “I’m sure there’s footage. We traveled to face United and I performed well. They kept me out of the final 45 minutes: I hadn’t yet signed agreement, goals were flowing, speculation was rife, you know how it is. I don’t know about interest from Newcastle, but I recall seeing about Manchester United, standard transfer gossip. I have no idea the validity, but had they contacted me, I would have wanted to stay at Bilbao. It’s a privilege.”
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At Lezama, the city, the early training is ready to commence; after it, the short journey to Loiu airport and a further journey to Britain, this time to play Newcastle in the European elite competition on Wednesday. Mentioning that phrase brings a smile to his face. It’s turning out to be a challenging campaign 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 European competition. But, consider the broader view, the big nights he has lived and those that lie ahead, and a sense of thankful reflection within him.
In the the period since he had returned to the club, Gorka has been a Europa League semi-finalist, stopped at the gates a domestic final by United, and has boarded a decades-old barge through the waterway flanked by a million fans after lifting the trophy, the club’s first trophy in 40 years. Now he is Athletic’s top scorer in the Champions League, where they are distinctive and returning after absence in a long period. “This was beyond my dreams,” he says.
He considered it challenging enough just to make the first team and his assessment was correct. The son of the ex-La Real star his father and a dedicated fan at the team he now opposes, Gorka is from the Antiguoko academy, the San Sebastián club that nurtured Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso and the tactician. He signed for Athletic at seventeen but after his top-level debut in August 2018, he experienced a serious knee problem, the cut, a drop in category and a call back before he could truly get a chance, coming back aged 26 to experience the peak of their lives.
“You go into the academy doubting you’ll make the top level but each step you advance through you’re persisting and you can notice the proximity. You get there but … you’re sent away.” He featured briefly in six matches 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]. A few matches with them and my knee gave way.
“It was a huge blow but I reflect on it as a turning point because it forced me to alter the way I saw things. The rehabilitation process is challenging, but it aids growth. You adopt practices previously lacking. Previously I was casual, but I would go to training and then head home, typical youth behavior. At the complex, you have everything, so take full advantage. Work, precaution. Strength training. Should your hips be uneven, address that. With decent ankle function, make it a 12 or a 14. Every small aspect: do them.
“At the top level you’re going to crash into players who have experienced contact countless occasions. They’re so strong. Reviewing old images: my legs are chicken legs. So what happens, happens. Present-day images and it’s totally different. Injury made me see that. Training finishes, but there’s more to do. Peers are prepared, really ready; the same applies.”
You also have to play. Guruzeta departed in tears in 2020, at 23 years old, moving to a lower level. During his Sabadell spell in the 20-21 campaign, he scored three times in numerous matches. At Amorebieta in the following period, the he found his form. “Players go through it: loans, terminated contracts. If you turn it round, dedication, confidence, and if one day a vacancy arises in your position, recall is possible. Readiness is vital. When they decided to call again, a fantasy realized. To then win the Copa del Rey, play in Europe, and reach the Champions League … pfff.”
No wonder he says appreciate the experience. All the more so after last year which, at times, was about endurance. Previously the main threat with sixteen goals, his output dropped to seven in {15 games more|additional matches|