‘All those little things – make sure you do them’: The striker’s journey from injury table to success with the Basque club

The first time the Spanish forward featured in England, an young appearing for the youth squad against German opponents at the English ground in the 2015 season, he found the net. On his next visit he appeared in British turf, against Sunderland weeks after, he scored. Another occasion, against Manchester City soon after, well, he repeated the feat. Upon his comeback to Manchester to take on Manchester United at the sports complex in that year, he scored again. It was a superb volley, as well. “Truly,” he remarks, “it ranks among my finest I’ve netted.” Therefore the team did what was necessary: they took him off.

“I became very upset,” the forward says, then chuckling. “I’m sure there’s footage. Our match against United and I performed well. They didn’t let me play the second half: my contract wasn’t finalized my contract, I kept finding the net, many stories circulated, as you’d expect. No confirmation on interest from Newcastle, but I recall seeing about Man United, the usual talk. It’s unclear the validity, but had they contacted me, I would have wanted to stay at Athletic. I feel lucky to be here.”

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At Lezama, Bilbao, the morning session is ready to commence; following that, the brief trip to Loiu airport and another trip to Britain, now to play Newcastle in the Champions League on midweek. Uttering the name lights him up. It has become a tough year for Athletic, due in part to the demands of their participation. Losing in stoppage time in the weekend clash, they have managed just one win of their past eight league games and lost against Arsenal and the German side in Europe. But, take in the big picture, the memorable evenings and those that lie ahead, and a sense of thankful reflection about him.

In the 36 months since he had rejoined the team, the striker has been a final four contender in Europe, denied at the last hurdle a final at home by United, and has traveled on a traditional boat through the waterway flanked by a huge crowd after securing the Spanish cup, the club’s first trophy in a long wait. Now he is the top goal-getter in the UCL, where they are countercultural and debuting in a long period. “I couldn’t have pictured this,” he admits.

Guruzeta thought it challenging enough just to earn a spot and that proved true. The son of the former Real Sociedad player the former professional and a dedicated fan at the club that are now his rivals, Gorka is from the Antiguoko academy, the local academy that developed Mikel Arteta, the former star and the Bournemouth manager. He joined Athletic at 17 but after making his senior debut in the 2018 season, he went through a serious knee problem, being released, a relegation and a return before he could earn his place, making his comeback to enjoy the highlights of the club’s history.

“Joining the setup doubting you’ll make the first team but with every stage you progress through you’re still there and you can observe the approach. You make it and … departure is necessary.” He featured briefly in six matches 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 my knee gave way.

“A massive setback but I look back on it as a beneficial experience because it shifted the way I saw things. Recovering from a long-term injury is difficult, but it’s beneficial. You adopt practices previously lacking. It’s not that you don’t look after yourself, but I did the sessions and then go home, like when you’re a kid. At the complex, you have everything, so do everything. Training, prehab. Get in the gym. With hip imbalance, correct it. If your ankles are a 10, enhance it further. All the minor details: execute them.

“Among professionals you’re going to collide with opponents who have crashed into players countless occasions. Highly robust. I look at photos of me before: I had slender legs. Injuries are inevitable. Present-day images and the improvement is clear. The setback taught me. Practice concludes, but further effort is needed. Teammates are set, really ready; the same applies.”

You also have to play. The striker moved upset in 2020, aged 23, moving to a lower level. During his Sabadell spell in the 20-21 campaign, he got three strikes in forty appearances. With Amorebieta in the latter part of the season, the scoring picked up. “Many experience this: transfers, releases. Should you reverse it, effort, faith, and if one day a vacancy arises in your position, recall is possible. You have to be ready. Upon the recall, an aspiration fulfilled. The trophy success, European football, and qualify for Europe’s top tier … pfff.”

Little surprise he states this is to be enjoyed. Especially after the previous season which, at times, was about endurance. After being leading scorer with a high tally, last season he got seven in {15 games more|additional matches|