‘Every minor detail – execute them’: Guruzeta’s road from injury table to success with the Basque club

The initial occasion the Athletic striker competed in England, an teenage playing for Athletic Bilbao B against Bundesliga youth at Wycombe’s stadium in September 2015, he found the net. On his next visit he appeared in England, against the Black Cats two months later, he converted. His third outing, against Pep Guardiola’s team not long later, sure enough, he scored again. Upon his comeback to the city to face United at Leigh Sports Village in 2017, he found the back of the net. A spectacular strike, also. “Actually,” he remarks, “it’s a top-class goal I’ve ever scored.” Therefore the team did what was necessary: they substituted him.

“I got well angry,” the Athletic striker reveals, then chuckling. “I’m sure there’s footage. We traveled to face United and I was pretty good. They didn’t let me play the latter period: I hadn’t yet signed agreement, I was scoring goals, there were lots of rumours, you know how it is. I don’t know about the Magpies’ pursuit, but I came across reports about Manchester United, the usual talk. It’s unclear if it was accurate, but had they contacted me, I would have wanted to stay at Bilbao. It’s a privilege.”

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At the training ground, the city, the morning session is set to begin; post-session, the short journey to the airport and another flight to Britain, on this occasion to play Newcastle in the UCL on Wednesday. Mentioning that phrase makes Guruzeta smile. This is proving a challenging campaign for Athletic, due in part to the pressures of their participation. Beaten in added time in the derby on Saturday, they have managed just one win of their recent league fixtures and fallen to the Gunners and Borussia Dortmund in Europe. Yet, look at the overall situation, the major occasions he’s experienced and those that lie ahead, and he feels a calm gratitude about him.

In the the period since he had returned to the club, Guruzeta has been a Europa League semi-finalist, denied at the last hurdle a final at home by Manchester United, and has ridden an historic vessel through the waterway accompanied by a million fans after securing the Spanish cup, the club’s first trophy in four decades. Now he is the club’s leading marksman in the Champions League, where they are unique and making their first appearance in a long period. “I never imagined this,” he admits.

He considered it hard enough just to break into the senior squad and he was right. The son of the former Real Sociedad player Xabi Guruzeta and a dedicated fan at the opposition side, Guruzeta is a graduate of Antiguoko, the San Sebastián club that developed Mikel Arteta, the former star and the Bournemouth manager. His move to Athletic came at his teens but after making his senior debut in August 2018, he experienced a torn cruciate, being released, a demotion and a recall before he could earn his place, making his comeback to live the best days of the club’s history.

“Entering the youth system thinking you won’t reach the first team but with every stage you go through you’re persisting and you can notice the proximity. You get there but … you’re sent away.” He had limited game time in a handful of matches between his first game and early 2019. “Subsequently I returned to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. Several appearances with them and I tear my cruciate.

“A massive setback but I reflect on it as something positive because it shifted the perspective. Healing from a serious ailment is difficult, but it helps. You cultivate routines new to you. It’s not about neglect, but I would go to training and then return home, typical youth behavior. At the complex, all resources are available, so take full advantage. Work, precaution. Get in the gym. With hip imbalance, work on that. If your ankles are a 10, make it a 12 or a 14. All the minor details: do them.

“In the first team you’re going to crash into players who have experienced contact repeatedly. Extremely powerful. Reviewing old images: my legs are chicken legs. Injuries are inevitable. Present-day images and the change is dramatic. Recovery revealed that. Practice concludes, but there’s more to do. Everyone else is ready, really ready; you have to be too.”

You also have to play. The striker moved upset in that year, at 23 years old, dropping into the second division. At Sabadell in the 20-21 campaign, he scored three times in 40 games. At Amorebieta in the following period, the goals started to flow. “Many experience this: transfers, releases. If you turn it round, dedication, confidence, and if one day the requirement appears in your position, a return could happen. Preparation is key. When the opportunity came, an aspiration fulfilled. Lifting the cup, European football, and qualify for Europe’s top tier … pfff.”

No wonder he says appreciate the experience. All the more so after the prior campaign which, sometimes, was involved suffering. Previously the main threat with a high tally, last season he got seven in {15 games more|additional matches|