‘All those little things – make sure you do them’: The striker’s path from injury table to success with Athletic
Thehe first time the Spanish forward featured in England, an 18-year-old representing the reserve team against Borussia Mönchengladbach Under-23s at Adams Park in September 2015, he scored. The second time he appeared in the country, against Sunderland two months later, he scored. His third outing, against Pep Guardiola’s team not long later, sure enough, he repeated the feat. When he returned to the northwest to play against the Red Devils at Leigh’s ground in the 2017 season, he did it once more. An excellent finish, also. “In fact,” he says, “it’s one of the best goals I’ve netted.” Therefore the team did what they had to do: they took him off.
“I became very upset,” the attacker says, before breaking into laughter. “I’m sure there’s footage. Our match against United and I performed well. I wasn’t allowed to feature the second half: my contract wasn’t finalized agreement, I kept finding the net, many stories circulated, you know how it is. I’m unsure regarding Newcastle being interested, but I recall seeing about the Red Devils, the typical thing. I’m not certain if it was accurate, but even if they had called, I would have wanted to stay at Athletic. I feel lucky to be here.”
Real Sociedad release pressure with surreal victory in Basque derby like no other
At Lezama, Bilbao, the morning session is about to start; after it, the short journey to Loiu airport and a further journey to Britain, this time to face Newcastle in the European elite competition on the upcoming match. Uttering the name makes Guruzeta smile. It’s turning out to be a challenging campaign for Athletic, due in part to the pressures of competing at this level. Defeated late on in the weekend clash, they have secured just a single victory of their past eight league games and been defeated by Arsenal and the German side in the continental stage. Yet, consider the broader view, the memorable evenings and those that lie ahead, and he feels a calm gratitude from him.
In the 36 months since he had rejoined the team, Gorka has been a final four contender in Europe, prevented from reaching the showpiece event by the English giants, and has ridden an historic vessel up the Nervión estuary accompanied by countless supporters after winning the Copa del Rey, the first title in 40 years. He’s now the club’s leading marksman in the Champions League, where they are unique and returning after absence in a decade. “I never imagined this,” he admits.
The player believed it hard enough just to make the first team and that proved true. The son of the former Real Sociedad player his father and a dedicated fan at the team he now opposes, Gorka is from the Antiguoko academy, the local academy that nurtured the Arsenal manager, the former star and Andoni Iraola. He joined Athletic at 17 but after his first-team bow in the 2018 season, he suffered a ACL injury, being released, a demotion and a return before he could finally secure an opportunity, coming back aged 26 to enjoy the highlights of their lives.
“Joining the setup doubting you’ll make the top level but each step you go through you’re remaining and you can see it getting closer. You arrive and then … you’re sent away.” He featured briefly in six matches in half a dozen appearances between his bow and that period. “Then I was sent to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. Several appearances with them and I suffered the ACL injury.
“It was a huge blow but I reflect on it as a turning point because it made me change the outlook. Healing from a serious ailment is hard, but it’s beneficial. You adopt practices new to you. It’s not that you don’t look after yourself, but I would go to training and then go home, typical youth behavior. At Lezama, all resources are available, so utilize it all. Training, prehab. Hit the weights. If your hips aren’t balanced, address that. With decent ankle function, make it a 12 or a 14. All those ‘silly things’: perform them.
“In the first team you’re going to crash into players who have been in battles repeatedly. Extremely powerful. Reviewing old images: my physique was slight. So what happens, happens. Present-day images and the improvement is clear. Recovery revealed that. Practice concludes, but further effort is needed. Peers are prepared, really ready; the same applies.”
Minutes are crucial. He left in tears in the pandemic season, aged 23, dropping into the second division. At Sabadell in that season, he netted three goals in forty appearances. At Amorebieta in the following period, the he found his form. “Players go through it: temporary moves, ended deals. With a turnaround, dedication, confidence, and when eventually the requirement appears for your role, recall is possible. You have to be ready. When the opportunity came, it was a dream come true. To then win the Copa del Rey, compete continentally, and qualify for Europe’s top tier … pfff.”
No wonder he says this is to be enjoyed. All the more so after the prior campaign which, on occasions, was involved suffering. After being leading scorer with sixteen goals, he managed seven in {15 games more|additional matches|
