‘Every minor detail – execute them’: The striker’s journey from gurney to goals with Athletic Bilbao
Whenhe debut appearance the Athletic striker competed in English soil, an young representing the reserve team against German opponents at Wycombe’s stadium in fall 2015, he scored. During his subsequent match he appeared in British turf, against the Black Cats following that, he scored. His third outing, against the Citizens soon after, sure enough, he scored again. Upon his comeback to the city to face United at Leigh Sports Village in the 2017 season, he scored again. It was a superb volley, as well. “Truly,” he remarks, “it ranks among my finest in my career.” Therefore the team did what they had to do: they substituted him.
“I got well angry,” the forward says, before breaking into laughter. “I’m sure there’s footage. We went to play United and I was in fine form. They kept me out of the final 45 minutes: I hadn’t yet signed my contract, I was scoring goals, there were lots of rumours, it’s typical. I’m unsure regarding Newcastle being interested, but I recall seeing about Man United, the typical thing. I’m not certain how true it was, but had they contacted me, my desire was to remain at Bilbao. I feel lucky to be here.”
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At Lezama, the city, the morning session is ready to commence; after it, the brief trip to Loiu and another trip to England, now to face Newcastle in the UCL on Wednesday. Uttering the name lights him up. It’s turning out to be a tough year for Athletic, due in part to the pressures of their participation. Defeated late on in the weekend clash, they have managed just one win of their past eight league games and fallen to the Gunners and Dortmund in European competition. Yet, consider the broader view, the big nights he has lived and future challenges, and there’s a kind of quiet appreciation about him.
In the three years since he had rejoined the team, the striker has been a semi-final participant, prevented from reaching a domestic final by United, and has traveled on a traditional boat through the waterway accompanied by a huge crowd after securing the Spanish cup, the first title in four decades. He’s now the club’s leading marksman in the UCL, where they are countercultural and making their first appearance in a decade. “This was beyond my dreams,” he admits.
He considered it hard enough just to earn a spot and that proved true. The son of the former Real Sociedad player the former professional and a season ticket holder at the opposition side, Gorka is a product of Antiguoko, the local academy that developed the Arsenal manager, the former star and Andoni Iraola. His move to Athletic came at seventeen but after his first-team bow in August 2018, he went through a torn cruciate, dropped, a drop in category and a return before he could finally secure an opportunity, coming back aged 26 to enjoy the highlights of the club’s history.
“Entering the youth system thinking you won’t reach the top level but each step you progress through you’re still there and you can notice the proximity. You make it and … departure is necessary.” He had limited game time in half a dozen appearances between his first game and early 2019. “Subsequently I returned to the filial [Bilbao Athletic, the Under-23s]. A few matches at that level and I suffered the ACL injury.
“It was a huge blow but I look back on it as a turning point because it made me change the perspective. The rehabilitation process is hard, but it helps. You cultivate routines previously lacking. It’s not that you don’t look after yourself, but I attended practice and then go home, as a youngster does. At Lezama, you have everything, so do everything. Practice, prevention. Strength training. With hip imbalance, address that. Assuming ankle mobility is good, improve it more. All those ‘silly things’: perform them.
“At the top level you’re going to crash into players who have experienced contact repeatedly. Highly robust. Seeing previous pictures: I had slender legs. Thus incidents occur. Look at pictures of me now and the change is dramatic. Recovery revealed that. Training finishes, but additional work remains. Everyone else is ready, really ready; you have to be too.”
Game time is essential. The striker moved in tears in 2020, aged 23, joining the second tier. With Sabadell in the 20-21 campaign, he scored three times in 40 games. With Amorebieta in the latter part of the season, the he found his form. “Players go through it: temporary moves, ended deals. With a turnaround, work, believe, and if one day they need someone for your role, they might come back for you. Readiness is vital. When the opportunity came, it was a dream come true. To then win the Copa del Rey, play in Europe, and reach the Champions League … pfff.”
Little surprise he states this is to be enjoyed. Particularly after the prior campaign which, sometimes, was about endurance. After being leading scorer with sixteen goals, he managed seven in {15 games more|additional matches|
