Carlos Gurpegui, the eternal 18

Today is a special occasion for Carlos Gurpegui, who played 15 seasons (2002-2016) in Athletic Club’s first team (393 matches and 22 goals). The player from Andosilla made his debut today, 18 years ago in a match played against Villarreal CF at El Madrigal, the first of his 393 matches with the red-and-white t-shirt. A record that places him in the 21^st position in the whole history of Athletic Club, above some other names like Manu Sarabia or Andoni Goikoetxea.

Gurpegui made his debut with Athletic’s first team at the age of 21. Three seasons after having joined the discipline of an Athletic he arrived at the youth team at the age of 18, which later made him linked to Lezama for 18 seasons. As it happens, Gurpegui began wearing the number 18 jersey in the 2003/04 season and never left it until the day he retired (2015-16).

The Navarrese player has been one of Athletic’s references over the last two decades, both in terms of sport and outside the green, and he has always been one of the most respected players and supported by the fans, taking part in the club’s last great sporting events: King´s Cup (Copa del Rey) finals (2009, 2012, 2015), the Europa League final (2012) or the return to the Champions League (2014).

But without a doubt, Gurpegui will also go down in history as the captain who won a title for Athletic Club 31 years later. On 17 August 2015, he was responsible for lifting the Spanish Super Cup against FC Barcelona, the club’s last major sporting achievement.

Captain of the first team in 159 official matches, Gurpegui retired in 2016, May 14. His last match was at San Mamés against Sevilla FC on the last day of the League. In that match, he received a heartfelt tribute from the entire red-and-white family. The ’18’, after 18 seasons and 18 goals in La Liga, celebrates today his 18^th birthday since his debut at Athletic Club.