Carlos Gurpegui

Carlos Gurpegui Nausia (alternate spelling Gurpegi; born 19 August 1980) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a central defender or a defensive midfielder.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Gurpegui and the second or maternal family name is Nausia.

Carlos Gurpegui
Gurpegui in 2014
Personal information
Full name Carlos Gurpegui Nausia
Date of birth (1980-08-19) 19 August 1980
Place of birth Pamplona, Spain
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Centre back / Defensive midfielder
Youth career
River Ega[1]
1997–1998 Izarra
1998–1999 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998 Izarra 1 (0)
1999–2000 Basconia 33 (15)
2000–2002 Bilbao Athletic 56 (5)
2002–2016 Athletic Bilbao 313 (18)
Total 403 (38)
National team
2003–2016 Basque Country 6 (1)
2005 Navarre 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He spent his entire professional career with Athletic Bilbao,[2] which was marred by a two-year ban due to a nandrolone positive test.[3][4] Over 14 La Liga seasons, he appeared in 393 matches in all competitions and scored 22 goals.

Club career

Born in Pamplona and raised in the village of Andosilla, Navarre,[1] Gurpegui was a product of Athletic Bilbao's Lezama youth academy, and made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 31 March 2002 in a 2–5 away defeat against Villarreal CF,[5] going on to establish himself as the first-choice holding midfielder in the following years with 121 games in four seasons. On 17 January 2004, he scored a late equaliser against FC Barcelona in a 1–1 draw at the Camp Nou.[6]

Gurpegui was banned for two years on 3 November 2003, for testing positive for nandrolone in a 1 September 2002 game against Real Sociedad (2–4 away defeat, scoring both goals[7]) the previous season.[4] The ban was initially suspended[8] after repeated appeals, with the player claiming that his body produced nandrolone naturally,[9] but the appeals were in vain and he eventually was forced to serve his sentence, which ran until 23 April 2008;[10] Athletic Bilbao, however, neither released the player nor took his number from the official squad,[11] and he returned to action in a 0–3 away loss to Real Madrid, four days later.[12]

In the 2008–09 season, Gurpegui was used mostly as a backup due to the emergence of youngster Javi Martínez, but regained his starting position in the following years, precisely alongside Martínez. On 28 November 2010, he headed home in the last minute against hometown club CA Osasuna, in a 1–0 home win.[13]

Gurpegui was again relegated to the bench for the 2011–12 campaign, following the arrival of new coach Marcelo Bielsa. On 23 October 2011, having replaced Andoni Iraola at half-time in an eventual 1–1 draw at Valencia CF,[14] he also had to leave the pitch early into the second half, with a torn anterior cruciate ligament which ended his season.[15]

After Martínez left in summer 2012 to join FC Bayern Munich, Gurpegui was chosen by Bielsa as the next player to be converted from defensive midfielder to central defender.[16] After playing a big role in their qualification for the tournament through finishing fourth domestically in 2013–14, partnering the much younger Aymeric Laporte, he featured in defence in six matches in the subsequent edition of the UEFA Champions League.[17][18]

The team reached three finals of the Copa del Rey in Gurpegui's time at the San Mamés Stadium, losing them all to Barcelona – he was an unused substitute on every occasion. He did play in both legs of the 2015 Supercopa de España against the same opponents, lifting the trophy as team captain.[19][20]

On 11 May 2016, by now a fringe player, 35-year-old Gurpegui announced he would retire from the game at the end of the campaign.[21][22]

International career

Gurpegui never won any caps for Spain at any level. He did play six matches (one goal) for the unofficial Basque selection,[23] and also featured for the equivalent Navarrese team.[24]

Gurpegui had already retired from club football when he appeared in his last friendly for the Basque Country on 27 May 2016, a draw and win on penalties over Corsica.[25]

Post-retirement

On retiring from playing, Gurpegui was appointed to a coaching role at Athletic Bilbao working under Ernesto Valverde.[26] However, when the latter moved to Barcelona in the 2017 off-season he did not take the former with him, nor was there any place in the new Athletic coaching structure under José Ángel Ziganda; instead, Gurpegui was appointed as an ambassador for the club.[26]

Personal life

Gurpegui's older brother, Pedro María, was also a footballer who played as a forward. He had a spell in the reserve team of Osasuna, coming up against his younger sibling in a league fixture in the semi-professional Segunda División B in 2000.[27]

Pedro's career stalled after a serious knee injury,[28] and he never played above that level.

Career statistics

[29][30][31]

Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Izarra 1997–98 Segunda División B 1000——10
Basconia 1999–2000 Tercera División 3315———3315
Bilbao Athletic 1999–2000 Segunda División B 10———10
2000–01 Segunda División B 232———232
2001–02 Segunda División B 323———323
Total 565000000565
Athletic Bilbao 2001–02 La Liga 4000——40
2002–03 La Liga 27410——284
2003–04 La Liga 30110——311
2004–05 La Liga 344808[lower-alpha 2]2—506
2005–06 La Liga 30230——332
2006–07[lower-alpha 3] La Liga 0000——00
2007–08 La Liga 5000——50
2008–09 La Liga 19070——260
2009–10 La Liga 341107[lower-alpha 2]02[lower-alpha 4]0441
2010–11 La Liga 31241——353
2011–12 La Liga 70002[lower-alpha 2]0—90
2012–13 La Liga 271007[lower-alpha 2]0—341
2013–14 La Liga 27250——322
2014–15 La Liga 231608[lower-alpha 5]1—372
2015–16 La Liga 150107[lower-alpha 2]02[lower-alpha 4]0250
Total 313183713934039322
Career total 403383713934048342
  1. Includes Copa del Rey matches.
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Banned
  4. Appearances in Supercopa de España
  5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League

Honours

Athletic Bilbao

See also

References
  1. Basic, Robert (14 May 2016). "La clase de Gurpegui" [The class of Gurpegui] (in Spanish). El Correo. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  2. Las cuatro esquinas de Gurpegi (Gurpegi's four corners); Deia, 4 September 2010 (in Spanish)
  3. Suspensión de dos años para Gurpegui (Two-year suspension for Gurpegui); Diario AS, 7 May 2003 (in Spanish)
  4. Two-year ban for Gurpegi; UEFA, 3 November 2003
  5. Segundo correctivo seguido para el Athletic de Bilbao (Second hard lesson in a row for Athletic Bilbao); El Mundo, 31 March 2002 (in Spanish)
  6. Barcelona 1–1 Athletic Bilbao; ESPN Soccernet, 17 January 2004
  7. Carlos Gurpegi, organizador de juego y goleador (Carlos Gurpegi, playmaker and scorer); Mundo Deportivo, 2 September 2002 (in Spanish)
  8. Gurpegi given permission to play; UEFA, 3 December 2003
  9. Padilla insiste en que el organismo de Gurpegui generó su alto nivel de nandrolona (Padilla insists that Gurpegui's organism generated his high level of nandrolone); El País, 8 June 2005 (in Spanish)
  10. Athletic announce new Gurpegui appeal; UEFA, 26 November 2004
  11. El 'caso Gurpegui' llega a su fin (Curtain call to 'Gurpegui affair'); Marca, 22 April 2008 (in Spanish)
  12. Un abultado 3–0 (Heavy 3–0); El Correo, 28 April 2008 (in Spanish)
  13. Gurpegi hits late winner; ESPN Soccernet, 28 November 2010
  14. Soldado saves the day for Valencia; ESPN Soccernet, 23 October 2011
  15. Gurpegi set for lengthy spell out; ESPN Soccernet, 24 October 2011
  16. Gurpegi: "Hemos mejorado" (Gurpegi: "We have improved"); Mundo Deportivo, 22 July 2012 (in Spanish)
  17. San Cristóbal, Ainara (8 June 2014). "El Athletic respira tranquilo con Laporte y Gurpegi" [Athletic take a breather with Laporte and Gurpegi] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  18. "Gurpegi seguirá un año más" [Gurpegi will continue another year] (in Spanish). EITB. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  19. "Barcelona stunned 4–0 by Athletic Bilbao in first leg of Super Cup". ESPN FC. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  20. "Athletic Bilbao manage draw at Barcelona to win Spanish Super Cup". ESPN FC. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  21. Gurpegui ve "el momento perfecto para dejarlo" (Gurpegui sees this as "the perfect moment to quit"); Marca, 11 May 2016 (in Spanish)
  22. Cuenca, Nika (12 May 2016). "Yo quiero ser Gurpegui" [I want to be Gurpegui] (in Spanish). Diario AS. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  23. "La Euskal Selekzioa homenajea a Gurpegui" [The Basque Selection pay homage to Gurpegui] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  24. "Navarra perdona la goleada a la selección china y vence por 1–0" [Navarre forgive thrashing of Chinese team and win 1–0] (in Spanish). La Voz de Galicia. 26 December 2005. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  25. "1–1 (8–9). La selección vasca supera a Córcega en la tanda de penaltis" [1–1 (8–9). The Basque team beat Corsica in the penalty shoot-out] (in Spanish). Mundo Deportivo. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  26. Mallo, Juanma (24 June 2017). "Gurpegui, nuevo embajador institucional por Ibaigane" [Gurpegui, new institutional ambassador for Ibaigane] (in Spanish). El Correo. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  27. "Osasuna B 2–0 Athletic de Bilbao B". BDFutbol. 21 October 2000. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  28. "Por alusiones: Señor Izco" [For allusions: Mister Izco] (in Spanish). Noticias de Navarra. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  29. "Gurpegui: Carlos Gurpegui Nausia". BDFutbol. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  30. "Gurpegui". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  31. "Gurpegi". Athletic Bilbao. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
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