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| Julen Guerrero |
 |
| Personal information |
| Full name |
Julen Guerrero López |
| Date of birth |
January 7, 1974 (1974-01-07) (age 34) |
| Place of birth |
Portugalete, Vizcaya, Spain |
| Height |
1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in) |
| Playing position |
Attacking Midfielder |
| Youth clubs |
| 1991-1992 |
Bilbao Athletic |
| Senior clubs1 |
| Years |
Club |
App (Gls)* |
| 1992-2006 |
Athletic Bilbao |
372 (101) |
| National team |
| 1993-2005 |
Spain |
41 (13) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)
|
Julen Guerrero López (born Portugalete, Vizcaya, January 7, 1974) is a retired Basque footballer who played as a midfielder for Athletic Bilbao, Spain and the Euskadi XI. During the early 1990s he was the golden boy of Spanish and Basque football. He was awarded New Spanish Player of the Year by El País in 1993 and then was awarded Spanish Footballer of the Year by both Don Balón and El País in 1994. His fair hair and blue eyes combined with his role as an elegant playmaker also saw him make regular appearances on magazine covers. Nicknamed the Lezama Pearl, Guerrero became club captain and something of a cult figure at Athletic.
In 14 seasons as a player for Athletic, Guerrero scored 101 goals in 372 La Liga games. In various European competitions, he scored a further 5 goals in 15 games, including 2 in the UEFA Champions League. He also owns the Restaurante Julen Guerrero in Bilbao and works as an on-line columnist for Eurosport. On July 11 2006 he announced his retirement as a player at an emotional press conference. He has since joined the Athletic coaching staff, as a youth team coach.
[edit] Early career
Guerrero joined Athletic as an eight year old and subsequently progressed through the junior ranks of the club. In the 1991-92 season he played 12 games and scored 6 goals while playing for Bilbao Athletic in the Segunda División. Along with Aitor Karanka, he was a member of the Athletic U-19 team that won a national cup and league double in 1992. In September 1992 he made his senior debut for Athletic Bilbao, while still only 18, under Jupp Heynckes. He quickly made an impact and, although a midfielder, he scored 28 goals in his first two seasons, and 65 in his first six. During the 1993-94 season he scored a hat-trick against Albacete Balompié and scored four goals in a game against Sporting de Gijón and finished the season as Footballer of the Year.
[edit] International career
In 1993, when still only 19, Guerrero made his debut for Spain in a game against Mexico. He went onto play 41 games for Spain and scored 13 goals, including one at the 1994 World Cup. He also represented Spain at the 1998 World Cup and at Euro 96. Among his personal highlights while playing for Spain were hat-tricks against Malta and Cyprus. He played his last game for Spain in 2000. Between 1993 and 2006 he also played 11 times for the Euskadi XI and scored six goals. This included another hat-trick in 1997 against Yugoslavia.
[edit] Later career
The early promise Guerrero showed attracted interest from, among others, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Juventus, Lazio and Manchester United. However he remained loyal to Athletic Bilbao and in 1995 signed a ten year contract. This was the longest contract in the club's history and made Guerrero the best paid player at the club. During the 1997-98 season he helped Athletic finish second in La Liga, leading to qualification for the UEFA Champions League. However in subsequent seasons his career went into decline and in 2002 he was dropped by coach Luis Fernández, while still only 28. Despite his poor form, he remained a firm favourite among fans and the decision to drop him caused some controversy.
[edit] Honours
- New Spanish Footballer of the Year
- Spanish Footballer of the Year
[edit] Career statistics
[edit] External links
