Julen Guerrero

Julen Guerrero López (born 7 January 1974) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played solely for Athletic Bilbao as an attacking midfielder.

He appeared in 430 official games for his only club, scoring 116 goals and helping them to finish second in La Liga in the 1997–98 season.

A Spain international between 1993 and 2000, Guerrero represented the country at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, as well as Euro 1996. After retiring, he coached several age groups of the national team, and had a brief spell at club level with Amorebieta.

Born in Portugalete in Biscay, Guerrero joined Athletic Bilbao as an eight-year-old, and subsequently progressed through the junior ranks of the club. Along with Aitor Karanka, he was a member of the under-19 team that won a national double of cup and league in 1991–92, and also appeared and scored for the reserves in the Segunda División during the same season.

Guerrero made his senior debut on 6 September 1992 aged 18, under Jupp Heynckes. He quickly made an impact and, although a midfielder, totalled 28 La Liga goals in his first two seasons (65 in six). He was awarded the New Spanish Player of the Year by El País in 1993, and won the Spanish Footballer of the Year by both Don Balón and El País the following year. In 1993–94 he scored a hat-trick against Albacete (4–1, home), adding four against Sporting de Gijón (7–0 also at the San Mamés Stadium); his arrival at the first team was met with unprecedented furor amongst the younger population due to both his footballing abilities and his charisma, and he became one of the first football celebrities as his pop-like figure boosted Athletic's image overseas. He finished the campaign with 18 – fifth in the charts– and was named the side's youngest-ever captain by Dragoslav Stepanović shortly after.

The early promise Guerrero showed attracted interest from, among others, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Juventus, Lazio and Manchester United. However, he remained loyal to Athletic and, in 1997, signed a ten-year contract which was the longest in the club's history, and also made him the team's highest-paid player.

In 1997–98, Guerrero netted eight times in 29 matches as the Basques finished second, leading to direct qualification for the UEFA Champions League where he put on strong performances in the group stage against Juventus and Galatasaray. Subsequently, however, his career went into decline and, in 2002, he was deemed surplus to requirements by coach Luis Fernández while still only 28; in his last four seasons he could only manage 57 games with just four goals but, despite his poor form, remained a fan favourite, and the decision to drop him caused some controversy.

Guerrero announced his retirement as a player at an emotional press conference on 11 July 2006. He scored 116 goals in 430 competitive matches over the course of 14 seasons, including four in 17 appearances in various European competitions, but did not win any major honours.