Julen Guerrero

Julen Guerrero

Personal information
Full name	Julen Guerrero López
Date of birth	7 January 1974 (1974-01-07)
Place of birth	Portugalete, Spain
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1982–1991	Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1992	Bilbao Athletic	12	(6)
1992–2006	Athletic Bilbao	372	(101)
Total		384	(107)
National team
1989–1990	Spain U16	9	(7)
1990–1991	Spain U17	8	(3)
1990–1991	Spain U18	14	(2)
1992–1994	Spain U21	12	(8)
1993–2000	Spain	41	(13)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Guerrero and the second or maternal family name is López.

Julen Guerrero López (born 7 January 1974) is a retired Spanish footballer who played solely for Athletic Club de Bilbao.

Ambidextrous, the attacking midfielder was mainly known for his skills and shooting ability. A Spanish international since the age of 19, he represented the nation at two FIFA World Cups, gaining more than 40 caps, and appearing in more than 400 official games for his only team.

Club career

Born in Portugalete, Biscay, Guerrero joined Athletic Bilbao as an eight-year old, and subsequently progressed through the junior ranks of the club. In 1991–92, he appeared for the reserves, then playing in the second division. Alongside defender Aitor Karanka, he was a member of the U-19 team that won a national cup and league double in 1992.

In September 1992, Guerrero 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 La Liga goals in his first two seasons combined (65 in his first 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. During the 1993–94 season, he scored a hat-trick against Albacete Balompié, adding four against Sporting de Gijón.

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

In 1997–98, Guerrero netted eight times in 29 contests as the Basque finished second, leading to direct 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; in his last four seasons combined, he could only manage 57 games with only four goals. Despite his poor form, he remained a firm favourite among fans, and the decision to drop him caused some controversy.

On 11 July 2006, Guerrero announced his retirement as a player at an emotional press conference. In 14 seasons as a player, he scored 101 goals in 372 top flight games, adding in various European competitions a further five in 15 games, including two in the Champions League.

Immediately after retiring, Guerrero took charge of the Lezama youth ranks, leaving the post after two years.

International career

On 27 January 1993, when still only 19, Guerrero made his debut for Spain in a friendly game against Mexico, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. He went onto play 41 games and score 13 goals, including one at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He also represented the nation at the 1998 World Cup and at UEFA Euro 1996.

Among his personal international highlights were hat-tricks against Malta (3–0 in Valletta, on 18 December 1996) and Cyprus (8–0, 8 September 1999). He played his last game for Spain in October 2000.

Between 1993 and 2006, Guerrero also played 11 times for the Basque Country national football team, scoring six goals. This included another hat-trick in 1997, against Yugoslavia.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	2 June 1993	Žalgiris, Vilnius, Lithuania	Lithuania	0–1	0–2	1994 World Cup qualification
2.	2 June 1993	Žalgiris, Vilnius, Lithuania	Lithuania	0–2	0–2	1994 World Cup qualification
3.	8 September 1993	Rico Pérez, Alicante, Spain	Chile	1–0	2–0	Friendly
4.	8 September 1993	Rico Pérez, Alicante, Spain	Chile	2–0	2–0	Friendly
5.	29 March 1995	Sánchez Pizjuán, Seville, Spain	Belgium	1–0	1–1	Euro 1996 qualifying
6.	6 September 1995	Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain	Cyprus	1–0	6–0	Euro 1996 qualifying
7.	20 September 1995	Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain	Argentina	2–0	2–1	Friendly
8.	18 December 1996	Ta' Qali, Attard, Malta	Malta	0–1	0–3	1998 World Cup qualification
9.	18 December 1996	Ta' Qali, Attard, Malta	Malta	0–2	0–3	1998 World Cup qualification
10.	18 December 1996	Ta' Qali, Attard, Malta	Malta	0–3	0–3	1998 World Cup qualification
11.	8 September 1999	Vivero, Badajoz, Spain	Cyprus	3–0	8–0	Euro 2000 qualifying
12.	8 September 1999	Vivero, Badajoz, Spain	Cyprus	5–0	8–0	Euro 2000 qualifying
13.	8 September 1999	Vivero, Badajoz, Spain	Cyprus	6–0	8–0	Euro 2000 qualifying

Honours

Individual

• Breakthrough Spanish player of the Year: 1992–93
• Best Spanish player: 1993–94

Club statistics

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bilbao Athletic	1991–92	12	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	6
	Total	12	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	6
Athletic Bilbao	1992–93	37	10	0	0	-	-	-	-	37	10
	1993–94	36	18	4	3	-	-	-	-	40	21
	1994–95	27	13	2	1	4	2	-	-	33	16
	1995–96	33	9	6	1	-	-	-	-	39	10
	1996–97	38	15	5	1	-	-	-	-	43	16
	1997–98	29	8	3	0	1	0	-	-	33	8
	1998–99	36	9	2	1	8	2	-	-	46	12
	1999–00	32	6	3	0	-	-	-	-	35	6
	2000–01	27	4	2	0	-	-	-	-	29	4
	2001–02	20	5	6	2	-	-	-	-	26	7
	2002–03	14	0	2	2	-	-	-	-	16	2
	2003–04	14	1	0	0	-	-	-	-	14	1
	2004–05	12	3	4	0	2	0	-	-	18	3
	2005–06	17	0	2	0	2	0	-	-	21	0
	Total	372	101	41	11	17	4	-	-	430	116
Career totals		384	107	41	11	17	4	-	-	442	122

Personal life

Guerrero's younger brother, José Félix, was also a footballer and a midfielder. He amassed 160 matches as a professional (58 with two goals in the topflight), also representing Athletic Bilbao, but only the reserves.

Julen also opened the Restaurante Julen Guerrero in Bilbao, and worked as an on-line columnist for Eurosport.

See also

• List of one-club men

External links

• Athletic Bilbao profile
• BDFutbol profile
• National team data (Spanish)
• Julen Guerrero – FIFA competition record
• International appearances, at RSSSF