Julen Guerrero

Julen Guerrero

Personal information
Full name	Julen Guerrero López
Date of birth	(1974-01-07) 7 January 1974
Place of birth	Portugalete, Spain
Height
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1982–1992	Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1992	Bilbao Athletic	12	(6)
1992–2006	Athletic Bilbao	372	(101)
Total		384	(107)
International career
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)
*Club domestic league appearances and 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 Spanish retired footballer who played solely for Athletic Bilbao.

Ambidextrous, the attacking midfielder was mainly known for his skills and shooting ability. A Spanish international since 1993, he represented the nation at two 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 the 1991–92 season he appeared for the reserves in the second division, being as Aitor Karanka a member of the under-19 team that won a national cup and league double in 1992.

In September 1992, aged 18, Guerrero made his senior debut for Athletic Bilbao, under Jupp Heynckes. He quickly made an impact and, although a midfielder, 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 campaign, he scored a hat-trick against Albacete Balompié (4–1, home), adding four against Sporting de Gijón (7–0 also at the San Mamés Stadium).

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 which was the longest in the club's history, and also made him 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 the following years, 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 just four goals but, despite his poor form, 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 matches, adding in various European competitions a further five in 15 appearances, 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 with Mexico, in Las Palmas. He went on to play 41 games and score 13 goals, including one at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and also represented the nation at the 1998 World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996.

Among Guerrero's personal international highlights were hat-tricks against Malta (3–0 in Attard, 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 Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania	Lithuania	0–1	0–2	1994 World Cup qualification
2.	2 June 1993	Žalgiris Stadium, 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

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.

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

Honours

Country

Spain U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: Third-place 1994

Individual

• La Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year: 1993
• Best Spanish Player of the Year: 1994

See also

• List of one-club men

External links

• Julen Guerrero profile at BDFutbol
• National team data
• Athletic Bilbao profile
• Julen Guerrero at National-Football-Teams.com
• Julen Guerrero – FIFA competition record