Anxious football player Zuhaitz Gurrutxaga who prefers to lose

Recently, Zubieta joined the San Sebastian first team, coming from the youth academy. Central defense, good striker, He had already played in the youth team of the national team..

However, when he entered elite football he began to suffer from anxiety problems resulting from a strong form of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

He washed his hands fifty times a day, was afraid of contracting AIDS, and could not step onto the field lines. I had to check at least five times if I had closed the house or car door properly..

A brave confession

what matters Zuhaiz Gurrutxaga in ‘Second Place’ The book he wrote together with journalist Ander Izagirre (Libros del KO) can only be told by a brave man. It is almost impossible to find a former player who has so openly expressed his fears, anxieties and anxieties when faced with the pressures of professional football.

For example, the fear of missing a penalty in a penalty shootout. Or getting a red card and not knowing where to go or where to look (in your case, the ground). Or avoid the ball directly: not wanting to go anywhere near the field where the game is being played, so as not to mess things up..

At the age of 18, while playing for the Real Sociedad youth team, he played in the final of the Easter tournament against Athletic. He had to take the decisive penalty of the shootout. “Back then, when the option of becoming champion was up to me, I would have preferred to be second.”

This statement perfectly summarizes what many football players feel: The difference is that the majority remains silent on this issue; but Gurrutxaga explains this without complexes. “I start training with Real next week and I can’t even buy bread without being in pain,” he thought in 2003.

One of the most revealing details of the book is the confirmation that anxiety and pressure do not only occur in professional football. Gurrutxaga was only thirteen years old when he joined Real Sociedad. “It’s true that the excitement of playing in the Real jersey was above everything else, but now I can say this: When I was thirteen I started feeling overwhelmed In the countryside”.

‘Klarimosto’ march

Gurrutxaga admits that he even hid behind the referee in some matches go unnoticed. Or in the U-17 World Cup he played in Egypt in 1997, he was looking forward to losing so that he could return to his city as soon as possible and (like any young man) go to bars with his friends. Especially for drinking ‘klarimostos’: claret wine with must. “We asked mix in bars because claret was the cheapest wine but it was so badSo we added must to sweeten it: it was the cheapest drinkable alcoholic liquid. Fuel for the party,” he admits.

Born in Elgoibar (Guipúzcoa) in 1980, ‘Gurru’ has gone through very bad times, but he invites the reader to have a great time: he describes his football career with plenty of irony and, especially, sharp humor towards himself.

Only those who know how to laugh at themselves should make others laugh. It is a motto that ‘Pride’ applies on every page of the book.With the help and “tact” of Ander Izagirre, it was transformed into a fascinating journey through the (mental) interiorities of a football player.

‘Second place’ is a wonderful paradox: Gurrutxaga describes how anxiety took hold of him, disillusioning a football career that seemed so promising. But it does it somehow It’s so funny, honest and sincere that the reader can’t help but smile..

This happens, for example, when he reveals that the brand ‘Kelme’ offered him more sponsorships: They sent him several boxes of clothes, which Gurrutxaga eventually distributed to farmers in his town. “I suspect they sent me what they couldn’t sell.”

Something similar happened to him when the Spanish Federation gave him the national team tracksuit. From Adidas and in the colors of the Spanish flag. “How was I supposed to walk around Elgoibar in the nineties with two red and one yellow striped Spanish national team tracksuits?”

The solution was easy. “I asked my mom to open the yellow tape and I was ready to go out in my Adidas tracksuit.”

Beyond the humorous and self-parodic touch (He has worked as a successful television host and stand-up comedian.), Gurrutxaga explains in detail how OCD made his life miserable during what were supposed to be his best years as a footballer. “I was afraid of glue, bleach, polish, sweat or other people’s blood.” Fear of HIV hindered his sexual life for several years.

Gurrutxaga gradually overcame his problems with the help of a therapist. His football career moved away from the First Division, but he enjoyed it in the Second B (especially at Zamora and Lemona, a team where he almost rose to the Second place). He also plays for Real Unión de Irún, the team with which he eliminated Madrid from the Cup..

Music and monologues

And he began to realize that he liked music more than football. He founded a group called ‘Vanpopel’. “I became a bohemian,” he explains.. Although he toured in many cities, he was not fully successful in music. “I couldn’t even earn enough money for the bus.”

But he did much better as a stand-up comedian. He started by telling about his football adventures (‘Football player’s self-confidence’) and found that people responded very well. He even performed in the Athletic dressing room during Bielsa’s time as coach.

“Quite a few What I did in footballHe remained an actor for fifteen years, his mind was the same.