 Gurpegui in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Carlos Gurpegui Nausia | ||
| Date of birth | (1980-08-19)19 August 1980 (age 44)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Pamplona, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back,defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| River Ega[2] | |||
| 1997–1998 | Izarra | ||
| 1998–1999 | Athletic Bilbao | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998 | Izarra | 1 | (0) |
| 1999–2000 | Basconia | 33 | (15) |
| 2000–2002 | Bilbao Athletic | 56 | (5) |
| 2002–2016 | Athletic Bilbao | 313 | (18) |
| Total | 403 | (38) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003–2016 | Basque Country | 6 | (1) |
| 2005 | Navarre | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2021–2023 | Basconia | ||
| 2023–2024 | Bilbao Athletic | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Carlos Gurpegui Nausia (alternate spellingGurpegi; born 19 August 1980) is a Spanishfootballmanager and former player who played as acentral defender ordefensive midfielder.
He spent his entire professional career withAthletic Bilbao,[3] which was marred by a two-year ban due to anandrolone positive test.[4][5] Over 14La Liga seasons, he appeared in 393 matches in all competitions and scored 22 goals.[6]
Born inPamplona and raised in the village ofAndosilla,Navarre,[2] Gurpegui was a product ofAthletic Bilbao'sLezama youth academy, and made his first-team – andLa Liga – debut on 31 March 2002 in a 5–2 away defeat againstVillarreal CF,[7][6] going on to establish himself as the first-choice holding midfielder in the following years with 121 games in four seasons. On 17 January 2004, he scored a late equaliser againstFC Barcelona in a 1–1 draw at theCamp Nou.[8]
Gurpegui was banned for two years on 3 November 2003, for testing positive fornandrolone in a 1 September 2002 game againstReal Sociedad (4–2 away defeat, scoring both goals)the previous season.[9][5] The ban was initially suspended[10] after repeated appeals, with the player claiming that his body produced nandrolone naturally,[11] but the appeals were in vain and he eventually was forced to serve his sentence, which ran until 23 April 2008;[12] Athletic Bilbao, however, neither released the player nor took his number from the official squad,[13] and he returned to action in a 3–0 away loss toReal Madrid four days later.[14]
In the2008–09 campaign, Gurpegui was used mostly as abackup due to the emergence of youngsterJavi Martínez, but regained his starting position in the following years, precisely alongside Martínez.[15][16] On 28 November 2010, he headed home in thelast minute against hometown clubCA Osasuna, in a 1–0 home win.[17]
Gurpegui was again an important player in2011–12 under new coachMarcelo Bielsa.[18] On 23 October 2011, having replacedAndoni Iraola athalf-time in an eventual 1–1 draw atValencia CF,[19] he also had to leave the pitch early into the second half, with a tornanterior cruciate ligament which ended his season.[20][21]
After Martínez left in summer 2012 to joinFC Bayern Munich, Gurpegui was chosen by Bielsa as the next player to be converted from defensive midfielder tocentral defender.[22] After playing a big role in their qualification for the tournament through finishing fourth domestically in2013–14, partnering the much youngerAymeric Laporte, he featured in defence in six matches in thesubsequent edition of theUEFA Champions League.[23][24]
The team reached three finals of theCopa del Rey in Gurpegui's time at theSan Mamés Stadium, losing them all to Barcelona – he was an unused substitute on every occasion. He did play in both legs of the2015 Supercopa de España against the same opponents, lifting the trophy ascaptain.[25][26]
On 11 May 2016, by now a fringe player, 35-year-old Gurpegui announced he would retire from the game at the end ofthe season.[27][28]
Gurpegui played six matches (one goal) for the unofficialBasque selection.[29] He also featured for the equivalentNavarrese team.[30]
Gurpegui had already retired from club football when he appeared in his lastfriendly for the Basque Country on 27 May 2016, a draw and winon penalties overCorsica.[31]
On retiring from playing, Gurpegui was appointed to acoaching role at Athletic Bilbao working underErnesto Valverde.[32] However, when the latter moved to Barcelona in the 2017 off-season he did not take the former with him, nor was there any place in the new Athletic coaching structure underJosé Ángel Ziganda; instead, Gurpegui was appointed as an ambassador for the club.[32]
In December 2021, having rejoined the club's coaching network, Gurpegui was appointed head coach of thefarm team,CD Basconia, with previous incumbentPatxi Salinas having moved up tothe reserves.[33] On 30 May 2023, he replacedAlex Pallarés at the helm of the latter,recently relegated toSegunda Federación.[34]
On 6 May 2024, after achieving promotion toPrimera Federación asleague winners, Gurpegui stepped down from his position.[35]
Gurpegui's older brother, Pedro María, was also a footballer who played as aforward. He had a spell in thereserve side of Osasuna, coming up against his younger sibling in a league fixture in the semi-professionalSegunda División B in 2000.[36][37]
Pedro's career stalled after a serious knee injury,[38] and he never played above that level.
| Club | Season | League | Copa del Rey | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Izarra | 1997–98 | Segunda División B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Basconia | 1999–2000 | Tercera División | 33 | 15 | — | — | — | 33 | 15 | |||
| Bilbao Athletic | 1999–2000 | Segunda División B | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2000–01 | Segunda División B | 23 | 2 | — | — | — | 23 | 2 | ||||
| 2001–02 | Segunda División B | 32 | 3 | — | — | — | 32 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 56 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 5 | ||
| Athletic Bilbao | 2001–02 | La Liga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | La Liga | 27 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 4 | |||
| 2003–04 | La Liga | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 1 | |||
| 2004–05 | La Liga | 34 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 8[a] | 2 | — | 50 | 6 | ||
| 2005–06 | La Liga | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 2 | |||
| 2006–07[b] | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2007–08 | La Liga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2008–09 | La Liga | 19 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 0 | |||
| 2009–10 | La Liga | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7[a] | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 31 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 35 | 3 | |||
| 2011–12 | La Liga | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | La Liga | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7[a] | 0 | — | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 27 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 2 | |||
| 2014–15 | La Liga | 23 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 8[d] | 1 | — | 37 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | La Liga | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7[a] | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 25 | 0 | |
| Total | 313 | 18 | 37 | 1 | 39 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 393 | 22 | ||
| Career total | 403 | 38 | 37 | 1 | 39 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 483 | 42 | ||
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |||||
| Basconia |  | 14 December 2021 | 30 May 2023 | 53 | 26 | 15 | 12 | 87 | 59 | +28 | 049.06 | [42] |
| Bilbao Athletic | | 30 May 2023 | 6 May 2024 | 34 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 68 | 17 | +51 | 073.53 | [43] |
| Total | 87 | 51 | 22 | 14 | 155 | 76 | +79 | 058.62 | — | |||
Athletic Bilbao