Guillermo Gorostiza facts for kids

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Guillermo Gorostiza

Gorostiza in 1931
Personal information
Full name	Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes
Date of birth	(1909-02-15)15 February 1909
Place of birth	Santurtzi, Spain
Date of death	23 August 1966(1966-08-23) (aged 57)
Place of death	Bilbao, Spain
Height	1.78 m
Playing position	Forward
Youth career
	Chávarri
	Zugazarte
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1927–1928	Arenas Getxo
1928–1929	Racing Ferrol
1929–1936	Athletic Bilbao	119	(92)
1939–1940	Athletic Bilbao	21	(14)
1940–1946	Valencia	115	(72)
1946–1947	Barakaldo	20	(14)
1947–1948	Juvencia
1948–1949	Logroñés
Total		275+	(192+)
National team
1930–1941	Spain	19	(2)
Teams managed
1947	Barakaldo
1948–1949	Logroñés (player-coach)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes (born February 15, 1909 – died August 23, 1966) was a famous Spanish football player. He was known as a forward, which means he played at the front of the team, trying to score goals. He had a long career, playing professionally for 14 years.

His most important teams were Athletic Bilbao and Valencia. He played many games in La Liga, Spain's top football league, and scored a lot of goals – 178 goals in 255 games! He also helped his teams win 11 big trophies.

Gorostiza also played for the Spanish national team in the 1934 FIFA World Cup.

Club Career Highlights

Starting with Athletic Bilbao

Guillermo Gorostiza was born in Santurtzi, a town in Biscay, Spain. He started playing football in youth teams like Chávarri de Sestao and Zugazarte. His first senior teams were Arenas Club de Getxo and Racing de Ferrol.

In 1929, he joined Athletic Bilbao. He played his first game in La Liga on December 1, 1929, against Real Madrid. In his first two seasons, he scored 37 goals in 36 matches. During this time, Athletic Bilbao won the national league championship two years in a row. They also won two Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) trophies.

A Legendary Team

Gorostiza was part of an amazing attack team at Athletic Bilbao. This team was coached by an Englishman named Fred Pentland. Other famous players in the team included Bata, José Iraragorri, Chirri II, Lafuente, and Víctor Unamuno. This group is remembered as one of the best in the club's history.

Gorostiza was a fantastic goal scorer. He won the Pichichi Trophy twice while playing for Athletic Bilbao. This award is given to the top goal scorer in La Liga. He scored the final goal in the 1933 Spanish Cup final, helping his team win 2–1 against Real Madrid.

Playing During the Spanish Civil War

During the Spanish Civil War, Gorostiza played for a special team called the Euskadi XI. This team was formed to help raise money for the Basque region. They traveled to the Soviet Union, other parts of Europe, and Mexico.

The team even played in the Mexican league for a season. However, Gorostiza had already left the team by then.

Success with Valencia and Later Teams

After the war, Gorostiza returned to Athletic Bilbao for a short time. He played in the 1939 Copa del Generalísimo and the 1939–40 season. Then, he moved to Valencia CF in 1940.

Even though he was 31, he helped the young Valencia team a lot. With Gorostiza, Valencia won two league titles and one cup. He scored many goals for them, reaching double digits in four of his six seasons. His best season was 1941–42, when he scored 20 goals in 24 games.

After leaving Valencia, Gorostiza played for Barakaldo CF in the Segunda División (second division) in 1946–47. He then retired at 38. However, he came out of retirement twice to play for CD Logroñés and Juvencia Trubia. He finally stopped playing in 1951. While playing for Juvencia, he sometimes received unusual payments, like bottles of soda from a nearby factory, which he would then sell.

International Career

Gorostiza also played for the Spanish national team. He made his first appearance on June 14, 1930, against Czechoslovakia.

He represented Spain in the 1934 FIFA World Cup. He played in the 3–1 win against Brazil and the 1–1 draw against Italy. He missed the replay game against Italy, which Spain lost 0–1.

He played his last game for Spain on December 12, 1941. It was a friendly match against Switzerland in Valencia. In total, he played 19 games for his country.

Later Life and Passing

Guillermo Gorostiza passed away on August 23, 1966, in Bilbao. He was 57 years old.

Filmography

Guillermo Gorostiza also appeared in a few films. He played a character named Goro in ¡¡Campeones!! (1943). He also appeared as himself in the movie Juguetes rotos (1966).

Career statistics

Honours

Athletic Bilbao

• La Liga: 1929–30, 1930–31, 1933–34, 1935–36
• Copa del Rey: 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933
• Biscay Championship: 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1938–39, 1939–40

Valencia

• La Liga: 1941–42, 1943–44
• Copa del Generalísimo: 1941

Individual

• Pichichi Trophy: 1929–30, 1931–32

See also

In Spanish: Guillermo Gorostiza para niños