The Swan Song That Never Was: Aritz Aduriz's Last Dance

In a career spanning over two decades, securing 219 goals and 63 assists across 573 appearances is no small feat. Yet, injury woes, a global pandemic, and a slightly premature retirement was not how Aritz Aduriz would have expected his final campaign to conclude. 

In another world, Aduriz would have played in the all-Basque final of the Copa del Rey with Athletic Bilbao set to face Real Sociedad. The tie has since been postponed as the clubs decided to wait till it’s safe to play in front of their fans. Meanwhile, in La Liga, Bilbao sit in 8th, with their final league game against Granada on July 19 and a place in the Europa League on the cards.

This season, before he announced his decision to retire in May, Aduriz had played in 17 games across all competitions, scoring the single deciding goal in the season opener against Barcelona in August, before a hip injury in December ruled him out for much of the campaign, and eventually, led to him hanging up his boots.