Just a year ago, Jon Gorrotxategi (Eibar, 23 years old) was one of many midfielders trained in Zubieta looking to make his way away from the spotlight, accumulating minutes and experience in the Segunda División with Mirandés. Today, having become indispensable at Real Sociedad to maintain balance in midfield and the natural heir to the role played by Martín Zubimendi, he faces the biggest showcase of his career: a Copa del Rey final.
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“Football moves very fast,” he summarizes. “A year ago I was in Segunda and now I am on the verge of playing a final and lifting a title. It’s something that excites me a lot and makes me very happy,” reflects the Real Sociedad player. The leap has been as dizzying as it has been demanding. Gorrotxategi returned this summer to San Sebastián with the responsibility of carving out a place in the midfield of a team used to competing at the highest level. And he did so in a season that, in its first phase, was far from what was expected.
“We knew the capacity this team had to do great things,” he explains. “It’s true that the first half of the season wasn’t easy, but seeing ourselves now in this situation is a big change. We are very happy.” The midfielder does not shy away from analysis. Real did not find their best version for months. “The level has always been there, but in football sometimes things don’t work out, you don’t find the right key,” he admits. The arrival of Pellegrino Matarazzo marked a turning point. “He came with incredible energy, very eager, and he has been able to transmit that to us. He has also given us the confidence that we are very good and that we can do great things.”
The collective improvement has gone hand in hand with individual growth that has also been under the spotlight. Because he was not spared criticism either. Pointed out at times, the midfielder chose the path he knows best: isolating himself from the noise. “I’m not one to overthink things. I try not to listen to outside noise because it doesn’t help. I have kept working and trying to give 100%, like all my teammates.” Far from feeling questioned, he insists that the demand is part of the context. “I always demand a lot from myself. I’m very competitive and I always want to give my best.”
In that growth, there is a key chapter: his departure from Zubieta. The loan to Mirandés was a turning point. “I focused that year in Segunda, to prove to myself that I could compete at that level. I came from Primera Federación and it was a big step. I think I performed well and that’s why I’m here,” he analyzes. Beyond performance, that experience marked him personally. “Leaving the comfort zone depends on each player, but in my case it has been the best experience of my life. It has made me improve as a footballer and also as a person. It has made me mentally stronger.” And the start was not easy. “My first day I thought: ‘Where have I gotten myself into?’ We went to play a friendly with hardly any training and we were very few. I thought it was going to be a tough year… but then it was quite the opposite.”
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That path has now led him to experience something he does not want to normalize. “It’s incredible. It’s my first year and reaching a Copa final is very valuable. It makes me very happy.” Because, although he had dreamed of it, he was always aware of the difficulty. “Of course you dream about it, but you know how complicated it is. I saw Real win the Cup a few years ago and it seems very far away. Reaching a final is very difficult, so doing it in the first year is something very big,” he maintains.
“I don’t like doing things differently. I prefer to face it as just another match”Jon Gorrotxtegi
Just hours before the match at La Cartuja, the locker room conveys calm. “We are very calm. We know it’s a special day, but the team is focused,” he assures. His character helps maintain that balance. “I’m a calm person, they always tell me that at home. Then on the field you have to show character because I’m competitive, but overall I’m calm,” he says with a laugh. He doesn’t dwell too much on what winning would mean, although he is aware of the magnitude. “Sometimes it’s good to think about it. Getting this far is already very complicated. Very few make it to professional football and even fewer to a final.”
The opponent will be Atlético de Madrid, a team that demands the best version. “We know that if we do things well, we can win. We have a very good team, but so do they. It’s going to be very tough,” warns Gorrotxategi, who does not change his routine. “I don’t like doing things differently. I prefer to face it as just another match.” From his position in the center, he understands his role naturally: “I try to help both in attack and defense. It’s a collective job.” Comparisons, especially with Martín Zubimendi, don’t unsettle him either. “It’s normal to talk about it because we play in the same position and he has been a reference. I play in his position and it happened that, at the moment he was leaving, I appeared and in the end it’s normal to talk about it,” he admits. That comparison doesn’t put pressure on him either. “I don’t listen much and I don’t overthink things. I think about myself, about doing the best I can and little else,” he says.
A year ago, this scenario seemed impossible. Today it is a reality. And he faces it with the same recipe that has brought him here: calm, effort, and conviction. Because there are dreams that come true without making noise. And his is 90 minutes away from becoming history.
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