 Over 14 La Liga seasons, he appeared in 393 matches in all competitions and scored 22 goals.Born in Pamplona and raised in the village of Andosilla, Navarre, Gurpegui was a product of Athletic Bilbao's Lezama youth academy, and made his first-team – and La Liga – debut on 31 March 2002 in a 2–5 away defeat against Villarreal CF, 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 against FC Barcelona in a 1–1 draw at the Camp Nou.