The signing of Urruti by FC Barcelona was a “summer snake”. Espanyol needed money and the goal was one of its most valuable assets and, on top of that, valued by two greats: Barça and Madrid. The Gipuzkoan, in any case, was clear about it. He had been in Barcelona for four years and wanted to continue in Catalonia.
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The operation, after rumors of all kinds, crystallized on July 29, 1981. Barça paid 65 million pesetas plus Canito, to whom he had given the green light to join the blue and white tour of the Philippines as a loan. In the end, the economic amount skyrocketed due to the refusal of the Barça goalkeeper Amador to “cross the Diagonal”.
Urruti, the day the signing took place, showed great satisfaction: “It’s as if I were starting over… My possible transfer had been discussed for so many years that now, once it has become a reality, I don’t think about anything other than victory”. He was 29 years old and stamped his signature for four years. An intense idyll then began between the goalkeeper and the fans, who adored and idolized him for his courage, courage, charisma and commitment.
“Urruti, I love you!”
He wrote an unforgettable chapter in Barça history on March 24, 1985, when he stopped a penalty against Salvadoran Mágico González in a Valladolid-Barça (1-2) matchup in the League that allowed the Catalans to sing the alirón after 11 years of drought. Journalist Joaquim Maria Puyalin a heartfelt narrative, immortalized his action: “Urruti, I love you!”. He was a Barça player for seven seasons (between the 1981-82 and 1987-88 academic years, in which he only lined up in friendlies). The arrival of Zubizarreta (1986-87) relegated him to the bench to the anger of the fans, who had a hard time accepting the relief. He won 7 titles.
He died in the early hours of May 24, 2001 while driving along the Ronda de Dalt in Barcelona. Barça, Espanyol and Real Sociedad paid tribute to Urruti on June 4, 2001 with a 3×1 in the Mini. In the match between the Catalans and the Blue and Whites, Carles Rexach, the Barcelona coach, lined up a recently turned 17-year-old boy, wearing the number “4”: Andres Iniesta.