Evergreen Aduriz enjoying moment in spotlight

Aritz Aduriz's unquenchable thirst for goals suggests he is on a personal mission to disprove the theory that a footballer's powers decline as they get older.

The 34-year-old is enjoying the most prolific season of his long career and, on Saturday, struck his 18th goal in all competitions as Athletic Club clinched a surprise 1-0 win against Real Madrid CF. Heading in on 26 minutes, he helped the Basque club seal their first victory against the Merengues since 2009.

It was the second crucial goal Aduriz had scored in four days, as he also struck the opener in Wednesday's 2-0 win at RCD Espanyol to seal Athletic's place in the Copa del Rey final, giving the club renewed hope during a difficult season domestically and in Europe.

"It has been a great week; everything has gone right for us," said Aduriz after beating Madrid. "We are so proud of the work we have done and these three points give us a real lift. The fans really enjoyed this one, and they deserved a happy day like today."

Although he is enjoying his third spell with Athletic, Aduriz did not grow up in Bilbao but in the neighbouring city of San Sebastian, home to local rivals Real Sociedad de Futbol. As a youngster he played in the same youth football team as Xabi Alonso, Mikel Arteta and current team-mate Andoni Iraola, later joining Athletic's Lezama academy as a teenager.

The striker has confessed to being a late bloomer and did not start to hold down a place in the Athletic team until he was 24, first plying his trade in the Segunda División B with the club's reserve side and then with Burgos CF.

Athletic enjoy their win against Madrid©AFP/Getty Images

He has said the gritty playing style of the lower leagues helped him develop his aerial game, which is now his fortitude – of the 92 Liga goals he has scored, 37 have been headers. Indeed, Aduriz's dominance in the air makes him a suitable heir to the club's all-time top scorer Telmo Zarra, who was said to have "the finest head in Europe after Winston Churchill".

Aduriz rejoined Athletic from Valencia CF in 2012 and quickly became the club's focal point in attack, hitting 14 goals in his first season back and 16 the following year, helping fire Athletic into the UEFA Champions League. "He is one of the most important strikers in the Liga," says his coach Ernesto Valverde.

"He has found his feet. In some games he shines and in others he suffers, but he always leads the line for us. We have to dominate the play to get to the areas where he is most influential. We are always looking to pass to him. If he plays well, then so do we."