[1][2] Even though he had a short footballing career, Zubizarreta managed to leave a considerable footprint in Spanish football, playing a pivotal role in Athletic's three Copa del Rey titles in a row between 1914 and 1916, in which he netted a goal in the 1915 final and a hat-trick in the 1916 final against Madrid FC (now known as Real Madrid).
[5] Zubizarreta was part of the legendary attacking front that Athletic boosted in the 1910s, which also included Severino Zuazo, Domingo Acedo and Pichichi, and together with them he helped the club win the very first edition of the regional North/Biscay championship in 1913–14, hence qualifying to the 1914 Copa del Rey which they also won, although he did not feature in the final.
On 1 January 1917, just a few months after the 1916 Cup final, Athletic welcomed Madrid FC in their first-ever visit to the San Mamés Stadium, but this time Zubizarreta had a bad performance, and although he had got a hat-trick for a title, the public of San Mamés did not forgive his performance and kept booing him (in those days the fans were not light-handed when it came to criticizing the footballers), and so, in the second half, when Athletic was already playing with 10 men due to Luis Hurtado's injury, Zubizarreta, given the increasing boos towards him, decided to leave the field with a quarter of an hour to go.
He dedicated himself to his studies and his name only came up again 20 years later during the Spanish Civil War when he was appointed head of the Basque Government's enlistment and recruitment section.
Due to his position and his nationalist significance, Zubizarreta went into exile in Venezuela with his wife, Juanita Torre, and his nine children.