At FC Barcelona, a club known for goalkeepers like Ferenc Plattkó, Antoni Ramallets, Juan Velasco and Ricardo Zamora, he became an important player, playing 307 La Liga games over the course of 16 seasons and also representing in the competition Real Sociedad and Español.
Following the departure of José Ramón Esnaola, he maintained a battle for first-choice status with Luis Arconada[4] with a third talented goalkeeper Pedro Artola also in contention for the place.
He was a prominent member of the Catalonia team coached by Terry Venables that won the league in 1985 and then reached the final of the European Cup in the following year; on 25 March 1985, in a game against Real Valladolid, his penalty save against Mágico González effectively clinched the title.
[8] After Andoni Zubizarreta, another Basque, arrived from Athletic Bilbao in 1986, Urruti was pushed to the bench and only appeared in one league match in his final two seasons combined, later being the club's goalkeeper coach.
On 24 May 2001, he died after his car hit the central barrier of a ring road in Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, at just 49;[9] an annual golf tournament, the Memorial Javier Urruti, was subsequently played in his honour.