How Arteta, Alonso and Iraola started at the same boyhood club

Asked in 2024 why so many Basque managers end up in the Premier League, Arteta replied: “Go to San Sebastian, come back and then ask me questions.”

“It’s probably the passion, food and education we’ve all had. It’s probably about opportunity, and someone having to believe in you,” he added.

Iraola also explained that they played for their school and against each other on the beach in San Sebastián but then developed their passion on a pitch in Berio, home of Antiguo, where he, Arteta and Alonso finally came together.

“We’re just a neighborhood club; we’re lucky enough to have a generation of players that is historic,” Roberto Montiel, vice-president and sporting director, told BBC Sport.

“When Arteta, Iraola and Alonso were children, we played on a gravel pitch. For a club like ours, it is a matter of pride to see how these players, whom we have watched grow up as footballers, have won as players and now as coaches.

“At the time, players born after August 1981 could play alongside those born in 1982, so Xabi Alonso, Andoni Iraola and Mikel Arteta all played in several tournaments together.

“Andoni Irrola was a very shy kid with exceptional talent. Mikel Arteta was a leader then, just as he is today. Xabi Alonso was very quiet, but on the pitch he was a wonderful playmaker.”

Arteta has been described as someone who was always out – a match-winning attacker at times. Son of Spain international Perico Alonso, Alonso was always expected to make it in football.

In an interview with BBC Sport in 2019 while managing Sociedad’s B team, he said: “These are my roots. I was born 15 minutes from here – I live close so all my childhood was spent around Real Sociedad.

“My father was a player, then he was a manager so I always had a very strong link with the club. I used to go to the stadium but then I was lucky enough to play for the first team and at that moment it was a dream come true.”

However, Iraola was not the obvious star and spoke of his surprise at making the first team on BBC Sport at the start of last season.

“I was worried going into Bilbao,” he admitted. “It’s an hour from my house, I wouldn’t have a level to play with these guys and I was changing schools but I quickly saw that I could play at that level but it came quite late.”

His former coaches said he executed the fundamentals superbly and adapted whenever asked to play at a higher level, eventually being regarded as one of Athletic Club’s greatest ever players.

Antiguo was founded in 1982 just before the World Cup in Spain. Basque giants Real Sociedad and Athletic Club Bilbao dominated Spanish football, both winning back-to-back titles between 1981 and 1984.

This success partly inspired the launch of Antiguco, in densely populated San Sebastián, sandwiched between the mountains on one side and the beach of La Concha on the other.

Early conditions were no barrier to success, with the club producing more than 40 alumni who went on to play in the top flight, including Athletic Club’s legendary striker Aritz Aduriz – also part of that team, including a trio of future Premier League managers.

General manager and goalkeeping coach Gorka Azpeitia added, “We compensated for that significant gap with great passion for the job, and we continue to compete head-to-head with the top teams at all youth levels.”

Antiguo’s highlights include scoring five goals against local professional team Real Sociedad at youth level and defeating a Real Madrid side featuring goalkeeper Iker Casillas 4–2 in 1999 with Alonso and Iraola in the squad.

They also eliminated La Liga clubs Valencia and Celta Vigo in the Youth Cup competition.

Last season, Antigua’s under-19s finished above Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Alaves in their league, following their promotion to semi-professional status and the conversion of their concrete pitch to a high-quality artificial surface.

Although Antiguo pays some of the development costs when players succeed in the professional game, it is becoming difficult to compete with the big clubs.

Azpeitia added: “It was a very special generation, yes. At that time, professional clubs didn’t recruit players as early as now.

“This has allowed them to stay together at the club for so many years. Today we continue to recruit and develop very good players, but it is difficult for them to stay at the club for as long.

“I hope I’m wrong, because it’s certainly not for lack of trying, but a generation like this will be hard to replicate.”