Three of the Premier League's most prominent managers share more than mutual respect — they share a childhood. Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso, and Andoni Iraola all learned to play football together on a gravel pitch in San Sebastian, representing a modest grassroots club called Antiguoko Kirol Elkartea.
With just seven months separating the oldest, Alonso, and the youngest, Iraola, the trio competed side by side at Antiguoko during the early 1990s. This was no polished academy — concrete surfaces, tight budgets, and neighbourhood passion were its defining features.
Three boys, one gravel pitch
Roberto Montiel, vice-president and sporting director at Antiguoko, spoke to BBC Sport about what made that era special. "We're just a neighbourhood club; we've been lucky enough to coincide with a generation of players that is historic," he said.
Montiel offered vivid portraits of each future manager as a boy. "Andoni Iraola was a very shy child with exceptional talent. Mikel Arteta was a leader then, just as he is today. Xabi Alonso was very quiet, but on the field he was an excellent playmaker."
A quirk in age-group eligibility rules at the time — allowing players born after August 1981 to compete alongside those born in 1982 — meant Alonso, Iraola, and Arteta were able to line up together in several tournaments.
From San Sebastian to the Premier League dugout
Arteta, now entering his seventh season as Arsenal manager after winning the title, left San Sebastian first as a teenager to join Barcelona. He maintained his bond with Antiguoko, asking Adidas — who had signed him as a boot sponsor — to supply the club with new kit. He continues to visit the club and host its staff in north London.
Alonso followed the path of his father, Spain international Periko Alonso, by joining Real Sociedad. In a 2019 BBC Sport interview, he reflected: "My father was a player, later he was manager so I always have had a very strong link to the club. I used to go to the stadium but later I was lucky enough to play for the first team and that was a dream come true."
Iraola, by his own admission, was not the most obvious candidate to reach the top. "I was worried when moving to Bilbao," he told BBC Sport earlier last season. "It's one hour from my home, that I wouldn't have the level to play with these guys." His coaches, however, recall a player who executed the fundamentals excellently and adapted seamlessly to every level — eventually becoming one of Athletic Club's greatest-ever players.
Now Alonso is beginning his tenure as Chelsea manager at the same time Iraola — who was himself interviewed for the Chelsea role — takes charge at Liverpool.
A club punching far above its weight
Antiguoko were founded in 1982, just ahead of the World Cup in Spain, at a moment when Real Sociedad and Athletic Club were winning back-to-back La Liga titles. That era of Basque dominance partly inspired the club's formation in the densely populated San Sebastian neighbourhood of Berio.
More than 40 Antiguoko alumni have gone on to play in the Spanish top flight, including legendary Athletic Club striker Aritz Aduriz, who was also part of that celebrated generation. Among their youth-level achievements, Antiguoko beat a Real Madrid side featuring a young Iker Casillas 4-2 in 1999, and have eliminated Valencia and Celta Vigo in cup competitions.
Last season, their Under-19s finished above Real Sociedad, Osasuna, and Alaves in their league — a remarkable feat for a club that has only recently turned semi-professional and upgraded its concrete pitch to an artificial surface.
General manager and goalkeeping coach Gorka Azpeitia is proud but clear-eyed about the challenges ahead. "It was a very special generation. At that time, professional clubs didn't recruit players as early as they do now. That allowed them to stay together at the club for so many years," he said. "I hope I'm wrong, because it's certainly not for a lack of effort, but it will be difficult to replicate a generation like that one."
The Basque factor
The wider region of Gipuzkoa, which encompasses San Sebastian, has produced a remarkable concentration of elite coaching talent. Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, Villa sporting director Roberto Olabe, Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi, and former Premier League managers Julen Lopetegui and Javi Gracia all hail from the area. Pep Guardiola's former Manchester City assistant Juanma Lillo and ex-sporting director Txiki Begiristain are also from the Basque Country.
When asked in 2024 why so many Basque managers gravitate toward the Premier League, Arteta offered a characteristically direct answer: "Go to San Sebastian, come back and then ask me the question. It's probably the passion, the food and the education we all had."
Montiel echoed that sentiment: "We are a society with a very strong sporting culture, and people from Gipuzkoa are very competitive." With its own ancient language, Euskara, golden beaches, and the highest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, San Sebastian provides a foundation that, it seems, produces winners.
