Mentor: Arteta, Alonso and Iraola Were Exceptionally Talented From Childhood, Arteta a Natural Winner

According to AS, the three Premier League managers Arteta, Alonso and Iraola all came through the same small club, Antiguoko, in San Sebastian.

The match between Arsenal and Chelsea has a story between two friends behind it. Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta will face each other in the London derby on Sunday (September 6), and behind the two managers' benches in this London encounter lies an even greater history. That history also involves another protagonist — Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola.

In San Sebastian, not far from La Concha Beach, there is a neighborhood called the Old Quarter, home to around 17,000 residents, where a grassroots club named Antiguoko is located. Situated on Matia Street, the club produced players such as Aduriz and Martin Zubimendi, who is now a European champion, Premier League champion and world champion.

However, this club also holds a story that is almost unique in sports history. Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso and Andoni Iraola all started playing football here, and they were part of the same generation. Iraola and Arteta were born in 1982, while Alonso is one year older. The three met in the club's youth teams and even played together. Now, aged 44 and 45, they will face each other in the Premier League while representing different clubs. Arteta manages Arsenal, Alonso manages Chelsea, and Iraola manages Liverpool.

Club vice-president Roberto Montiel coached the three during their earliest football years and was one of the foundational figures in developing these three football talents. “At the beginning we trained on the asphalt pitch of a seminary, not even a gravel field,” Montiel recalled. Although Montiel admitted that seeing them reach the top of the world's best league was “very shocking,” he explained: “It is a huge sense of pride, marking an era and a milestone.”

Montiel said, “The three of them were outstanding from a young age,” but pointed out that “the most striking one was Arteta.” “He wanted to win every match. When he played on the beach, he would dribble past everyone and try to win everything. He was a natural winner,” Montiel said. Today, he remains the same on Arsenal's coaching bench, a trait he had from childhood: “From Antiguoko onward, we emphasized to all players that first came sporting discipline, followed by the desire to win and competitiveness.”

Arteta had this desire to win from a young age, and it has continued into his coaching career. “Mikel is a football fanatic, like Guardiola. He spends all day thinking about how to help players improve. I know him; he is someone who can transmit his passion to his players,” Montiel said.

However, Arteta's early coach revealed that although Arteta showed signs of wanting to become a coach from childhood, “he already showed strong interest when he was playing for Everton. After he moved to Arsenal, he came back to watch some matches I coached with Antiguoko. He was already correcting some small details of mine, and we talked a lot… He was very interested.” Today, Arteta is a Premier League champion and Champions League runner-up, and Montiel knows the key to his success: “He is extremely committed, thinking all day about how to help players improve and how to make the team better…”

Montiel recalled: “Xabi Alonso was very thin when he was young, but in his first year with the youth team, his body suddenly developed.” “At that time, he was already known for his passing, his organization, and his ability to intercept,” Montiel added. Perhaps these qualities he had as a player helped him become an excellent coach, although he now faces a major challenge. “At Chelsea, they have given him power and control, which I think he did not have when he was at Real Madrid,” Montiel said.

Montiel also explained: “When you have a coach like Xabi Alonso, I think, just as Real Madrid is doing with Mourinho now, you have to give him power.” There is no doubt that Roberto Montiel knows Alonso well. Speaking about his experience at Real Madrid, he said: “It was already clear in the Spanish Super Cup final that the dressing room was no longer behind him. He handled it with great dignity and left the team without creating any arguments.”

“At that time, Iraola did not look like someone who would become a future coach, and that surprised me a lot,” Montiel said. He also explained: “He was a player of enviable quality, a wide player, so his move into coaching surprised me.” “Almost all coaches were defensive midfielders, attacking midfielders or central midfielders. Look at Guardiola, Fabregas or Xabi Alonso,” Montiel added.

Iraola is managing a major club for the first time this season, namely Liverpool. “Going from Bournemouth to Liverpool requires a lot of courage; it is almost like managing Real Madrid,” his former coach said. However, Montiel has great confidence in his former pupil: “He has personality, his own ideas, and he is very brave. I hope everything goes well for him.”

“What makes us different is the sporting discipline we established for players and the competitiveness shown by everyone. The DNA of Antiguoko is the DNA of wanting to win,” Montiel said proudly. In fact, three players from the same small club in San Sebastian eventually became managers of three major English clubs, which is closely linked to the DNA praised by the vice-president.

Montiel instilled certain values in them when they were just starting out, and today he is proud to see all three reach the peak of English football. “This sense of pride will stay with me forever. They are as competitive as I am, and I believe that, in one way or another, some of my influence must have remained with them,” he concluded.