Nestled between a row of stark white apartment blocks and an artificial pitch perched on the rolling hills of Berio in San Sebastián—now the home of Antiguoko—there lies a narrow strip of ground where three future football icons first cut their teeth. It was on that humble surface that Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso and Andoni Iraola learned the fundamentals of the game, honed their instincts and forged a bond that would later see them meet again as managers on the grand stage of the Premier League.
Roberto Montiél, the club’s long‑standing coach and vice‑president, still remembers the exact spot where the centre circle used to sit. "The centre circle was just over there," he says, settling onto a bench in what is now a public park and rubbing his thumb and forefinger together as if to feel the texture of the old ground once more. "The pitch wasn’t like the modern synthetic one up the hill.
It was smaller, made of tiny stones, almost like gravel. The balls were heavier when they got wet, and a slip could leave you with a nasty scrape." Those conditions produced a kind of football that local fans still talk about with reverence. The games played on that rough, water‑slicked field by the club’s celebrated alumni have become the stuff of legend in the neighbourhood. "Even then you could see their vision for the game," Montiél adds, smiling at the memory.
"Trying to pass a ball on a gravel pitch in the rain, with puddles everywhere and everything getting filthy—it was something special to watch. The squads from the ’81 and ’82 generations were extraordinary." Arteta and Iraola belonged to the later age group, while Alonso was part of the earlier cohort. To their former teammate Álvarez Parra, the experience felt like being part of a regional national team that was simply unbeatable.
"It was like a national team of the best players in the area and it made us an unstoppable side," he recalls. He remembers crushing defeats of local rivals: "We beat Real Sociedad 5‑0, we did the same to Athletic Club, we won every league.
The team became known as the Basque Dream Team." Antiguoko continues to churn out talent. In their modest offices a mile away, near Ondarreta beach, Montiél jokes that they need more wall space to display the ever‑growing roster of signed shirts from former graduates – now more than forty names – with the jerseys of Arteta, Alonso and Iraola occupying the place of honour.
It still amazes everyone, even those who have watched these three boys grow into world‑class managers, that three Antiguoko alumni born within a 15‑mile radius in Gipuzkoa – the smallest Spanish province – have risen to the helm of Premier League clubs. "If I really think about it, it’s absolutely crazy that our three friends are managing these Premier League teams," Parra says, laughing. "Sometimes I turn on the TV and think, ‘Oh, it’s Mikel!
Oh, it’s Xabi! What on earth happened here?’" adds former teammate Mikel Yanguas.
Arteta was always the standout. "He had something different," says Yanguas, who played as a striker alongside the diminutive but technically gifted Arteta. "He was small but clever, always thinking a pass ahead.
I just had to run." Yanguas later joined Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy together with Arteta, and jokes that his former teammate made him look better than he was. Parra, a centre‑back at the time, echoes the sentiment: "I just had to pass the ball to Mikel Arteta. Mikel Arteta to Yanguas. Goal." Montiél is full of anecdotes from that gravel pitch, many of which highlight Arteta’s early football intelligence.
One story stands out: during a drop‑ball situation, the referee let the ball bounce, and Arteta flicked it away with the outside of his boot, immediately launching a long pass to a teammate who was one‑on‑one with the goalkeeper, resulting in a goal against Real Sociedad. "He was alert to everything," Montiél says, recalling the moment. Arteta also possessed a fierce competitive edge, even when he was a year older than Alonso on the field. "He had a real competitive look about him," Montiél notes.
"He was super‑attentive, interested in everything, and when he stepped onto the pitch he became a predator." That competitiveness has become a hallmark of Arteta’s managerial style. It was evident even off the pitch.
Montiél remembers Arteta sliding, Jurgen‑Klinsmann‑style, down the hallway of his house in Liverpool after beating him at PlayStation during a visit while Arteta was still at Everton. "Whatever game you played with him, you would always lose," Parra adds. "If you beat him at anything, he would get angry and go home. He was very, very competitive." Their friendship endured beyond the local fields.
After Arteta’s debut season with Paris Saint‑Germain, he called Parra and said, “Álvaro, pack your suitcase, we’re going to Marbella.” Although Parra has no photographs of that trip, the memory remains vivid. Arteta’s discipline extended to his studies as well. "His parents instilled that in him," Parra says, noting how the young midfielder balanced football with schoolwork.
Those habits helped when he moved to Barcelona at just fifteen. While Yanguas, equally talented, returned home after a year, Arteta adapted quickly, learning the language and culture at La Masia. "Mikel had a better capacity to adapt," Yanguas observes, adding that Arteta later showed the same adaptability in France, Scotland and England. Reflecting on his upbringing, Arteta once told Sky Sports, "Roberto used to tell me every day, ‘You’re going to be a professional footballer.
You’ll be one of the best in the country.’ He believed in me more than anyone else. You need someone like that in life." Today, Antiguoko’s new pitch sits higher up the slope, where an under‑16 side trains under the midday sun. Montiél points out a slight figure in central midfield, praising his technical quality and noting that the youngster turned down an offer from Real Sociedad to stay with the club.
"This is a very good group," he says, proud of the club’s ability to retain talent. Real Sociedad and Athletic Club regularly scout Antiguoko players at ever‑younger ages, but the club’s educational philosophy often convinces youngsters to stay.
The current session is overseen by Iñigo Iraola, a cousin of Andoni, who himself returned to Antiguoko as a coach while pursuing his coaching badges. Iñigo grew up watching his older cousin play for Athletic’s under‑18s and has always regarded him as a role model.
He recalls buying his first pair of Adidas boots with Andoni on his birthday in San Sebastián, a moment he describes as special. While Arteta was remembered as a natural leader and captain, Andoni was seen as more introverted but equally talented. "Mikel was the captain, he took responsibility," Parra says.
"Andoni was quieter, but he was always a fun, polite teammate and very popular." Montiél adds, "He didn’t get as many touches as the central players, but when he reached the byline he would beat two or three opponents, deliver a pass and we’d score. He could work wonders with the ball." Andoni’s competitive streak mirrored Arteta’s, though he expressed it in a more restrained way. When Valverde, Athletic’s manager, moved him from right wing to full‑back, Andoni initially resisted, asking, "Why are you putting me in defence?" Yet Valverde recognised his potential as an attacking full‑back, a role in which Andoni would later excel, making over 500 appearances for Athletic and eventually becoming a manager. His cousin praises Andoni’s understated leadership style: "He isn’t the type to raise his voice.
He leads by example, influencing his players daily." Even former Antiguoko defender Ignacio Azpilicueta, who played directly behind Alonso in youth matches, offers a unique perspective. He watched Xabi’s passing develop from a midfield pivot and later saw the physical growth that turned a good teenager into a world‑class midfielder. "He won the ball back a lot, played with both feet, and his passes were always precise," Montiél notes. Azpilicueta recalls how Xabi’s passion for the game was evident even on the sandy pitches of La Concha beach.
Alonso’s rise was not immediate. In his early years he was an average‑sized kid with a good touch but lacking the physical attributes of a star.
It wasn’t until his U‑17 season that his combination of intelligence and newfound physicality propelled him forward. "At that age you could see he was going to be a top‑division player," Parra says, acknowledging that while few could have predicted a Champions League winner, the potential was clear. The success of Antiguoko is often attributed to its scouting network – "Oscar Landa, our sporting director, has a 95 % success rate," Montiél boasts – and to the continuity of its staff.
Yet Montiél believes the secret lies in preserving the club’s DNA: "Competitive instinct, intensity and sporting discipline are non‑negotiable." That philosophy echoes in Arteta’s own managerial mantra of “competitive instinct.” Iñigo Iraola adds, "We instil sacrifice, discipline, hard work, teamwork and competitiveness. That’s what makes us special." Beyond trophies, the club’s general director Gorka Azpeita stresses the importance of character: "The results should be seen in sporting terms, but also in human terms. It’s vital to highlight the values they embody and how those values have helped them reach where they are today." As the Premier League showdown between Arsenal and Chelsea approaches, the question remains which side the Antiguoko faithful will support when Arteta and Alonso’s teams clash 600 miles away in north London.
"It’s like choosing between Mum and Dad," Azpeita jokes. "A draw would be perfect." The story of this tiny club, its gritty gravel pitch and its remarkable alumni, serves as a reminder that great talent can emerge from the most modest beginnings, provided the environment nurtures discipline, intelligence and an unrelenting competitive spirit.