The story of a little club from San Sebastian
Xabi, Iraola and Aduriz all played for the small San Sebastian club where Arteta, De Pedro and Agirretxe also learned their trade.
Juanma Velasco. Bilbao 02/02/2014
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'}};In one of the bars on San Sebastian's Errtatxo Square, the most veteran coaches of Antiguoko, a youth football club founded in 1982, will all have their eyes on this weekend's game at San Mamés. Three players who learned their trade at the club will turn out at "The Cathedral": Iraola and Aduriz for Athletic and Alonso for Real Madrid. All three are role models at a club with close ties to Athletic, which during its 30-year-history has seen 19 of its players go on to play in Spain's top flight. That golden generation has a fourth member: Arteta also began his playing career there although he was also the first to leave.
Roberto Montiel, who is still part of Antiguoko's coaching staff, coached all four players. "Arteta and Iraola were both outstanding players from the "1982 vintage" whilst Xavi and Aduriz were a year older. What happened is that they sometimes coincided at tournaments and even played in the same team for one season in the league". Montiel's biggest disappointment is that Arteta never made it big in La Liga, although he defends him as "a boy who's had an outstanding playing career. Maybe he was held back by playing in the Scottish league."
The determination shown by Perico Alonso, Xabi's father and a former Real Sociedad and Barça player, prevented them from all linking up at Athletic. "Amorrortu had signed Mikel (Xabi's older brother) for Lezama, but the following year he said he wanted to join Real Sociedad. Athletic tried to sign Xabi, taking advantage of the close ties between the two clubs, but we let the Alonso family make the final decision. His father decided he would join Sociedad".
Montiel, who still coaches at Antiguoko, spoke affectionately about the type of players Iraola, Aduriz and Xabi Alonso were as boys. Xabi was benched as an Under-16 due to his lack of physical strength. "How he's changed!", said Montiel, while adding that back then he wasn't his direct coach: "Xabi was a small lad, born in November, and he didn't hit a growth spurt until the Under-17s. He protected the ball very well, but lacked a certain physical presence. He bulked up in the Under-17s. He organised play very well because he was so skilled, but he lacked Arteta's leadership qualities. He's earned his stripes now and is a commanding presence on the pitch, without being very bossy. He's a highly respected player. When Xabi says something, everyone respects him, even if they had previously said the complete opposite".
One of the biggest days in Antiguoko's history was back when Aduriz and Xabi were playing for the Under-18s. "We reached the semi-finals after knocking out Celta and Valencia. Real beat us. They had Casillas in goal. What an awesome team!".
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