Mikel Arteta, Xabi Alonso and Andoni Iraola all grew up together playing youth football in Spain, but only one of them stood out at the time as a future manager

Andoni Iraola, Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta will be on opposing sides when Liverpool face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, before taking on Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday. But the three managers have more in common than just their Spanish roots, having grown up together as team-mates at Basque youth club Antiguoko.

During the early-to-mid 90s, long before their paths led them into the dugouts of English football, all three were regarded as promising young players. But according to former Antiguoko coach Roberto Montiel, there was one boy who already appeared destined for a career in management: Arteta.

Montiel, now vice president of the club, recalled how the Arsenal boss displayed "a lot of maturity" from an early age, regularly observing training sessions before bombarding his coach with ideas about how to improve the team. Arteta would even point out where Montiel's tactics were falling short.

"Mikel always played ahead of his age group and showed a lot of maturity despite being a little boy," he told The Sun. "Right away, we knew he could make it at a professional level.

"He's the best player I have ever seen at Antiguoko, better even than Alonso, and I think he had the idea of being a coach a long time before he hung up his boots.

"Arteta would watch me coach some of the teams and afterwards bombard me with ideas and suggestions of how to change things around. He was still only young, but I could see he was engineering the idea of coaching. I would laugh because he'd tell me where my team was failing and where I had to use the scalpel to make changes!"

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Alonso, who went on to enjoy the most distinguished playing career of the trio, was more "introverted" but possessed "a commanding presence" on the pitch. Respected by his team-mates, he could get his message across without needing to raise his voice.

"Xabi was a small lad, who didn't bulk up until the Under-17s," Montiel said. "But he organised play very well and was a commanding presence without being very bossy."

"He was a bit introverted but transformed when on the pitch. He was never someone who needed to shout a lot - a few words was all it took. But he was always highly respected and when Xabi said something, everyone respected it."

Iraola, meanwhile, was the shyest of the three. Despite being a gifted footballer and an excellent student, Montiel did not recognise his potential as a manager until he returned to Antiguoko after retiring from playing. Only then did his coaching credentials begin to emerge.

"Andoni was a very shy boy and a very good student, and he had spectacular talent," Montiel told the Liverpool Echo. "As a child, being very shy, when we had the game under control he would do things with the ball that very few players could do. We had a great team and I consider myself very, very competitive, and I instil that in all my teams."

Montiel would ultimately play a key role in launching Iraola's managerial career, although he admitted he had initially doubted whether his former pupil would pursue coaching.

"The truth is that when he quit football, I thought he was going to retire, but when he called me and told me that he wanted to start coaching and asked if I could give him a team in Antiguoko, I saw that he might have the makings of a coach.

"He went to Madrid to get his coaching licence and there I saw that he might have a future, since he was the best in his class during the course."

Iraola's first senior managerial appointment came with Cypriot side AEK Larnaca, where he spent a season before returning to Spain in 2019 to take charge of newly promoted Segunda Division club Mirandes. He moved to Rayo Vallecano a year later, laying the foundations for his subsequent success in English football.

Bournemouth appointed Iraola in 2023, and he quickly established himself as one of the Premier League's most promising coaches, guiding the club to unprecedented heights, including qualification for the Europa League. Liverpool eventually came calling in June, handing him the opportunity to take charge of one of English football's biggest clubs.

Arteta's transition from player to coach was more direct. After retiring in 2016, he had three options: Arsene Wenger offered him a role leading Arsenal's academy, he could join Mauricio Pochettino's backroom staff at Tottenham, having played alongside the Argentinian at PSG, or he could work under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Arteta opted for the latter, beginning a coaching apprenticeship that would shape his managerial career.

When Wenger left Arsenal in 2018, Arteta was strongly linked with the vacancy, but the club appointed Unai Emery instead. He got his opportunity 18 months later, returning to north London after Emery's dismissal to begin a tenure that has since transformed Arsenal into Premier League champions.

Alonso, meanwhile, was the only member of the trio to return to the Basque Country immediately after his playing career ended. He took charge of Real Sociedad B in 2019 before moving to Bayer Leverkusen in 2022, where he produced one of the most remarkable managerial achievements in German football.

Leverkusen won their very first Bundesliga title in the 2023/24 season and completed the domestic campaign unbeaten, bringing Alonso widespread acclaim and putting him firmly in contention for some of Europe's biggest jobs.

Liverpool were among the clubs linked with the former midfielder following Jurgen Klopp's departure in 2024, but Alonso opted to remain in Germany, with the Reds appointing Arne Slot instead. He moved to Real Madrid a year later, only for his spell at the Bernabeu to end before completing a full season.

Chelsea subsequently appointed Alonso in July, setting up a reunion with Iraola and Arteta on the Premier League stage.

On Wednesday, Alonso returns to Anfield, this time as manager of a rival club. The Spaniard was given a warm reception when his Leverkusen side faced Liverpool in the Champions League in 2024, but his welcome this evening could be considerably more frosty.