Montiel, currently vice president of the club, remembered how the Arsenal manager exhibited "a lot of maturity" from a young age, routinely watching training sessions before peppering his coach with suggestions about how to strengthen the side. Arteta would even highlight where Montiel's approach fell short.

"Mikel always played ahead of his age group and showed a lot of maturity despite being a little boy," he revealed to 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!"

"Xabi was a small lad, who didn't bulk up until the Under-17s," Montiel explained. "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, by contrast, was the most reserved of the three. Despite being a talented footballer and an outstanding pupil, Montiel did not identify his managerial potential until he returned to Antiguoko following his retirement from playing.

Only then did his coaching abilities start to surface. "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 prove instrumental in kickstarting Iraola's coaching journey, though he confessed he was uncertain whether his former protege would enter management.

"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."

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Iraola's first senior management role arrived with Cypriot outfit AEK Larnaca, where he stayed for one season before heading back to Spain in 2019 to lead newly promoted Segunda Division side Mirandes. He moved to Rayo Vallecano 12 months later.

Bournemouth brought in Iraola in 2023, and he swiftly emerged as one of the Premier League's most promising coaches, steering the club to unprecedented heights, including qualification for the Europa League. Liverpool ultimately came knocking in June, offering him the chance to take charge of one of English football's biggest clubs.

Arteta's journey from player to manager was more straightforward. Following his retirement in 2016, he faced three possibilities: Arsene Wenger offered him the opportunity to oversee Arsenal's youth setup; he could join Mauricio Pochettino's coaching team at Tottenham, having been team-mates with the Argentine at Paris Saint-Germain; or he could serve under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

Arteta chose the final option, embarking on a coaching education that would define his managerial path.

When Wenger left Arsenal in 2018, Arteta was heavily tipped for the position, but the club selected Unai Emery instead. Arteta's moment arrived 18 months later, making his way back to north London following Emery's sacking to begin a spell that has turned Arsenal into Premier League champions.

Alonso, by contrast, was the sole member of the group to head back to the Basque Country straight after hanging up his boots. He took charge of Real Sociedad B in 2019 before moving to Bayer Leverkusen in 2022, where he delivered one of the most extraordinary managerial feats in German football history.

Liverpool were among the sides reportedly interested in their former midfielder after Jurgen Klopp's 2024 exit, but Alonso chose to stay in Germany, and the Reds brought in Arne Slot as his replacement. He headed to Real Madrid 12 months later, though his tenure at the Bernabeu ended before he could complete a full season.

Chelsea then hired Alonso in July, arranging a reunion with Iraola and Arteta in the Premier League.

On Wednesday, Alonso makes his return to Anfield, this time as boss of an opposing side. The Spaniard received an affectionate welcome when his Leverkusen outfit met Liverpool in the Champions League in 2024, though his reception this evening may prove significantly more hostile.