Premier League awakens to the Basque influence

Why is a land such as the Basque Country in Spain connected to the Premier League this season? Four head coaches of England's leading teams originate from this region: Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery, Xabi Alonso, and Andoni Iraola.

On the international stage, the Basque Country has also produced other successful managers. These include Luis de la Fuente, the strategist who led Spain to win the 2026 World Cup. Not long before that, Luis Enrique helped PSG win the Champions League twice in a row.

A football breeding ground

The Premier League this season has become more intense thanks to the Basque managers. Arteta led Arsenal to their first Premier League title in 22 years. Emery brought Aston Villa their first Europa League trophy. Alonso arrived to revive Chelsea, while Iraola elevated ambitions when moving from Bournemouth to Liverpool. Antiguoko, an amateur club in the Basque Country, feels proud as it is the place that trained Iraola, Alonso, and Arteta before they built their reputations as players and then coaches.

The secret behind the Basque Country producing top managers is nothing special: hard work, a clear philosophy, attention to the smallest details, and decades of development. Iraola explains it in his own way: "The reason the Basque Country has so many successful coaches comes from the fact that our land, despite its modest size, possesses an incredible football culture." Arteta, besides believing in passion, also takes pride in the region's education system. The story Arteta refers to is that children in the Basque Country are not allowed to choose a single team or sport until they turn 10. These kids must learn to play various sports like football, basketball, handball, or volleyball before specializing in the sport they love.

The collective spirit in the Basque Country

Manu Diaz, President of the Guipuzcoa Football Federation, explains the development path: "Having so many coaches in our region stems from the community idea that people want to pass something on. Children who want to become coaches must wait until their 16th birthday to start taking courses. Everyone also learns from a young age how to be a member of a larger group, which nurtures leadership qualities. Coaches here are highly respected." Notably, in the Basque Country, there is a common word "Auzolan," meaning collective action for the common good. Arteta, Alonso, and Iraola put this into practice in football matches organized on the beach.

Football schools in the Basque Country often use idioms and philosophies that the modern football world considers outdated. A spokesperson for Antiguoco adds: "This makes it one of the top youth training academies in Europe. We are an academy with a collective spirit, modest resources, but great influence. Over the decades, we have served not only as a school for football but also for personal development. The coaches working in the Premier League all recognize the impact Antiguoco has had on their professional and personal growth. We nurture players by honing their talent, work culture, tactical sharpness, match-reading ability, and team spirit within a collective."

Five years ago, Alonso co-authored a book about Real Sociedad's coaching methods titled "Made in Guipuzcoa," aimed at supporting anyone who wants to read, learn, and apply the principles from it. One of the most valuable quotes from the book is: "The focus of this model is to create a human being, not just a pure football player." Digging deeper, the book emphasizes that Real Sociedad's coaches nurture athletes, regardless of gender, throughout their journey, with the model's foundation being stability based on trust and patience.

That may be something the Premier League cannot immediately grasp, but the battle among Basque managers—Alonso, Emery, Arteta, and Iraola—this season will bring values and lessons that not only English football needs to learn.