Mikel Arteta is on course to guide Arsenal to the Premier League title. His compatriots Julen Lopetegui and Unai Emery have transformed their club’s fortunes since their mid-season appointments. All three are part of a remarkable coaching trend.
Each of that Premier League managerial trio are from the Basque Country but more specifically, the area of Gipuzkoa; geographically the smallest province of Spain. Home to just 720,000 inhabitants and high-flying La Liga outfit Real Sociedad, the beautiful coastal province is producing the highest volume of top-level football coaches in Europe.
Arteta, Lopetegui and Emery all spent part of their playing careers at the club, with the latter two being developed by La Real’s famed youth system. Yet they are not alone in the Gipuzkoan coaching revolution; highly-rated Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso and Rayo Vallecano manager Andoni Iraola – whom Leeds unsuccessfully tried to appoint earlier this year – are both from the region.
