THEY are the two most attractive young bosses in Europe, the soulmates since schoolboys poised to make history.

Two friends whose football career started as kickaround companions on San Sebastian beaches and has every possibility of culminating in championship success.

3Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso were in the same youth clubCredit: PA3Alonso is set to make history with Bayer LeverkusenCredit: Getty

At ten years old, the two were players for Antiguoko.

After a two-decade drought, Mikel Arteta is bringing Arsenal closer to becoming the Premier League champions in North London.

On Sunday, Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen might win the Bundesliga for the first time, occurring about 400 miles away.

For the Basque friends and the little Spanish youth team Antiguoko, where they established the midfield core as ten-year-olds, it’s an incredible tale.

Roberto Montiel, their previous coach, is ecstatic with his two prize graduates.”Mikel always played ahead of his age group and showed a lot of maturity despite being a little boy,” said Montiel, who is currently the vice-president of the amateur club without an adult squad. We understood from the start that he had what it took to succeed professionally.

He is the greatest player I have ever seen at Antiguoko—better even than Alonso—and I believe he considered coaching long before he decided to hang up his spikes.

“After observing me coach a few of the teams, Arteta would inundate me with comments and ideas on how to turn things around!

Even though he was still young, I could tell he was designing the coaching role. I would giggle when he would point out areas where my team was struggling and I needed to make drastic adjustments.

Though Alonso’s destiny was less clear-cut than Arteta’s, it still appeared predestined.”Xabi was a small lad, who didn’t bulk up until the Under-17s,” Montiel continued.

However, he was a very strong presence without coming across as overbearing, and he managed the play quite effectively.

“When he was on the pitch, he changed from being a bit introverted. He was never the type to yell a lot; a few words would suffice.

“Yet Xabi was always well-respected, and everyone took his words seriously.”

Better than Alonso, Mikel is the best player I have ever seen at Antiguoko.

Roberto Montiel Monttiel stays in close proximity to both of Antiguoko’s top students.

Additionally, a new clubhouse was funded by the proceeds from Alonso’s 2004 transfer from Real Sociedad to Liverpool.

According to Montiel, the team that also produced Andoni Iraola, the manager of Bournemouth, has a certain quality.”I believe it’s because of the demands we place on them as children, from a very young age,” he stated.

“They never give up in this culture; Antiguoko is a school of life.””