Including Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery and Xabi Alonso, four of last season’s Premier League top-10 managers come from the Basque Country.
Iraola says he’s often asked why so many Basque coaches reach the top and why Spanish teams win so much. His answer is a deep-rooted commitment to the collective. Spain hasn’t traditionally produced the most dominant individual athletes—think swimming or track and field—but it excels in team sports like football, basketball, handball and hockey because the group comes first.
He cites Rodri as an example: he neither scored nor assisted, yet his team won the World Cup and he was named player of the tournament—evidence of a team-first mindset instilled from a young age. Spanish coaching isn’t one-dimensional either. Beyond the tiki-taka label, the national team showed at the World Cup they can press aggressively and high. They control games with the ball, but just as important is everyone doing their job without it—being proactive off the ball.