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When you include Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery and Xabi Alonso, four of the coaches of the teams that finished in the top 10 of the Premier League last season all hail from the Basque region.
“They ask me a lot why a lot of Basque managers especially have arrived to this level and why a lot of Spanish teams are winning a lot of things,” Iraola said.
“I always say that a sense of collectiveness is very important. Spain has never had the best athletes. If you analyse, in swimming, track and field, they don’t normally win medals.
“But in collective sports they are very good. In football, basketball, handball, hockey, normally they have good teams. We always put the team first.
“An example is someone like Rodri. He didn’t score or make an assist but at the end they won the World Cup and he won best player of the tournament. Team-first was always integrated in how we’re raised.
“There are a lot of different styles in Spanish coaching. With the national team, they always say tiki-taka, passing, but even in the World Cup you could see them pressing very well, pressing high.
“Yes, they controlled the game with the ball, but it’s the other part without the ball where everyone was doing their job. It’s being pro-active without the ball.”
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