Gipuzkoa is the smallest of Spain’s 50 provinces, a rich, hilly stretch of land in the Basque country between the Bay of Biscay and the French border.
Most of its 720,000 inhabitants live in the San Sebastian urban area, one of the most beautiful in Europe. The province’s leading football team is Real Sociedad, whose manager Imanol Alguacil is from Gipuzkoa, just like his predecessor Asier Garitano.
They worked with Xabi Alonso when he was manager of Real Sociedad B. Former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder Alonso is now in charge of Bayer Leverkusen and often linked with a move to England’s Premier League.
If he does move, he will be in familiar company: 20 per cent of the Premier League’s managers are from Gipuzkoa. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta started out at Antiguoko, a junior club who often practised on San Sebastian’s famous La Concha beach.