THEY are the two most gorgeous young CEOs in Europe, best friends since they were little children and future greats.

Two friends whose football careers could very well finish in championship triumph, having begun as kickaround buddies on the beaches of San Sebastian.Mikel Arteta is helping Arsenal in North London get back on track to win the Premier League after a two-decade absence.

About 400 miles away, on Sunday, Bayer Leverkusen, led by Xabi Alonso, might win the Bundesliga for the first time.

It’s a fantastic story for the Basque buddies and the small Spanish youth team Antiguoko, where they formed the midfield core when they were just ten years old.

Their former coach, Roberto Montiel, is overjoyed with his two prize graduates.”Despite being a young boy, Mike always demonstrated a great deal of maturity and played above his age group,” said Montiel, the vice-president of the amateur team without an adult roster. We knew from away that he had what it takes to be a successful professional.Better than Alonso, he is the best player I have ever seen at Antiguoko, and I think he was thinking about teaching 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 quite young, I could tell he was designing the coaching role.

“I would laugh because he’d tell me where my team was failing and  where I had to use the scalpel to make changes!”

While Arteta’s destiny seemed predestined, it was not as immediately obvious with Alonso.

Montiel added: “Xabi was a small lad, who didn’t bulk up until the Under-17s.

“But he organised play very well and was a commanding presence without being very bossy.

“He was a bit introverted but transformed when on the pitch. He was never someone who needed to shout a lot — a few words was all it took.

“But he was always highly respected and when Xabi said something, everyone respected it.”

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.

He said: “I think it’s because of the demands we put on them as kids, from a very young age.

“It is a culture where they never surrender — Antiguoko is a school of life.”