Learning fast was something I was used to.

At my first professional club, Real Sociedad, I never played in the cadets, or even the youth team – instead, I went straight into the reserve team.

How could I have been ready for that? It was thanks to Antiguoko – a team from San Sebastián, where I had already spent almost 10 years as a player. It was not a professional club, but it worked very well. We had very good teams, with players like Mikel Arteta, Aritz Aduriz, Andoni Iraola and my brother Mikel.

At Antiguoko, everything was about the ball, about technique, and about understanding the game. That good foundation is one that stayed with all of us for the future. It gave us good principles and good habits to help us advance and grow as players.

“Trying to adapt to the pace of the Premier League was going to be the biggest challenge for me and my game”

From the moment I made my senior debut for Real Sociedad, my dream was to win the title with them. A few years later, the dream almost came true.

In the 2002/03 season, we had a group that in footballing terms had a good connection. We had great players from abroad, like Darko Kovacevic, Nihat Kahveci and Valeri Karpin – players who gave us the competitive input that we needed.

And, in Raynald Denoueix, we had a French manager who made us play in a different way.

No one expected it, but that season we battled for the title with Real Madrid until the very last day. It was a dream for all of us, and we came very close to achieving it.

For Real Sociedad, winning the league is almost the equivalent of a Champions League or a World Cup. To get so close and then not to do it… I always say it is like a thorn in the flesh.